Bowland are set to lift the George Wyatt Cup again this year; however all is still to play for in the individual leagues.
It is Dominoes and Women’s Darts, where Bowland currently assert their advantage over Lonsdale who are in second, in the race for the George Wyatt title. As the league tables stand Bowland have the edge over Lonsdale by 47 points in these two leagues, in comparison to just 27 overall. Without Dominos and Women’s Darts, Lonsdale would be leading the race for the George Wyatt by 20 points; however it is Bowland’s all-round consistency that sees them challenging at the top in all six leagues, while Lonsdale are only challenging seriously in four of the six. If Bowland were to win the title again, as it looks like they will, no college could deny that they were worthy winners.
Men’s A Pool
Before the Week five fixtures had been played Lonsdale were 13 points ahead of Graduate in second place, with Graduate having a game in hand. However Lonsdale moved ever closer to the league title, as Graduate crashed to a 7-2 defeat at the hands of Cartmel, while Lonsdale continued their fine form beating Pendle 6-3. This saw Lonsdale widen the gap by a further six points over Grad, all but assuring the league title. It is not a foregone conclusion however, as Lonsdale have two tricky ties remaining, with Bowland away, and a visit of the in-form Cartmel standing between them and league glory.
Men’s B Pool
It is still unbelievably difficult to predict the destination of the B League title with just six points separating the top four. Bowland and Fylde are in prime position to push on to take the title on 72 and 71 points respectively. However last year’s winners Lonsdale cannot be discounted, as a win at home versus Bowland could see them leapfrog their rivals in week 6. Pendle seem to have dropped out of the race, now in fourth place, after losing 6-3 away at Lonsdale, they are now nine points behind Lonsdale who lurk dangerously in third. Fylde seem to be favourites for the title with the easiest run-in, however Bowland and Lonsdale will be right up there challenging until the final week of the season.
Men’s Darts
The table that is currently online is a little bit misleading as Pendle lead the way on 82, with Lonsdale, Bowland and Graduate on 76, 75, and 74 respectively. It is misleading because Pendle and Bowland have played one more game than the other two teams. On top of this in the week five fixtures, Lonsdale ground out a 6-3 win over Pendle to go within one point of their league rivals, with a game in hand. Meanwhile, Graduate picked up a 7-2 win at home to Cartmel, to close the gap at the top of the table. Meanwhile Grizedale and Bowland proved themselves to be two of the most romantically minded colleges rearranging their scheduled fixture due to it falling on Valentine’s day. The revised league table will read Pendle 85, Lonsdale 84, Graduate 83, and Bowland 75, with Pendle having played a fixture more than the other three teams. The league looks to be between Graduate and Lonsdale now.
Women’s Pool
The start of week five suggested that Bowland had all but sewn up the Women’s Pool league, with Lonsdale the only college in a position to mount any kind of challenge; Bowland on 97 points, having played 12 and Lonsdale on 84 having played 11. In week five Bowland crashed to only their second defeat of the season, losing 5-4 away at Grizedale, while Lonsdale cruised to an 8-1 win over Pendle. This sees the gap closed to just seven points with Lonsdale having a game in hand. However Week six is set to be the most important week of the season in Women’s Pool, with second placed Lonsdale away at Bowland. Although this one game could decide the final destination of the title, a lot will come down to how many points the two teams can pick up against the lesser teams.
Women’s Darts
Pendle and Bowland are the two teams battling it out for the title, as was the case last season. Pendle (84) currently sit eight points ahead of Bowland (76), both having played 12 games. Pendle are in pole position to pick up the title and avenge their 6-1 play-off loss of last year to Bowland after both teams were tied on the same number of points at the end of the season. The game of the season looks set to be Tuesday of week seven, with Bowland making the trip to the revamped Pendle bar, in what is due to be the title showdown. If Pendle win it, they win the league. If Bowland can pick up a 5-2 win or better they will be right back in the hunt.
Dominoes
Bowland (41) and Furness (37) are battling it out for Domino glory. Bowland are poised for a much anticipated Domino title, while Furness lurk just four points off the pace in second place. With just five points to be played for each week, it is probably too much to ask for County to make a late surge for the title, from third, with just 30 points.
