After five rounds across the weekend, the Unknowns and Red Oak were the only teams to have won every match and they just so happened to be drawn against each other in the sixth round.
The Unknowns, featuring two Mount Isa bowlers, a skipper from Brisbane and a Weipa local, needed to tie the match to claim victory as they had a superior for/against in the shot count.
But Red Oak, playing in the memory of the late Neil Ferris, had other ideas.
With a handful of ends to go, they held a five-shot lead and looked poised for victory.
However, a late comeback from the Unknowns saw them square it up on the last round to tie and secure an overall narrow victory.
For the win, they pocketed $10,000 in prizemoney from the $30,000 purse, as well as a generous cash bonus from the Calcutta after the confident team purchased themselves on Friday night.
“I had players in my team pull out because of border closures and the Mount Isa fellas had someone pull out, so I ended up on their team,” said Weipa bowler Fraser Maguire, who bowled second for the Unknowns.
The team was skippered by Pine Rivers Bowls Club star Trent Healy, while Rob Peters was lead, with Mount Isa teammate Peter Baker the all-important third.
Six teams had to withdraw due to COVID-19 restrictions, but the Weipa Bowls Club kept the prizemoney total the same, much to the pleasure of the 22 remaining sides.
In a first for the Bauxite Fours, an all-women’s team took part.
There were 21 men’s teams and officials wanted to avoid a bye.
Bowlers thanked major sponsor Goodline for backing the event.
