Chloe leads her young team to glory in the Women’s Fours
On the penultimate day of competition, Tiffany Brodie (Fitzroy Victoria), Amelia Bruggy (Bendigo), Georgia White (Paradise Point) and Chloe Stewart (Broadbeach) have taken home the title of the 2016 Australian Open Women’s Fours Champions and the $12,000 prize money. On the penultimate day of competition, Tiffany Brodie (Fitzroy Victoria), Amelia Bruggy (Bendigo), Georgia White (Paradise Point) and Chloe Stewart (Broadbeach) have taken home the title of the 2016 Australian Open Women’s Fours Champions and the $12,000 prize money.
The winning quartet took on Kylie Whitehead (Wodonga), Tayla Spence (Bundoora RSL), Kristina Krstic (Manning) and Samantha Shannahan (Merrylands) at Broadbeach, where they defeated them in a close game of 16-13.
“If we didn’t win, we were still the winners anyway,” said Stewart.
“I’ve never had so much fun playing bowls,” said Bruggy.
With both teams showing just a slice of the rising stars of Lawn Bowls coming through at the Australian Open, the battle between national, state and under-18’s representatives showcased a masterclass in Lawn Bowls.
Stewart’s foursome opened the game in a skillful form, jumping to a 3-0 lead to set up their climb to victory.
The Shannahan squad fought back early in the third end, to get ahead by one shot at 3-4, but ultimately this was not enough to build up the required momentum to win the match.
“We had a couple of telling ends, where we picked up some threes which made a huge difference,” said Stewart.
“Chloe made a few conversions which really counted,” said White.
“However, the shot of the day goes to Georgia,” said Stewart.
The shot in question was produced in the twelfth end of the match, where White’s precise drive pushed the jack into pit, propelling her team up three to 16-9.
Looking back on their lead-up to finals glory at Australian Open, the match that stands out for the women was in their first round of knockouts, where they played against Queenslanders Annica McGill, Brenda Balchin, Marilyn Clayton and Louise Witton, narrowly defeating them 14-12.
“I think that’s the game that could have won or lost it for us,” said Stewart.
“We were down for a lot of the match, and had to really come back from it.”
“That was probably our toughest game, and we had to really fight for that,” said White.
With a half Victorian, half Queensland cohort, the establishment of this close-knit four’s team came through the friendship of White and Stewart, who met one another through the Victorian Open.
Bruggy soon joined the team, where she knew White from the NTC squads, and Brodie completed the team through her friendship with Stewart, from playing together in Victoria.
“We all just love giving each other a hard time and having a good laugh,” said White.
“There is so much banter in the team,” said Bruggy.
With Brodie and Bruggy both finishing year 12 this year in Victoria, teammates White and Stewart are keen for them to move up to the Sunshine State next year for more opportunities to play with and against one another.
“These guys will all be Queenslanders by next year,” laughs Stewart.
