Bowls Australia has made some changes to the BPL that will include the addition of two new teams for the next four BPL championships. Geelong Jets and Sydney Saints are the 11th and 12th franchises, aiming to bring more talent to what is already an outstanding competition.
The Melbourne Pulse has won three championships from the past five events and played 154 matches on end. They have been the most stable team in the competition. Just four players have represented the Pulse, which joined the competition for BPL 10. The only change to the team sheet since 2020 was when Ellen Ryan married and changed her surname to Fife.
Ellen Ryan will take a one-event break from BPL20
But for BPL20, Ellen will take a “baby” break, and Gary Kelly and Barrie Lester will be joined by the in-form Victorian Samantha Atkinson. Sammy has recently joined the playing list at Dandenong Club. She has just returned from Europe with an Indoor singles semi-final appearance in the World Indoor Championships. She also won the mixed pairs title with the evergreen Ray Pearse. Her Victorian form has been first-class and joins the Pulse with a very sound year of bowls behind her.
Always up for a challenge, the Pulse will head to Pine Rivers chasing the Sydney and Tweed Head’s record of four championships.
Jeremy Henry remains the team’s coach. Plans are already in place to help Sammy get a feel for the other’s games. She and Gary Kelly, who was MVP in BPL19, have signed on to the Dandenong Club VBL team. They are likely to team up in the pairs events.
For more stats and facts on the Pulse check this linkhttps://dandenongclub.com.au/bpl/bpl-our-bpl-team/
