1. Anthony Gray
Club: Castlefields
Qualifier: Beat Jon Lyttle 12 at Monkmoor
Anthony is a very experienced player, having played at a number of clubs in Shrewsbury, including Ford in the Premier League. He has recently moved to Castlefields where he is a key member of the Tanners team and has played a couple of games for them in the Premier League when needed.
2. David Lloyd
Club: Sir John Bayley
Qualifier: Beat Phil Jones 12 at Edgmond
Dave has matured from his talents at a young age that saw him be a key member of the Shropshire Junior team and winning individual titles on the Junior stage, including some good wins on this green at Sinclair. He went to Bowring to play in the Premier League there, then moving over to Newport and now at Sir John Bayley. Has won the Junior Midland Masters coming through a talented field, so knows how to win a 32 strong competition.
3. Paul Williams
Club: Castlefields
Qualifier: Beat Pete Nicholls at Bayston Hill
Paul has been close a number of times to this competition but a Semi Final is his best so far, going on to represent Shropshire at the All England a few times. The left hander has won the Meole Open and the County Handicap twice, so knows how to win a big competition in this county. A stalwart of Castlefields, helping them win everything there is in the gap over a number of years.
4. Chris Worthington
Club: Sir John Bayley
Qualifier: Beat Michael Cooper 11 at Allscott
Chris has been an important part of the Bayley over the last few years, maturing into a solid county player also, including some fine wins away over players like Glynn Cookson. He captains the Bayley this season but that hasn’t affected his ability to win, having won 8 out of 11 so far.
5. John Clarke
Club: Wrockwardine Wood
Qualifier: Beat Stuart Clee at Edgmond
John is a very experienced player who will know Sinclair well from over his years in the Mid Shropshire League. He has been a stalwart at Wrockwardine Wood, playing in the Premier League when they entered but more recently moving over to the Mid Shropshire team.
6. Andy Judson
Club: Castlefields
Qualifier: Beat Will Tarrell 5 at Monkmoor
Andy doesn’t play as many competitions as he did before but still has plenty of experience and know how to go far in this. He has become an established player at Castlefields over the years, and finished top 3 of the Premier League Averages last season.
7. Josh Warner
Club: Wem USC
Qualifier: Beat Wayne Rogers 20 at District
Josh caused one of the shocks of the qualifiers by defeating former winner Wayne Rogers at District 20 to get through. He had a season in the Premier League for Wem USC last season, but has played in the Tanners and Whitchurch leagues for them this season.
8. Rob Burroughs
Club: Highley
Qualifier: Beat Josh Cotton 6 at Allscott
Rob has come back to the games after a few years out, having took part in many competitions before and winning the Premier League Averages back in 2015. He has signed for Highley this season and has played a few games for them this season, as well as games in other leagues for Hadley USC and Sir John Bayley.
9. Mark Shore
Club: Hanwood
Qualifier: Beat Mark Thomas on Bayston Hill
Mark is a very experienced campaigner, and will know a bit about the Sinclair green having grown up in Telford before moving to Hanwood, where he was a key part of them getting back into the Premier League. He will hope he isn’t too rusty in these finals having just come back from three weeks in the Rockies!
10. Josh Bradburn
Club: St Georges
Qualifier: Beat Joe Killen 19 at Allscott
Josh is another talented youngster who has matured into a good player. He grew up at Donnington Wood before moving to Bowring and helping them into the Premier League. He then moved to Newport before now settling at St Georges after the birth of his first child, having missed playing last season.
11. Adam Jones
Club: Castlefields
Qualifier: Beat Will Tyler at Bayston Hill
Adam has grown up at Castlefields and established himself as one of their key players, now being joint captain there. He has already inspired them to the Alan Mayhew Trophy, so will be hoping that he can inspire himself today to make the breakthrough on the county competition scene.
12. Steve Downs
Club: Wrockwardine Wood
Qualifier: Beat Simon Oldcorn 15 at Edgmond
Steve played at Donnington Wood in the Premier League in 2005, before moving to Coddon before they folded, and then has now settled at Wrockwardine Wood and becoming a key part of their Mid Shropshire side over the years.
13. Rich Goddard
Club: Castlefields
Qualifier: Beat Doug Edwards at Bayston Hill
Rich is a former two winner of this event, back in 2003 and 2014, as well as many other competitions up and down the country. He is a club legend for Castlefields, having won everything there with them over the last 30 years and more.
14. Dan Taylor
Club: Wrockwardine Wood
Qualifier: Beat Jamie Brookes 20 at Joules
Dan is a former Staffordshire Merit winner in 2016, so knows how to win a Merit competition. Now settled in Shropshire, he is a key player at Wrockwardine Wood in their Premier League side, and could become the first player to win the Shropshire Merit as well as another Merit.
15. Dave Redge
Club: Meole Brace
Qualifier: Beat Kevin Price 14 at Monkmoor
Dave made the move over from Prince of Wales to Meole Brace to play Premier League bowls and hasn’t looked back since, becoming a solid player for them over the years. He is also playing at Hanwood in their Wem League team.
16. Charlie Weaver
Club: Woore
Qualifier: Beat Jamie King 15 at District
Charlie won this competition back in 2001 at Cravern Arms, and despite having stopped playing Premier League bowls a number of years ago, still plays at Woore in the Whitchurch League and is still a top class player.
