Cookstown have an excellent opportunity to stamp their authority on the NIPBA title if they can pick up the full seven points at home to Brookgreen. Some of their rinks have not been as dominant as last season but they are still proving hard to beat and almost claimed a whitewash against second placed Coleraine. Anything less than seven points will be a disappointment for the current champions as they continue their quest to record three titles in a row. Colin Hogg’s rink were in scintillating form in their last game and will be the rink to watch out for.

The visitors produce indifferent displays so Cookstown will not be able to take them lightly as Brookgreen do not have any form guide. 

Gary McCloy had a huge win in his last outing and his rink will be hoping to repeat the dose away to Brooke Park who are off the bottom of the table for the first time in two seasons in the top division. Ian McClure is currently at the top of the NIPBA skip rankings and showing that his rink has hit good form this season. Both MCCloy and McClure will be expected to claim their rink points but if Portrush are to mount a challenge for the title after the mid-season beak then they require not just a win but the full points and hope that Cookstown start to slip.

Closest challenger at present are Coleraine who could fall further behind the leaders as they face a difficult game away to Dunluce. Dunluce are coming into form and this game may be coming at a good time for them, it will be a thorough test and one that Coleraine will not be relishing but there will be deep rivalry and determination with the return of Mervyn McKeeman who swapped allegiance just before the season began.

Ballymoney are on a losing run of two games which has put them down into fourth place and moved them from challengers to outsiders for the title. They need a win to get their challenge back on track but they will not have it all their own way on their travels to Portglenone who have stuttered after a very good start but who are now showing signs that the early season form is returning.

In the NIBA Balmoral have a major game away as the top two meet. Divis have to win to maintain their title challenge but their incentive will be to gain six or seven points on home soil to score a massive psychological blow over Balmoral for the run-in. The home side will take any win as it will narrow the deficit and they cannot contemplate defeat of any kind. Balmorl will be without stalwart Tommy Turkington who is now out for the season as he awaits major surgery. He will be missed at the front end but no doubt he will be keeping an eager eye on the result of the team who could give him the best possible lift with a win.

Lisnagarvey will be hoping to take full advantage of the top two playing each other with a maximum points haul at home to Curran. The visitors have the capabilities to take a point or two off the top teams and if they do it will dent Lisnagarvey’s title challenge. 

Lurking in fourth place and with a game in hand is Whitehead who travel to play Londonderry Park. The home side have lost their last three league games which have been against teams in the top five, a fourth consecutive defeat is therefore expected. 

The relegation battle is hotting up with the big game taking place in Newtownabbey where they play fellow strugglers Donaghadee. A win for either will be huge, the pressure is not just at the top it is just as immense at the bottom and no doubt nerves will play a part. Whoever gets off to a good start will be able to play relaxed bowls while the team that goes behind will feel the pressure mounting.

Newcastle have an opportunity to pull away from the bottom two places as they are at home to Dromore but Carrick could be rooted to the bottom after this round of matches as they have a difficult away game in Portadown.

The major attraction in the NIPGBL is the game in Belmont who take on league leaders Ballymena. A win for the visitors would mean that the title is theirs to lose. A victory for Belmont will open the title race up and give both Belmont and Dunbarton a major confidence lift.

Ballymena have already struck the first blow in this two part encounter as they defeated Belmont on Thursday evening to knock them out of the NIPGBL cup. Ballymena were missing a few of their regulars while Belmont were only without one of their main players. It  has to play on the minds of the home side that they could not win against a weakened Ballymena side. It is possible that the visitors will also be under-strength for the league encounter but they will take confidence that player unavailability did not disrupt them in the cup game. Belmont have a mountain to climb and know that they need to find that extra competitive edge to improve their performance level otherwise their season will come to an abrupt end.

Dunbarton, the only other realistic challengers for the league trophy have a home game against NICS. Myles Greenfield will again be missing but the Gilford men should have the firepower to overcome any obstacles the visitors put up. They will be hunting for all the rink points to put themselves in a healthy position going into the break.

Falls take on Old Bleach for the second time inside 48 hours and they will be hoping that they can produce a more efficient performance. Old Bleach are outsiders for the title however a significant win will keep them in the hunt although they cannot afford to lose any more games.