Straight Shooting Darts

Darts were in full flight as Australia's top 128 darts players commenced competition in earnest today with the first event the Peter McMenamin Cup starting the 31st Formula Australian Darts Championships at the Central Coast Leagues Club in Gosford just north of Sydney. Competition was exciting with many players in top form and no easy matches. With the best male and female players from all States and Territories in attendance some great darts started off the seven days of the Championships hosted by the New South Wales Darts Council with sponsorship assistance from Formula Australia.

Ladies
At the completion of the first four rounds of the Ladies Peter Mac Cup, the competition is so close in both Divisions it is too close to call any possible winners at this stage.

In a very closely contested division, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia have won three rounds so far in the Gold Division. All four having lost the one round and are the only teams still in contention. At this stage of the event, Victoria could be in the box seat but this Division is too tight to call. South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory have won one round each.

In the Green Division Western Australia remains the only undefeated team. They have been winning some very close contests in several of their rounds to date with tiebreakers required in victories over Tasmania and Queensland. Tasmania is still in contention with just one loss in the fourth round to Western Australia but now is relying on another team to defeat Western Australia to get back in contention. The ACT also has lost just one round to South Australia but have some hard matches to get through in the next three rounds including Western Australia. This leaves some very exciting rounds tomorrow to decide the division winner, with possibly South Australia and Queensland having a big influence on how this division ends up. South Australia and Queensland have won two rounds, Victoria and Northern Territory one round.

Men
Queensland and Western Australia remain the only Teams not to have lost a round in the Gold Division. In a great display of darts by the boy's from the west winning their matches against Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Northern Territory, while the Queenslanders accounted for Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory. The remaining Teams in this Division have all lost at least two rounds except for South Australia who lost just the one round to Tasmania. The Gold Division crunch match to decide the winner could be round six when Western Australia and Queensland meet.

The Green Division is very close as five teams have lost one round. Three legs separate the five Teams so predicting a winner at this stage is impossible. Western Australia lost to Queensland, Queensland lost to Victoria, Victoria lost to South Australia, South Australia lost to Western Australia. A vicious little circle there. Northern Territory lost one round to Queensland. The other three teams have little chance of recovering to make the finals.

Player's that look like being in top form at this early stage of the Championships are Jucinta Dann and Dot McLeod from WA, Corrine Hammond and Lavinia Hogg from NSW, Christine Wooley from Tasmania, Chrissie Sheerin from Queensland, Julie Thomas from SA, Becca Heidke from the Northern Territory, along with Janine Cassar and Sheryll Beasy from VIC.

For the Men, players performing well are James Bailey and Geoff Kime from Queensland, Kyle and Beau Anderson from WA, Dan Chapman from the Northern Territory, Peter Machin from South Australia, Mitchell Clegg from New South Wales, Scott Smith from Victoria and Anthony Fleet and Mick Mullaney from the ACT.

Following the final three rounds tomorrow the winner from each Division will contest the final.