After a weekend of rain forced disruptions that had the majority of section play transferred to the Dunedin Lawns Bowls Stadium, the depth of international standard players in the ranks of New Zealand bowlers could not have been better emphasised than at the tournament.
With two losses and three wins in section play, Kelleher and Jeffcoat qualified third in their section to progress to the post-section playoff stage. From here they made the most of their opportunity, beating Robbie Bird and Kimberley Hemingway 11-10 late on Sunday evening.
A good night’s rest and it was straight down to business for the pair in their quarterfinal encounter, moving past the unbeaten pair of Brent McEwan and Tania Woodham 11-9.
But the best was yet to come for the pair as they eliminated defending champions and tournament favourites Keanu Darby and Tayla Bruce 15-14. The victory was secured when a measure went the way of Kelleher and Jeffcoat by half the width of a whisker.
On the other side of the draw and also having to play a post-section qualifier, Craig Merrilees and Clare Hendra saw off local favourites Roger and Bronwyn Stevens 16-11 at the quarterfinal stage before overcoming Aiden Takarua and Kerry Heffer in the semifinal 17-7.
Despite dropping seven shots on the first two ends of the final, Kelleher and Jeffcoat returned to the fight, picking up a four on the third end. But by picking up a three on the fourth end, Merrilees and Hendra leapt out to a 10-4 lead. But how quickly fortunes can change in the game of bowls, as Kelleher and Jeffcoat kept within striking distance and limited the scoring shots of their opponents.
Merrilees and Hendra clawed it back to 19-18 and had a real shot of victory on the final end.
An early four-shot advantage was dispatched and the drawing power of Jeffcoat secured a two-shot advantage. Merrilees went wide with his final two bowls to hand Kelleher and Jeffcoat a 21-18 victory and the prestigious tournament title.
"We had a job to do and we just did it," Kelleher said of the pair’s approach to the final hurdle.
Jeffcoat said despite dropping two games in section play they were close results and they knew they were always there or there abouts.
"We had fun. So it was cool," Kelleher said.
The refreshing aspect of Kelleher, 19, a butcher’s assistant at Pak’nSave, and Jeffcoat, 25, an events co-ordinator at Te Rapa Racecourse, is that their smiles on the green were infectious, and it was obvious to onlookers they were enjoying playing bowls at such a high level.
"It was tricky," Jeffcoat said of playing the final.
"We started out 7-nil down after two, which was not ideal. It was quite a tricky rink to play on compared to what we had already been on."
The pair were full of praise for the work of the greenkeeper, given the amount of rain that fell over the weekend.
"But we got a cheeky number, which probably wasn’t deserved, that lifted our confidence and we ended up getting there," Kelleher added.
Both Kelleher and Jeffcoat will now prepare as members of the national under-26 team for the Oceania Challenge next month. And both have already committed to returning next year to defend the North East Valley pairs title.
