Essa and Eagle secure Phyllis Court handicap doubles title

HELEN Essa and Rob Eagle won the Phyllis Court internal association croquet (AC) handicap doubles title for the first time last week.

The pair got off to a shaky start using two of their
10 extra turn bisques for little gain on the scoreboard and it was their experienced opponents, Frances Colman and Chris Roberts who got first beak of the game to hoop eight from a long-range hit-in by Colman.

Essa used four bisques to establish and then control a break round to the last hoop and, soon after, Eagle hit in well and did much the same, albeit with several visits to the court.

Colman and Roberts failed to run a couple of hoops cleanly but a game-winning hit-in from Eagle and Essa’s calmness in the final minutes sealed the match in their side’s favour for a 20-14 win.

Essa had further success when she won the Phyllis Court golf croquet (GC) advantage handicap singles final against Dee McKibbin.

McKibbin was dominant in the first game but solid hoop running and more centre ball clearances were at the root of McKibbin’s 7-3 winning margin, leaving Essa with it all to do.

Game two was altogether different as Essa tightened her play, scored a confidence boosting hoop two from the other end of the court and, from then on, she never looked back.

Essa improved her clearance strokes to stay in the hoop contesting area more often, and as the match wore on, she overhauled McKibbin.

Essa won the second game 7-4 to take the match to a decider as the light began to fade with the match running close to the three-hour mark.

A two-hoop lead was established by Essa after a prolonged battle at hoop four and McKibbin did well to peg back that margin by winning the next two hoops, only to see Essa’s bold strategy, of taking position and hoop seven, pay off in spades with a brave long hoop score.

Back came McKibbin again but, when Essa ran hoop nine from an angle, she had all the momentum to control the game from then on.

Hoop 10 was won with a deft and soft centre ball clearance to a hidden position, and at match point, Essa’s patience was rewarded with the winning score after two more rotations.

The plate event of the gold croquet 10+ singles season-long competition also reached its finale with Michael Seagrief defeating Dilys Gordon in another close match.

Gordon led the first game 3-2 and could have gone 4-2 up but allowed Seagrief to steal hoop six, and then she missed vital clearances at to the next two hoops to gift Seagrief a two-hoop lead that he capitalised on to win the first game 7-4.

Gordon’s commendable strong clearing positive game style paid dividends in the second game where she reversed the score line to win 7-4 and she went into the decider with all the momentum.

Seagrief’s patience in returning to position time and again wore down Gordon’s challenge and won him the third game 7-3 and with it the title.