#BPL16 teams announced
Two playing changes headline November’s Bowls Premier League (BPL) as the 16th edition of the tournament nears its commencement at Club Pine Rivers in Brisbane’s Moreton Bay region.
The first change is from the Perth Suns, who have brought in the 2021 Australian Championships’ singles winner Blake Nairn to replace Dawn Hayman in the Western Australian line-up.
Nairn will join Cody Packer and recently crowned Commonwealth Games gold medallist Kristina Krstic in the Perth squad, with Pieter Harris returning as coach.
Tweed Heads Ospreys will also boast a new-look, with stalwart Chloe Stewart unable to take part in the event, paving the way for young Queenslander Kira Bourke to make her return to the competition.
Bourke played for the Brisbane Pirates at BPL12 at Moama in February 2021, but will don her Club Tweed colours for the first time alongside tournament winners Aaron Teys and Corey Wedlock, with Wayne Turley OAM remaining the coach.
The only other changes will be in a coaching capacity, with Kevin Anderson returning to the role for the Moama Steamers, taking over from Ryan Burnett whos two stints at the helm saw the Murray River-based franchise finish in second and fifth respectively.
Five-time tournament MVP Aron Sherriff will return for the Steamers with Ryan Bester and Natasha Van Eldik for company on the green.
The second coaching change will involve the Gold Coast Hawks as Anthony Kiepe steps back into the position in place of Steven Tong.
Kiepe’s on green chargers will remain unchanged with Shannon McIlroy, Kelsey Cottrell and Nathan Rice aiming to mount a return to the finals for the Club Helensvale franchise.
The defending champions in the Melbourne Pulse will stick to its winning formula with the now dual-Commonwealth Games gold medallist Ellen Ryan spearheading the team with fellow Birmingham medallists in Barrie Lester (silver – men’s triples) and Gary Kelly (silver – men’s singles) returning in the team’s quest to go back-to-back.
Jeremy Henry will stay on as coach of the Dandenong Club squad.
The Pulse’s crosstown rival, the Melbourne eXtreme, also goes in with the same team as its runner-up performance earlier this year.
After illness forced her early departure in May’s event, Carla Krizanic is back in hopes that the team will go one better this time, with BPL15 All Star team member Matthew Flapper and New Zealand’s Ali Forsyth joining her for the third successive event as Kelvin Kerkow remains coach.
The Sydney Lions will also go in unchanged with reigning Birmingham’s singles gold medallist Aaron Wilson returning with fellow Commonwealth Games teammate and winner of the men’s triples silver Ben Twist, with four-time BPL champion Karen Murphy AM rounding out the trio coached by Steve Glasson OAM.
On home soil, the Brisbane Pirates will look to improve on a third place showing in May and with the line-up of Alex Marshall MBE, Jo Edwards and Chris Rosanes, they are never out of contention.
Michael Breen remains coach of the Club Pine Rivers team.
Following on from a finals showing just four months ago, the Tasmania Tridents will be striving for glory and coach Mark Strochnetter will maintain the foundation line-up of Rebecca Van Asch, Taelyn Male and Mark Nitz as the squad bids to bring the trophy back to the Apple Isle for the first time.
Finally, the Adelaide Pioneers also go in with an unchanged line-up of Scott Thulborn, Wayne Ruediger and 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Katelyn Inch returning under coach Les Carter.
BPL16 is scheduled for November 7-11, 2022, with 24 hours of live broadcast on Fox Sports, Kayo and Sky Sports NZ across Tuesday to Friday evenings from 4pm-10pm AEST, 5pm-11pm AEDT.
See below for the full ins and outs for each BPL franchise:
Adelaide Pioneers: Scott Thulborn, Wayne Ruediger, Katelyn Inch
Coach: Les Carter
No Change
Brisbane Pirates: Alex Marshall, Jo Edwards, Chris Rosanes
Coach: Michael Breen
No Change
Gold Coast Hawks: Shannon McIlroy, Kelsey Cottrell, Nathan Rice
Coach: Anthony Kiepe
In: Kiepe (Coach)
Out: Steven Tong (Coach)
Melbourne eXtreme: Carla Krizanic, Matthew Flapper, Ali Forsyth
Coach: Kelvin Kerkow
No Change
Melbourne Pulse: Barrie Lester, Gary Kelly, Ellen Ryan
Coach: Jeremy Henry
No Change
Moama Steamers: Ryan Bester, Cassandra Millerick, Aron Sherriff
Coach: Kevin Anderson
In: Anderson (Coach)
Out: Ryan Burnett (Coach)
Perth Suns: Blake Nairn, Kristina Krstic, Cody Packer
Coach: Pieter Harris
In: Nairn
Out: Dawn Hayman
Sydney Lions: Karen Murphy, Ben Twist, Aaron Wilson
Coach: Steve Glasson
No Change
Tasmania Tridents: Rebecca Van Asch, Taelyn Male, Mark Nitz
Coach: Mark Strochnetter
Tweed Heads Ospreys: Aaron Teys, Corey Wedlock, Kira Bourke
Coach: Wayne Turley
In: Bourke
Out: Chloe Stewart
