Ladies

North West v Lisburn 
North West were attempting to retain their title while Lisburn were looking for the consistency that they have been lacking which has limited their ability to compete on a regular basis. Lisburn were in good form leading into the final with a fine display away to Monaghan however they needed to get off to a good start.

North West are a very competent outfit who would be challenging for honours in the main competition but for their failing of not finding their best form in the early part of the season. The North West front ends were on song and out played the majority of the opposition who took time to settle. A consistent foundation enabled the home back-ends to play in a relaxed environment and produce near their best form. To the contrary the Lisburn thirds and skips were inevitably under pressure with it increasing as the score against them mounted.

North West took a comprehensive 21 shot lead into the second round of matches and with such a large advantage were able to play without any pressure or tension. Lisburn were under the cosh from the beginning and would have needed several counts to get within range. The North West outfit are too experienced in big games to let that happen and immediately build up the interval lead to put the game beyond the reach of their opponents.

I Douglas 14 v M McCammick 5

S Simpson 7 v K Ellison 6

P Black 14 v T Irwin 3

L Rice 12 v J McConnell 5

M Douglas 12 v M Corey 1

F McDermott 7 v V McCourt 5

North West 66 Lisburn 25 

The win was well deserved but it is only a consolation for a team that has high expectations and who have the resources to win the main competition.

Obervation

It is unfortunate that two very strong teams like Western and North West went into the draw for their respective shields. As a result both finals were one-sided and not the spectacle one expects for a final. Occasionally upsets will occur but there is a huge difference in resources between the strong zones and those zones that do not have the same quality to select from. Rather than being a consolation for the strong teams to compete in the shield competitions would serve bowls much better if the finals were more competitive and involved the zones that are not in the higher echelons of the rankings. This would assist in making these competitions very competitive with opportunities for success being more widespread amongst the middle to lower ranked zones.