Coming off the back of a major wet weather event, there were some doubts about whether Round 1 at ESP would be able to proceed. Fortunately, the rain stopped overnight – just in time. There was still some standing water, but, thanks to the efforts of some dedicated ESP volunteers, the number of lanes deemed unplayable was reduced to three, leaving the required number of 13 available for play. Even more fortunate, given the forecast of more cold, wet and windy conditions, was the weather on the day – much more comfortable than expected and no rain at all until 5pm, when all but one game had finished.
The top honours of the day went to the ESP trio of Nathan James, Ha Nguyen & Van Nguyen. Taking second place for Club d’Adelaide were Jean May, Louis Oltarczy & Jean-Paul Bouyer. Finishing third were Novar Garden’s Jonathan Giddings, Ned Dally & Selina Dally.
Does that trigger a sense of déjà vu? It could. In Round 1 last season, at the same venue, Ha & Van also took the gold medals. That’s not a great surprise, given their success rate. However, what’s more remarkable is that the silver medallists on that occasion included Louis & J-P while Selina & Ned also finished in third. In other words, the top three teams were the same except for the substitution of one player in each case.
The inaugural premiership table also has similarities to where we were a year ago. After Rd 1 last season, I wrote: “ESP lead Adelaide by the smallest possible margin. Behind them, there are ties for third place (Novar Gardens and Adelaide Hills) and sixth place (FAB and Gawler).” This year, the situation is:
ESP lead Adelaide by the smallest possible margin. Behind them, there are ties for third place (Novar Gardens and Prospect) and fifth place (Adelaide Hills and Gawler). Not much editing required there. It looks like we’re in for another competitive season.
The first round is also the traditional time to present medals to the most successful players from the previous Interclub season. These awards are based on championship points earned. The winners for the 2024/25 season were:
Best Overall: Van Nguyen and Ha Nguyen (ESP)
Best Veteran: Dominique Pierre (Adelaide)
Best Female Veteran: Rae Grierson (FAB)
Best New Player: Ned Dally (NGP)Congratulations to all.
Download the full report of scores (PDF): Scores-2025-26-Round-1.pdf