RAFA rooted after Watermill whitewash
0:00am Fri Jan 08, 2010
The Watermill Toy Story moved up to second place in the Newark and District Double Board Darts League’s Premiership following a tremendous 9-0 victory over rock bottom RAFA PDC in a rearranged match that was postponed earlier in the season.
The whitewash was the first recorded in the Premiership since March 2008 when the RAFA Club were also on the receiving end, on that occasion against Horse and Gears Power.
The victory means that the lead of the reigning champions, the Castle and Falcon Archers, has been cut to six points, and also moves all three Toy Story players — Rob Dennis, Joe Flanagan and captain Mick McMackin — into the top nine positions in the Singles League.
The league, in which the players are battling to finish the season in the top eight positions in order to qualify for the end of season play-offs which will determine the Premiership Singles Champion, is currently being led by reigning champion Paul Gallacher.
The Castle and Falcon Archers player has had an impressive start to the campaign, winning all 15 of his matches to date and only dropping a solitary leg to build up a healthy eight-point lead over his team-mate, and the 2007 champion, Mick Pitchford.
Watermill’s Dennis is a further six points back in third and just a point ahead of The Power’s Pete Baldwin.
Flanagan, who has never qualified for the play-offs, is currently lying in a four-way tie in fifth with Dave Yarnell and 2006 champion Stuart Smith of the Castle and Falcon Veterans, and 2008 runner-up Tom Cutts of Muskham Ferry’s Fun Boy Three.
The 2005 champion, Phil Moore of the Veterans, currently finds himself outside the qualification places in 12th spot.
The Power’s Simon Cobb’s hopes of maintaining his record of being the only player to have qualified every season since the competition began eight years ago are looking slim. His poor start has left him languishing in 15th place.
The latest cup draws have been made in the men’s and ladies’ traditional format leagues.
In the Ladies’ Knockout Cup Cup Semi-finals the 2008 winners, the Railway Club Drunks, have been drawn against the Watermill Artists, while four- time winners Newark Working Men’s Club Youngers have been pitched against the current league leaders, Castle and Falcon Ladies.
In the men’s event the Railway Club 45s, who are looking to win the competition for a fourth year in succession, have been drawn away to the Balderton Cricket Club in their quarter-final tie.
The current league leaders and last season’s losing finalists, the Newark Working Men’s Club Lads, have also been drawn away from home and will face the Castle and Falcon Marauders.
The remaining ties see the Castle and Falcon Arrows travel to the Horse and Gears Oxo Club while the Castle and Falcon Phoenix will host the Plough Inn of Coddington.
The Ladies’ John Browne Subsidiary Cup Semi-final draw sees last season’s Knockout Cup winners Cafferatas at home to the Newark Working Mens’ Club Avengers, while the Horse and Gears Boozers host last season’s Knockout Cup losing finalists, the White Swan Cygnets.
The men’s competition has just one quarter-final tie, with Railway Club A at home against last season’s beaten finalists, the Staythorpe Sureshots. The other three participants have received byes.
The Castle and Falcon BBC topped the ratings in the Newark and District Treble Board Darts League, winning both the Men’s First Division title and the Knockout Cup, losing only one game all season.
The Men’s Division Two title race was a straight fight between Watermill OS and the Vine Goodlads, with Watermill finally proving too strong and winning by eight clear points after losing only one of their 12 league outings.
The Newark Working Men’s Club Bullyboys won the Men’s Division Three title with a 100% record in their first season together, and would have added the Subsidiary Cup only to lose out in the final by default when they were unable to agree a date for the match with their opponents, the Horse and Gears Mouldys.
