Manning River Times-Iguana Sportstar of the Week
Warren Cocksedge – bowls
A DOMINATING display in the singles at the NSW Police Bowls Championships has earned Warren Cocksedge a berth in the State team to play in the Australian titles at Swan Hill next May.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Cocksedge won the singles and was also a member of the victorious fours team. He was made the semi-finals of the pairs with Troy Hardie.
Cocksedge is the Manning River Times-Iguana Sportstar of the Week which carries a $50 open order at Iguana. He was nominated by Taree Leagues Men’s Bowling Club.
Cocksedge won seven matches to claim the singles crown. A field of 100 contested the event.
He had a tight contest in his third match against Geoff Williams on the way to taking out his section. Cocksedge played Trevor Gregory from South Australia in the final on a quick green at Tuncurry. This started badly, with Cocksedge dropping a three on the first end. However, he soon gathered in Gregory and went on to score a commanding 25-7 victory. While he led for the winning fours side, he was also pleased with his effort in the pairs, where he teamed with Hardie, a relatively new bowler. Here they bowed out in the semis when beaten by current Taree police officer Tony Hinton and a former local, John Gibson.
Cocksedge has enjoyed a successful year, having also won the major singles at Leagues while he skipped a team in the club’s Zone 11 champion No 3 pennant side. Last weekend Cocksedge made the semi-finals of the zone champion of champion singles tournament played at Leagues.
Consistency, he maintains, is the key to bowls.
“And I also practice about as much as anyone,’’ he added.
The high quality of the greens at Taree Leagues are also conducive to playing good bowls, he added.
Aged 55, Cocksedge started playing bowls in 1997 when stationed at Bellbrook, west of Kempsey. It was suggested he’d enjoy the game so he had a roll at a barefoot bowls night at Smithtown. He was hooked from the first bowl he sent down.
“I was playing a bit of golf at the time, but I gave that away,’’ he said.
Cocksedge moved to this area with his family seven years ago and joined the Manning Point club, shifting to Leagues in 2014.
His club singles win at Leagues was his second following a victory at Smithtown. Now he’ll look to build for the Australian Police Championships next May. He expects to play the singles and is happy to bowl wherever required in the team events.
Cocksedge has been playing sport all his life, starting with rugby league. He enjoys the camaraderie and competition bowls provides as well as the skill level required to be successful.
