Season Updates 2026
2026 SEASON
Update - W/C 20 April '26
As the first week of the season draws to a close we can look back in disappointment at 3 defeats ... and all at home. We're consistent if nothing else!
Let's start with Monday's Knott Cup opener (20 April) vs Willington Quay. We had just 1 winning rink - Reg, Kev & Kerrie (making her debut) with a great 20-11 win. Our other rinks all lost, so we went down 2-12 with a 49-72 shot deficit. Notable mentions also go to the other two debut-makers, Dave Buck and Brian Gascoigne, who played well against strong opponents.
On Wednesday (22nd) we opened our Clegg League Div. 3 campaign with a home game against Newbiggin. On a typically freezing early season evening we started well and after a six or seven ends we were ahead. And then things began to turn.
Rink 1 saw George, Sue and Chris find it tough against a good trio and if it hadn't been for Sue things could have been worse than the 11-20 defeat they suffered.
On Rink 2 Ronnie, James and Reg began well and took a 7-1 lead before their opponents sussed out the rink and took control - leading to a 14-21 defeat.
Happily, Rinks 3 and 4 went much better. Connor, Corey and Kev were on Rink 3 and were our best winners , 22-15. Well played lads.
Our other winners were Ryan, Anthony and Michael who won 19-18 with a '2' on the final end. Nail-biting but ultimately very satisfying, but still a 4-10 (66-74) defeat. Not a hammering but disappointing nonetheless.
The final league game of the week (Thur. 23rd) saw us take on Rockcliffe Rollers in the Hateley League - but it was another defeat. Our two winners were Ron, Lynn and John C who triumphed 18-12, and Reg, Kev and Eddie who also won by 6 shots, this time 21-15. Sadly the other two rinks were defeats. Anthony, Colin and Ian G had a close game on Rink 1 but eventually lost narrowly 12-16, while on Rink 3 John T, Geoff and Dave B met good opponents and went down 9-29. All this meant a 4-10 (60-72) defeat.
On the bright side, quoting Yazz and the Plastic Population, "the only way is up." And so it is.
Next week we take on Benfield (A) in the Knott, Tynemouth (A) in the Clegg (let's hope it's not still an allotment), and Benfield (A), again, in the Public Utilities league. We have a free week in the Hateley.