Onchan A can rest next week safe in the knowledge that they will still be in top spot, despite missing a game.

It is their turn to sit out and a strong 9-1 win at home over Castletown B has seen them move nineteen points clear of nearest rivals Marown A. Onchan’s early season has been very impressive indeed and even if Marown record a maximum they will still have a very commanding nine point lead, which I think will be a big enough cushion to see them push on and retain their title.

Marown A had to work extremely hard for their 8-2 win at Finch Hill A over a side that have definitely turned a few heads and are exceeding expectations in the top flight. The Crosby outfit can’t afford anymore slip ups if they want to snatch the title away from Onchan and will need to start chipping away at the deficit week by week. Matching results will not be enough for them and they will need to start bettering the champion’s results and start now.

Third placed Douglas had another solid performance beating Port Erin A 8-2 away from home. They have started the season well but realistically could see themselves slipping down to fifth place come the turn as they still need to miss a game.

Fourth place Port St Mary A have momentum swinging their way at the minute and a 9-1 win over Peel A in the sunset city sees them march on. They will be gunning for third spot, and if they can get things right will have Marown in their sights and looking at second.

South Ramsey A are next and the team that finished third last term and hoped to push on from this will be hoping to kick on from an impressive 9-1 win over Nobles in the park. They are not out of the race for second and one thing is for sure they will fight to the last bowl of the season and nobody should ever bet against them causing an upset.

North Ramsey will be glad to be back to winning ways after a tricky run of fixtures with an 8-2 showing against Ballaugh A at the Mooragh. They have the all Ramsey derby next time out and will hope to cause a few surprises.

Douglas B are looking like the cream of the crop in Division Two and their very impressive 10-0 demolition of Casteltown C cements this status.

They have a seven point buffer over nearest rivals South Ramsey B and will be hoping to build on this in coming weeks. It has been a very good start to the season for Andy Cannell’s charges and their strength in depth has been the key to their success so far.

South B had to scrap for every point in the local derby over North and showed good fighting qualities to come out with a hard fought 6-4 win.

It was a similar story at Port St Mary where the B team had to use all of the weapons in their arsenal to just eclipse their C team 6-4 by just ten points.
Onchan C still look like the team to beat in Division Three and have managed to stay on top thanks to a 6-4 win away at North Ramsey C.

It was double success for Colin Kelly this weekend as he teamed up with Neil Withers to win the men’s doubles at Nobles Bowling Club, just 24 hours after he lifted the association cup on the same green.

Both men were relentless in their quest for victory and slipped into gear from the off, moving through them every game they played, and by the time they reached the final they were in overdrive and too hot to handle for Ian Moore and Stuart Garrett as they came home 21-9 winners.

The runners up had a great day out too and the Douglas pairing should be very happy with their efforts. In the semi final they knocked out Tom Kelly and Michael Collister, whilst Withers and Kelly eliminated John Kennish and James Teare.

Nobles Park ran the competition, which was held in conjunction with the ladies doubles on the other green, superbly and an entry of 33 pairs shows that things are definitely on the up for Manx bowls.

Colin Kelly was at the top of his game at Nobles on Saturday as he lifted the coveted Association Cup which he last won two decades ago in 1995.

Kelly seemed to thrive in a new format which saw both greens used, with players alternating between games and had the measure of both almost instantly.

In the final he overcame the colourful ‘green machine’ Jordan Cain 21-14. It was all change in the final with Kelly playing Cain’s preferred short round pegs and the runner up heading for the champion’s usual choice of full corners.

Jordan played well all day and had some exceptional results but just didn’t have enough in the tank as he struggled to get on terms with Colin.

Both players had excellent results in the semi-finals with Cain, the only player in the last four not to have won a festival on the same green, taking Neil Withers a part 21-6. Our eventual champion will also be very pleased with his work as he dispatched long time adversary John Kennish 21-17.

Losing out in the quarter finals were Kevin Quirk, Ray Maddrell, Stevie Kelly and Rob Monk.

Matthew Keggen and the competition committee should be praised for the new format which worked tremendously well. The recent changes have seen an increase in entries and if we continue in this vein I am sure the sport will flourish for years to come.