Coach Kevin Anderson and Moama Steamers Aron Sherriff, Matthew Baus and Cassandra Millerick won BPL 22. Photos: Bowls Australia.
After the franchise’s longest down period of three consecutive missed finals, the Moama Steamers rebounded in the biggest way possible in Bowls Premier League 22.
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Storming up the ladder, the bottom-placed finishers in BPL 21 earlier this year topped the table in the group stage at Club Pine Rivers in Brisbane, and went on to compile a perfect finals series and lift the championship.
Moama Steamers Aron Sherriff, Cassandra Millerick and Matthew Baus.
The Steamers side featured homegrown talent and side mainstay Cassandra Millerick, lining up with fellow regular Aron Sherriff, who has been with the side since BPL 15.
They were joined on the greens by debutant Matthew Baus, while local Kevin Anderson patrolled the sidelines as coach.
Kevin Anderson calls the powerplay for Moama.
The fast-paced BPL format saw the Steamers play 22 rounds of matches between Monday, October 27 and Friday, October 31, in the double round-robin competition, before negotiating a finals series between the top five sides.
Despite posting a losing for-and-against, Moama excelled in the fast-paced BPL format and, in an incredibly even tournament, scored the best record through the group stage, 14-8.
Kevin Anderson and Cassandra Millerick celebrate on the bench.
Facing up to the Perth Suns in their first finals contest, the Steamers were in a huge hole early, dropping the first set 12-0, but rebounded to take the second 7-4 and win the tiebreak to advance.
The Sydney Lions would oust the Suns in the preliminary final, setting up a record fourth grand final meeting the Steamers and Lions.
Cassandra Millerick rolls one down for the Steamers.
Sydney had claimed both round-robin meetings, and also took the first set, but Moama again showed the will to win and prevailed in a tiebreak to lift the BPL Cup for the fourth time, and the first since BPL 17 in 2023.
Joining the competition in its second ever edition, Moama now joins the Lions and Tweed Ospreys with four championships, while the Steamers stand alone with a record 14th finals appearance.
Cassandra Millerick and Aron Sherriff assess the green.
Moama and the Lions also extended their record for most grand final appearances to eight, the next best mark Moreton Bay with five.
Team member Aron Sherriff tied the individual record for most BPL wins (6) and stands alone with the most all-star appearances with five.
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