Afford Loco v Stafford Pole @Locomotive, Longton. 22nd February 2013.

Stafford Pole started their Interleague Premier Division campaign with an away fixture against newly formed side Afford Loco. Ian Lewis (captain) gave debuts to new signings Alan Mason, Dan Goodwin and Mick Ferguson.

But Stafford got off to a poor start and were 3-0 down with Dave Baker, Chris Colley and Simon Key all losing, before Kev Brown won and steadied the ship. Duncan Sunderland suffered defeat but was unlucky with his position on his last ball. Stafford came back with debut wins for Alan Mason and Mick Ferguson which made the match 4-3 in Afford's favour. Paul Loughhead and Brendon Ruttledge then went on to try and turn the tie around but both fell short and lost to Affords more established players. That meant at the half way stage Stafford Pole were 6-3 down but still had a chance to get a result out of the match.

One change was made for the second half as Dan Goodwin came in for Colley, Ian Lewis (captain) and Phil McCintosh both sat this one out.

Under the watchful eye of the captain, the second half was similar to the first as Stafford lost two frames reasonably quickly through Key & Brown and found themselves 8-3 down. With a tough task now ahead, Baker got Stafford hopes up with a win that halved the deficit to 8-4. From then on it all went downhill as Dan Goodwin, Ruttledge, Loughhead, Sunderland, Ferguson and Mason lost the remaining six frames to make the final score 14-4 to Afford Loco.

Stafford Pole's next fixture is a tough match at home to Leek on March 15th and captain Ian is looking for his team to bounce back with a good result.

TT Players v Stafford A @Players, Newcastle under Lyme. 22nd February 2013.

Stafford A travelled to Players, Newcastle to play a strong TT Players side which consisted solely of County Players, both 'A' & 'B' standard. Dave Whitfield (capt) had virtually the same side that played in the 2012 season but welcomed a new addition in Simon W Davies. Martin Priestley was missing this time due to other commitments.

Dave Barker got Stafford off to a great start with a 'dish' in frame one. But, unfortunately missed chances by Giles Eastwood, Alan Sim, Mark Billingsley and Lee Whitehouse gave TT players a 4-1 lead. Mike Barker clawed a frame back with an excellent '8 ball clearance' and Gav Davies also helped himself to a 'dish' to make the scores 4-3 down. Mick Addison never got going in his frame and brave attempt by Whitfield saw him lose a close frame to see Stafford trail 6-3 at the halfway point.

In the 2nd half Dave Whitfield gave a debut to Simon Davies and also brought in Jim Simpson for both Eastwood & Addison.

Stafford needed to start strongly to have any chance of getting back into the match and Sim did just that and won to make it 6-4 down. Unfortunately, Billinsgley missed a great chance and suffered defeat to make it 7-4 to Players. Dave Barker continued his fine form with an excellent clearance to narrow the gap to 2 frames. However the next 3 frames proved costly to the Stafford team as S Davies, Simpson & Whitehouse all had great chances but unfortunately fell short at the critical part of the frames and so handed the match win to the hosts. Whitfield then miscued at an important part of his frame, going on to lose his frame, leaving the team trailing 11-5. Mike Barker restored some pride with a fine clearance but G Davies had less luck as he fell short and handed the last frame to Players and so make the score 12-6 to TT Players.

Stafford need to take their opportunites and showed glimpses on the night that they can match their opponents, especially 3 'dishes' to TT Players' none.

MOM goes to both Barkers as they led the way with their attacking pool play and 2 wins on the night.

Next up is a another away match at the Green Baize, Hanley against Afford B.

There are only TWO outstanding leagues fixtures.

These matches have to be played BEFORE the last Match of the season.

The teams in BOLD cancelled the original fixture

DIVISION ONE

WAGON REBELS v PERKINS VVV (20/1/2013) being played 12/5/2013 (double header)

BEAR & PHEASANT v RANGERS DOGS (3/2/2013) being played 19/5/2013 (double header)

Failure to come to any agreement will result in the Committee setting dates for the respective teams.

The Northside Rebels side have moved to the Waggon & Horses and will play under the name Waggon Rebels.

Stafford A have been awarded a place in this years National Intereague Finals. After narrowly losing a play off against Trent Trophies B (in a 3 man sudden play off). The Staffs County Pool Association have given Stafford A a chance to represent Staffordshire alongside Trent Trophies A (reigning National Champions), Afford, Afford Plaza, Cannock Chase & Trent Trophies B.

Stafford A will now travel to Great Yarmouth at the Vauxhall Holiday Park where there will be 96 teams from around the country playing for a total Prize Fund of £14,800. The draw has been made and Stafford have been placed in Group 14. They will play Nuneaton A (Warwickshire) and Rat Pack A (Hertfordshire). The latter has England player Neil Toms in their side and will be one of the pre tournament favourites.

This Event will be played on the weekend of the 13th & 14th April 2013 and will be led by Captain, Dave Whitfield. The squad is Mick Addison, Dave Barker, Mike Barker, Mark Billingsley, Shaun Cooper, Gavin Davies, Giles Eastwood, Martin Priestley, Alan Sim, Jim Simpson & Lee Whitehouse.

Northside Royal from the 2nd division are now playing from the Joiners Arms and will be known as Joiners Rebels.

The Penny Pots from the 2nd division have renamed themselves to The Penny Potters.

Perkins in the top division have changed their name to Perkins VVV.

Completed Result Cards can now be handed in at the Star & Garter along with the Joiners Arms.

Don't forget to make use of the online Result Card Entry Form in order to have your results posted on the website as early as possible. It's simple to use as the names of the players can be picked from a short list once the division and home/away teams are selected. It should be possible to use this form on most smart phones as well as tablets and PCs/laptops.

A Former Teams page has been added to the Teams menu option on the left-hand-side vertical menu. The link to League Teams on this menu has been renamed to Current Teams.

The Former Teams page lists all of the teams who have played in a previous season of the League (since Summer 2010). This allows you to then view all of the league statistics for any former teams who have since broken up, changed their name or moved location. The Current Teams page lists all of the teams who are playing in the current League season.

The Staffs Open 2013 will take place at Players Pool Club in Newcastle on Saturday 5th January. It costs £25 to enter but any local player that pays before the 1st January will receive a £5 discount.

The confirmed County Trial dates are as follows:

Men Sunday January 13th, 11am, registration at Players

Ladies Sunday 16th December, 11am, registration at Players

Juniors Sunday January 13th, 11am, registration at Players

Seniors Sunday 20th January, Venue TBA

Nesbitt Arms have dropped out of the 3rd division. This division is now down to 11 teams so there will be one bye per week.

LEAGUE ANNOUNCEMENT

The recent news about Rileys, Stafford closing has caused teams to change venues. SEVEN teams - 3 in the 1st div, 3 in the 2nd div & 1 in the 3rd are in the process of finding new homes.

Rileys C (1st div) will now be playing from PERKINS SPORTS & SOCIAL CLUB and will be known as PERKINS.

Rileys Cue (1st div) will now be playing from PERKINS SPORTS & SOCIAL CLUB and will be known as PERKINS CUE.

Rileys Dogs (1st div) will now be playing from STAFFORD RANGERS SOCIAL CLUB and will be known as RANGERS DOGS.

Rileys Cue T's (2nd div) will now be playing from the LUCKPENNY and will be known as THE PENNY POTS.

Rileys Garters (2nd div) will now be playing from the LUCKPENNY and will be known as LUCKPENNY GARTERS.

Rileys (2nd div) will now be playing from the MORRISMAN and will be known as MORRISMAN

Rileys F (3rd div) will now be playing from the WESTWAY and will be known as WESTWAY 

DROP OFF POINT is JOINERS ARMS plus another venue is still to be confirmed.

Any other queries then contact Dave Whitfield for more information.

REVISED WINTER LEAGUE FIXTURES 2012/13

All captains please read the following information-

Due to TWO teams dropping out - JOINERS ARMS A (Division ONE) and STAR & GARTER B (Division TWO), the League Committee have decided to reorganise the Winter league Fixtures in ALL THREE DIVISIONS.

The reason for this change is to eliminate the amount of byes which have increased due to the withdrawal of the ABOVE mentioned teams. However due to teams turning up and playing in the first 3 weeks, those results will stand. When the new fixture list comes out (week commencing 12/11/12), please observe that those games will be dated on different dates. These games are complete and so treat these games as FREE WEEKS. The new Fixtures will commence on Sunday 18th November 2012 and so, at this point, the old Fixture List must be destroyed. Averages will be updated after this date as the original fixtures/results in the database will need to be replaced due to the changes in the Fixtures.

This call for action will benefit the league as it will leave only ONE bye in one division (Div 2) and result in the League completing 2 weeks earlier. Any queries/information please contact the relevant League Officers.

AFFORD BAIZE v STAFFORD A

9th November 2012. Played at Green Baize, Hanley.

Stafford A travelled to Hanley in search of a win to ensure promotion and the Premier League Title. Team Captain, Dave Whitfield, returned to the side along with Mick Addison & Martin Priestley who all missed the 14-4 victory over Stone. Jim Simpson (holiday) was the only absentee.

Stafford A started strongly with both Mark Billingsley and Gavin Davies winning their games with little difficulty as their opponents struggled to make any impact in the frames. Dave Barker made it 3-0 with a fine clearance and it continued with Giles Eastwood showing his experience and composure to make it 4-0 to the Stafford lads. Lee Whitehouse was up against it in his frame with his opponent looking as though he was going to clear the table. However he missed the black ball and let Whitehouse back in and he showed the composure needed as he cleared up to make it 5-0. Alan Sim was next on and he was also in bit of trouble as his opponent made it difficult, covering pockets thus stifling his chances. A mistake was then made by his opponent and Sim seized the opportunity going on to pot the black and make it 6-0. Mike Barker continued in the next frame as he made light work of clearing the table to make it an impressive 7-0 lead. Sean Alldritt was drawn against the league's leading average player but it proved to be a close frame. Unfortunately, for Alldritt, the balls didnt land favourably and he handed his opponent a chance to pot the black. That made the score 7-1 and suddenly on the other table they made it 7-2 as Mick Addison missed his opportunity and saw his opponent pull off a fine clearance.

The second half of the match saw Dave Whitfield replace Alldritt while Martin Priestley replaced Addison. Dave Barker and Giles Eastwood got Stafford A back on the winning track with 2 polished performances to put Stafford 9-2 up but then Afford hit back to win their 3rd frame of the night. Enter Billingsley and he showed what a strong potter he is as he broke and went for the clearance. things were looking good until he then snookered himself on the black. He then played a back double and cut the black into the corner to win the match for Stafford and along with it the Premier League Title. A great way to win it! Martin Priestley was on next and he appeared to be in a bit of trouble but a mistake by his opponent let him in and took his chance to make it 11-3. Dave Whitfield then continued the fine form from the Stafford lads as he took no time in completing another win to take it to 12-3. Lee Whitehouse unfortunately had to stand and watch his opponent break and dish to make the scores 12-4 and then Alan Sim missed an all important double on the black to hand the frame to his opposite player. Then Mike Barker finished off the game with a fine break-and-dish to finish the match with 13-5 final score.

A great result from Stafford A which now means they will be in the SCPA Elite division. All 13 players who have represented the team this year must take great pride in their achievement but now must focus on the play-off for Yarmouth against the 4th placed team from the Elite division (still TBC).

MOM goes to Mark Billingsley with his 2 wins (incl a 'dish'). Dave Barker, Giles Eastwood & Mike Barker also picked up doubles on the night.    

STAFFORD A v STONE

Played on Friday 26th October 2012 @Rileys, Stafford.

Stafford A took a big step towards securing promotion back to the top division after a 14-4 defeat over a depleted Stone team that could only field 7 players.

Only Shergold for Stone prevented a clean sweep in the first half of the match as Al Sim, Sean Aldritt, Lee Whitehouse, Mike Barker, Mark Billingsley and Dave Barker all claimed victories in their frames. The addition of the 2 claims against the byes left Stafford sitting on a very comfortable 8-1 lead at the half-way stage.

Some resistance from the away team after the interval, including two break and dishes, gave some respectability to the final score as Al Sim, Mike Barker, Jim Simpson and Gav Davies delivered frames wins for the Stafford side.

The defeat of Afford Plaza by Burslem on the same night gives Stafford A some breathing space at the top of the Premier Division as the lead over 2nd place is now stretched to 3 points with only two fixtures remaining.

Meanwhile, Stafford Pole had to settle for a 9-9 draw at TT Baize as opportunities to win the tie were not siezed.

The next matches for our two sides are re-arranged games. Stafford A travel to Afford Baize whilst Stafford Pole host Burslem. Both fixtures to be played on Friday 9th November.