By Roy Weavers

The Grand Finals of the A and B Grade Port Douglas Pool Competition were held on Sunday afternoon at what became known as the Rattle n Hum ‘Pool Arena‘ in Macrossan Street.

The natural amphitheatre of the Rattle ‘n’ Hum seating provided a stadium feel for packed crowd to a great view of competitive pool at its very best.  

The B-grade final between The Beach Shack and The Court House Hotel set the scene from midday with a series of close encounters that took nearly all fiercely-competed games to a black ball finish.

It could have been the older, wiser heads of the Court House team that saw them across the line, or it could have been that on some days, great shots on the black can often see the white ball fall too.

The final score, however, didn’t reflect the closeness of each battle, with the Court House team emerging 5 to 1 winners to be crowned B-grade champions.   

Teams

The Beach Shack – Dave Marks, Steve Sherwell, Bob Deane, Tony Ritter, Steve Davonport, John Rees.

The Court House – Jason Anderson, Luke Jackson, Michael Rose, Peter Lynch, Ted Brady, Steve Warden, Graham Haigh and Randy.

The A-grade grand final saw Port Douglas Yacht Club 2 line up against the much-fancied minor premiers, Plantation Resort.

The Yacht Club surged to a 2 – 0 early lead but were reigned in slowly but surely by a Plantation Resort team that grew in confidence as they consolidated a  2- 4 comeback as the singles came to an end.

They had dispensed with league singles champion, Neil Weavers, and all looked set for a comfortable win, needing only one of the three remaining doubles matches.

The tension was mounting on the Yacht Club side, which now couldn’t make a single mistake.  They had to win all three doubles matches to win the trophy, a tough ask against a side which had only lost once all season.

However the team they lost to in the very first round was Yacht Club 2.

Was there any omen to be drawn on?  The answer proved in the positive.

The two Neils - Neil Weavers and Neil Churchill - led the charge with a positive win in game seven, followed by Steve Hughes and Brodie Churchill, who seemed to grow in confidence with every shot potted. This created the contest that the appreciative crowd had hoped for.

It was now all down to the last game to decide the A-grade grand final, with Chris Shiel and Adam Hughes having the fate of the Yacht Club 2 in their hands against a determined Plantation duo of Dave Joyce and Jim Dormer.

The Yacht Club boys played to their strengths and left Shiel with a table-clearing set-up of just three balls.  He worked hard to ensure he kept control of the white ball, and as the final match-winning black ball dropped into the middle pocket, his team mates and the crowd went crazy! 

The amazingly-high level of play on both sides had kept the crowd spellbound.  It is a tribute to the enthusiasm and dedication of both the teams, venues and organisers that this grand final series, and the sport itself, is now finally getting the recognition in the area it so justifiably deserves.

There are more than 100 registered players throughout the season and it looks set for another successful season in 2012.   

Teams

Plantation Resort – Dave Joyce, Dan Adams, ‘Buggs’, Ben Syrett, Shaun Lincoln and captain Jim Dormer.

Port Douglas Yacht Club 2 – Neil Churchill, Neil Weavers, Brodie Churchill, Steve Hughes, Matt McLeod, Laza Woodall, Adam Hughes and Chris Shiel.