Memorial Cup Report

Report by Olly Nunn

It’s been three weeks since the last Franchise League action, and in that time the teams have been holding their in-house tournaments to pick their players for the Memorial Cup.

In the end, it was Pete Roebuck (Station), Matty Pierce (Raging Bull), Jimmy Haslam (Mouses), Luke Davies (Accy D’s), Tim Whiting (Miners), Mick Hulley (Vintage), Jack Quinn (Understudies), and Paul Brittle (Warriors) who won their respective qualifiers, to be joined by Adam Chadwick (as the reigning champion) and Gav Pilling (as the reigning singles champion). These ten players, split into two groups, met in the Woodbourne to decide who would go through to finals night.

In Group A, Gav Pilling went undefeated, winning all four games to top the group, and only dropping one leg along the way (to Whiting). It was also a good night for Davies, with some impressive scoring (four 180s over the course of the night from the Accy D’s captain) and only one loss (to Pilling). Third in the group was Whiting, who got the better of Quinn and Hulley, but defeat to Pilling and Davies meant he missed out on the knockouts. In fourth was Quinn with one win, against Hulley, who had a difficult night that left him at the bottom of the group.

Meanwhile, in Group B, Pete Roebuck made it a Station lockout of the top spots, as he also went undefeated to guarantee a spot in the knockouts. Haslam started with a 2-0 win over Pierce, and although he then suffered a straight-legs loss to Roebuck, he then won his last two games to clinch second. Pierce took two wins, including against his Raging Bull teammate Chadwick, but losses to Roebuck and Haslam cost him a chance at advancing. Fourth in the table was Chadwick, who’s title defence ended in the groups with one win and three losses. And, suffering four losses, Brittle ended the night in fifth.

With all group games played, the final standings were:

Group A
1. Gav Pilling (won 4, lost 0) *
2. Luke Davies (won 3, lost 1) *
3. Tim Whiting (won 2, lost 2)
4. Jack Quinn (won 1, lost 3)
5. Mick Hulley (won 0, lost 4)

Group B
1. Pete Roebuck (won 4, lost 0) *
2. Jimmy Haslam (won 3, lost 1) *
3. Matty Pierce (won 2, lost 2)
4. Adam Chadwick (won 1, lost 3)
5. Paul Brittle (won 0, lost 4)

It was therefore Pilling, Davies, Roebuck, and Haslam who booked their places in the knockouts.

The first semi-final was between Roebuck and Davies. In a best of five contest, the first leg went to Davies. Both had shots at double in the second leg, which could’ve got Roebuck back in the match or put Davies one away. In the end it was Roebuck who took it, and the Station man then reeled off the next two to become the first man into the final.

Next up, in the second semi-final, was Pilling against Haslam, with Pilling looking to make it an all-Station final and Haslam aiming for a rematch of his Group B game with Roebuck. And, in the end, it was Haslam who came on top, winning 3-1 to make it a Railwaymen versus Mouses final on 18 May. Before then, it’s back to league action, with the teams knowing that every game counts heading into the last four weeks of fixtures.