In A Grade the standard of play was amazingly high, especially during the semifinals and grand-final. 

The two lives or double elimination system was very successful and very fortunate for some players. 

One player in particular was Phil Sellick. Phil who was one of the favorites to win this year’s title was a second round loser to Anthony Hatch. 

Anthony threw high quality darts all match and averaged over 22 per dart to defeat Phil by 3 legs to nil. 

Another big name to fall early was Greg Lestrange. Greg was leading John Laybutt by 2 legs to nil in their best of 5 match. 

In a big come back from John which included a 106 peg-out and a bulls eye finish from 84 enabled John to defeat Greg by 3 legs to 2.   

After being relegated to the bottom half of the draw and the knockout stage, Greg came up against Bob Carnley. Bob played very well and had Greg under pressure all the way. 

It was only a timely 180 by Greg in the deciding leg that gave him a narrow lead and first shot at a double, which he hit first dart thus eliminating Bob. 

Phil Sellick was also pushed all the way in his knockout game against Brad Noordhuis. Brad matched Phil’s scoring for most of the game. 

But it was Phil’s experience and accuracy on the doubles which saw him claim victory. 

In the semifinal of the undefeated half of the draw, John Laybutt took on Anthony Hatch. Anthony came out firing and went to an early 2 nil lead and averaging over 25 per dart. 

John then had a 16 dart game which is an average of 31 to bounce back. In the fourth leg Anthony threw an 18 dart game to secure himself a spot in the grand-final.  

Greg Lestrange then took on Phil Sellick for a place in the semifinal against John Laybutt. 

Both players showed early nerves by missing several doubles. In the deciding leg it was back to back 140s by Greg followed by hitting double top to give him a pressure filled victory. 

In a rematch with Greg and also John’s second chance at making the grand-final, both players started off impressively. Greg threw a 180 in the opening leg and took a 1 nil lead after hitting tops first dart. 

In the second leg John missed two darts at double 16 which allowed Greg to peg-out. In the third leg John was sitting on double 20 with Greg on 170. Greg narrowly missed the 170 peg. In John’s next throw he pegged-out by missing double 20, then missing double 10 but won the third leg by nervously hitting double 5. 

In the fourth leg both players went score for score until Greg threw a magnificent 177 to leave 38. Greg hit double 19 with his second dart to win by 3 legs to 1 and secure himself a spot in the grand-final. 

The grand final was an epic best of seven leg battle between Anthony Hatch and Greg Lestrange. Anthony won the opening leg with an 18 dart game. Greg edged out Anthony during the next 3 legs. 

In the process Greg threw two 180s and pegged 96. Anthony really stepped up during the next two legs and consistently threw scores of 100 to level the match at 3 legs all. 

In the deciding leg the standard of play was exceptional. Neither player threw a single bad dart. Greg had one dart at double 20 to give him a 15 dart game but narrowly missed. 

Anthony then hit double 20 on his second attempt for a 17 dart game and victory by 4 legs to 3. 

Never before has a game of darts been played in Young of such a high standard as what the grand final was. 

Former president and life member Les Fanning said that even when the NSW team played in Young, their standard of play wasn’t to the level of Anthony and Greg. 

In the Men’s B Grade championship the grand final was between two new comers to darts, Adam ‘Sheldon’ Harvey and Brendan Wheeler. Brendan played spectacular darts to win the opening leg. 

Sheldon immediately bounced back to win the next 2 legs. At the beginning of the fourth leg Brendan who is Sheldon’s employer, informed him that he would be unemployed if he won this leg. 

Sheldon confident of his irreplaceability absolutely smashed Brendan by more than 200 points. Winning by 3 legs to 1 an ecstatic Sheldon Harvey claimed the B Grade title. 

After the match Sheldon commented on what a fantastic year of darts he’s had. 

He said he couldn’t have won the B Grade title without the support of his Mill Tavern Yippers team mates, especially Brad Nicolls for his countless words of support and encouragement throughout the year. 

The ladies’ grand final was between previous winner Kathy Drummond relative new-comer Maree Cummins. Maree who rarely plays and never practices threw fantastic darts to push Kathy all the way to a double. 

Both ladies had chances at the winning double. In the end it was Kathy who hit the winning double to give her another ladies’ singles title. 

In the semifinals Kathy beat Kirby Lestrange and Maree beat Michelle Goodlock.

The association would like to thank all the players and hotels for their support of darts throughout the year. 

The annual general meeting will be held at the Great Eastern Hotel tomorrow night commencing at 7.30pm, everyone is welcome. 

The presentation night will be organised by the new committee and everyone will be notified of its date. 

The DPA (Dart Players Australia) is holding a qualifying tournament for the Darts-King of Australia Tour in January. 

This qualifying tournament is open to NSW players only and will take place at Mittagong on Sunday, November 16. 

Anyone interested, contact Shannon Genge 0427 924 665 or Greg Lestrange 0458 479 192. 

Transport will be available.