THE grand finals of Northern Interclub Snooker were conducted at the Works Club last week, with close games and lots of tension, controversial decisions, and some good and bad luck, all providing great competition.

In A grade snooker, a year of uncertainty for Exeter RSL Club was given a positive twist on Thursday night with its A grade snooker team winning the 2010 grand final by downing Works Black 3-1 in the final. 

The opening match was between Blacks' David Bates, who won this year's most consistent player, and conceded 54 points start to Exeter's Adam Bindoff. Bates showed all his class to easily win 2-0, scoring over 90 points in each frame. On the other table, Exeter's Rex Swain (16) and Blacks' Bruce Lockley (26) were closely matched, Swain winning the first frame, Lockley the second. The third frame resulted in a rare tied score, with a re- spotted black seeing the match go to Swain. 

The final was tied up at one match each. 

The third match decided was between Exeter's Gary Bakker (30) and Andrew Saltmarsh (28). Two close frames went one each with Bakker steadying in the final frame to give Exeter a 2-1 lead. 

The final match between Exeter's Ben Swain (24) and Peter Wallace (42) for Black, became an epic, lasting two hours and with all the tension expected of a grand final. Wallace won the first frame, aided by a perfect snooker, effecting the foul and miss rule. Swain won the second frame. The third was very close decided on the blue and pink when Peter Wallace potted the blue and went in off, then fouled three times on the pink to hand the frame and match to Exeter. 

In A Reserve, Works Amber have won the 2010 A reserve snooker championship, defeating Works Navy 7-4 in a very close final dominated by black ball games.

In the first round of matches, Amber's Ivor OConnor won 2-0 against Navy's Alan Legg, Tacey Saltmarsh lost 2-0 to John Fordham in two very close frames, John Saggers and Craig Jory won one frame each. 

In the second round of matches Ambers Adam Gurr won his first frame against Brian OByrne while Peter Grimes lost his first frame to Navy's Steve Collins but came good in the second frame. David Bushby won both frames against Ray Skinner, the second frame coming from behind to win on the black. 

COMING UP:

Gourlay Shield at Ulverstone RSL club this weekend. 

Northern team - Billiards: David Bates and Kieth Coomber. Snooker: Peter Donati, Gary Bijone-Elliott, Roydyn Bishop, Robin McEnnulty, Rex Swain and Trevor Leary. 

The 2010-11 billiards roster starts on October 12.

THE preliminary finals of Northern interclub snooker provided surprise results with both A grade and A reserve ladder leaders being eliminated.

In A grade snooker, Exeter RSL won through to the grand final with a tense 3-1 win over Launceston RSL. Exeter's captain Rex Swain (16) led the way with a 2-0 win against Paul Zoon (32) while Launceston's David Shepherd (28) levelled the scores with a 2-0 win over Exeter's Gary Bakker (30). 

The second round of matches saw Exeter's Ben Swain off 24 pitted against former state champion Roydyn Bishop off a handicap of two. Swain won the first, Bishop levelled in the second, in the deciding frame the handicap proved too much and Swain put Exeter 2-1 up. 

In the final match Launceston's captain Robin McEnnulty (10) conceded a 26-point start to Exeter's Adam Bindoff (36), one of the competition's most improved players. Bindoff, with the aid of a 21 break, won the first frame. McEnnulty won the second and set up a very tense final frame to decide the result. In a frame that could have gone either way, Bindoff finally potted the pink to win a thriller. 

This week's grand final is between defending premiers Works Black and Exeter RSL. The match will be played at the Works Club, Elizabeth Street, at 7pm on Thursday. 

In A reserve, Works Green has led the way all season, winning the minor premiership by a whopping 31 points. But on Wednesday night the side went down 4-7 to Works Navy and bowed out of the final series. 

In the first round of three matches, Navy's veteran Alan Legg was too strong for Lee Morcom winning 2-0, while Brian O'Byrne and Steve Collins, for Navy, drew with Green's George Zammitt and Rohan Phelps respectively to give the Navy team a 4-2 lead. In the second round of matches Navy's Darryl Fox drew with Green's Glen Johansen while John Fordham, for Navy, secured the victory, winning both frames against David Thomas. 

This week's A reserve grand final is a match between two Works teams, Amber and Navy. 

The match will be played at the Works Club, Elizabeth Street, from 7pm tomorrow. 

Player in profile

David Bates, of Works Black, formerly from Victoria, and originally better known as a billiard player, has won this year's A grade consistency trophy by winning 28 frames from 41 played, a 68 per cent result. 

In the process Bates has reduced his handicap from zero to minus 18, which means in this week's grand final he will concede between a 34 and 54 point start per frame, depending on which Exeter RSL player he draws. 

The 2010-11 billiards roster starts on October 12. Team nominations close on October 2.

DEFENDING premier Works Black sailed into the Northern A-grade snooker grand final with a comfortable 3-1 win over minor premier Launceston RSL on Thursday night.

The first two matches went to Black with Andrew Saltmarsh (28) defeating David Shepherd (28) 2-0 and Bruce Lockley (26) winning over Paul Zoon (32) 2-0. Roydyn Bishop (2) drew one back for RSL beating David Bates (-18) 2-0 but Blacks Peter Wallace (42) secured a spot in the grand final with a 2-0 win over Robin McEnnulty (10). 

Exeter RSL won a close elimination semi-final over Works Blue, with two key black ball frames going Exeter's way. 

Ben Swain (24) fought out a very tight battle with the luckless John Stevenson (36) to win on the black ball in the third frame. Blues Hans Georgieff (40), known as the Grinder came back from one frame down to win 2-1 over Adam Bindoff (36). 

Exeter's Gary Bakker showed a return to form with some consistent snooker to win 2-0 against Rolf Stevenson. With Exeter leading 2-1 the final match between Exeter's Rex Swain (16) and Blues Peter Donati (8) would decide the semi-final. 

Donati cruised through the first frame with a break of 40, Swain won a dour second frame and clinched the match by potting the final colours to win on the black in the third frame. Other breaks were Hans Georgieff 21, Adam Bindoff 22, Rex Swain 22 

This week Launceston RSL versus Exeter RSL in the preliminary final the winner playing Black for this year's flag. The match is played at the RSL club, Wellington Street, at 7pm Thursday. 

In A Reserve, Works Amber progressed to grand final with an upset 7-4 win over minor premier Works Green. 

Tracey Saltmarsh was again the standout player winning both frames against Andrew Thomas. 

John Saggers drew with Glen Johansen, David Bushby drew with Lee Marcom, Ivor O'Connor drew with George Zammit, Adam Gurr drew with Jemma Sampson. 

Peter Grimes was one up over David Thomas when the match was declared. 

With captain Barry Glover holidaying in Fiji and Keith Coomber out of the state, Works Red bowed out to Works Navy, going down 4-8. For Navy John Fordham won 2-0 against Phil Rowbottom, and Craig Jory won his match against Steve Andjelkovic 2-0, the last frame just a formality. 

Darrel Fox drew with Bob Cain, Alan Legg drew with Ray Smith, Brian OByrne drew with Peter Seaman and Steven Collins drew with Alan Armitage. 

This week's preliminary final is Green versus Navy on tonight at Works. The winner goes through to the grand final against Amber. 

1980 reunion plans

ARRANGEMENTS are well under way for the reunion of the 1980 World Snooker Championship held at the Albert Hall in Launceston. 

Jimmy (Whirlwind) White beat Ron Atkins in the final 30 years ago. 

A dinner will be held at the Works Club on Saturday, November 6, to commemorate the event, with Jimmy White appearing live on Skype. 

For further information call 0408132699 or inquire at the Works Club, Elizabeth Street, Launceston. 

For more information go to the cue sport website www.nteba.com.au or call the secretary on 0419113528.

HOBART'S Les Higgins has successfully defended his Tasmanian snooker championship title, which was played at the Burnie Club over the weekend.

Higgins defeated Launceston's Graeme Pickett 7-1 in the final. 

The win takes Higgins to 16 Tasmanian snooker championship wins, equalling the number of titles won by Launceston legend Ron Atkins, and takes his total number of Tasmanian championships to a staggering 35, including 19 billiards championships. 

Higgins beat Brian Cole, of Burnie, 5-0 and Pickett beat Hobart's Greg Watt, 5-1, in their respective semi- finals. 

In a double blow for the North, Gary Bjarnoe-Elliott lost the consolation plat to Luke Webb, of Hobart, 3-2. Webb is considered by most to be a contender for the championship in future years. 

Greg Watt made the highest break with clearance of 85. Full results are on the TBSA website. 

It has been a year where the Higgins name, and snooker has made headlines around the world, with the death of Ireland's notorious Alex (Hurricane) Higgins and the suspension of world number one, Scotland's John Higgins, for suspected match-fixing, meanwhile, Tasmania's Les Higgins continues a brilliant career, having won the 1981 Australian junior championship, followed by three Australian under-23 championships in succession. 

Higgins won the 1994 Oceania billiards championship at Pukukoe, New Zealand, and was runner-up in the Oceania snooker championship the same year. 

In 1995 he won the Oceania snooker championship in Sydney. At just 46 years of age he has plenty yet to come. 

Northern finals 

IN the Northern A grade snooker competition, Works Black and Exeter played out an epic qualifying final. 

The Swain boys got Exeter off to a good start, Ben Swain beat Rodney Martin 2-0 and Rex won 2-1 against David Bates. Black's Bruce Lockley was too strong for Gary Bakker winning 2-0, with the result then hinging on the battle between Black's Peter Wallace and Adam Bindoff, of Exeter. 

Both known for their calculating play the first frame took 63 minutes, won by Bindoff, however, Wallace steadied to take the next two frames and force a play-off, which Black won 3-0. 

Works Blue ended the Devils run beating them 3-1. Peter Donati beat Heath Rainbow 2-0, John Stevenson was a winner over Wally Sully 2-1 and Rolf Stevenson beat Josh Rainbow 2-0. 

Devils' Andrew Rainbow beat Michael Leslie 2-0. 

This week Launceston RSL v Black, in the second semi-final, at RSL, Exeter v Blue in the knockout semi- final at Exeter. 

In A Reserve, Works Amber progressed to the second semi-final with a resounding 7-2 win over Works Red. Tracey Saltmarsh and John Saggers both won 2-0 for Amber. 

Navy will continue its finals campaign having defeated Exeter 7-5, in the elimination final, Craig Jory and Alan Legg were winners for Navy, Chris Reid was Exeter's only winner. 

In this week's semi-finals Green plays Amber, with the winner going through to the grand final while Navy plays Red, in the knockout semi, both at the Works Club tonight. 

For more information go to the cue sport website, www.nteba.com.au or call the secretary on 0419113528.

Launceston RSL clinched top spot on the Northern A grade snooker ladder with a 2-2 draw against Exeter RSL this week.

Harley Stebbings and Paul Zoon both won 2-0 for Launceston, Adam Bindoff 2-0 and Gary Bakker 2-1, won for Exeter. 

Black held on to second place after drawing 2-2 with Gold. For Black, David Bates 2-0 and Rodney Martin 2-1 won for Black, Bob Woods 2-0 and Steve Leary 2-1 won for Gold. 

Devils finished fourth, winning 4-0 against Blue, Heath, Josh and Andrew Rainbow as well as Wally Sully all won for the Devils. 

In the match between Peter Donati and Heath Rainbow, having given 34 points start, Donati was on a break of 55 needing the black to win the frame with a 62 clearance, however, he missed the black and lost the frame. 

The A grade ladder, at the end of the home-and-away series is, Launceston RSL 46, Black 44, Exeter RSL 44, Devils 42, Blue 34, Gold 30. 

This week Black takes on Exeter in a qualifying final, with the winner playing Launceston RSL, in next week's semi-final. 

Devils play Blue with the winner advancing to the knockout semi-final and the loser is eliminated. 

Both matches are played at the Workers Club on Thursday night. 

Bates a winner 

DAVID Bates, of Black, has won the A grade consistency trophy with 68.29 per cent from Andrew Rainbow, of Devils, on 60.97 per cent and Roydyn Bishop, of Launceston RSL, on 60.46 per cent. 

This week's highest break Peter Donati 55.

Green tops reserve 

IN the A reserve competition, Green finished the roster 31 points clear of the second team, recording an 8-4 win over Amber. 

Andrew Thomas and Jenna Sampson were winners for Green. 

Exeter RSL beat Longford RSL 7-5, Lloyd Rogers and John Adams both won for Exeter, Greg Williams won for Longford. 

Red and Navy played a 6-6 draw. 

Keith Coomber won for Red, Brian O'Byrne was Navy's winner. 

The A reserve ladder at the end of the home-and-away series is: Green 171, Red 140, Amber 137, Exeter 135, Navy 132, Longford RSL 124. 

Best break this week Peter Fraser with 36. 

This week's qualifying final will see Red against Amber at Works, the winner to play Green. Exeter plays Navy, at Exeter RSL, in the elimination final. 

David Thomas (Green) wins the consistency trophy from Alan Armitage (Red). 

Saggers takes title 

JOHN Saggers has won the Northern B grade snooker championship after defeating Dean Wilson 3-1 in Saturday's final. 

State snooker titles 

THE draw for the finals of the Tasmanian snooker championship to be played at the Burnie club over the coming weekend is: 

Quarter-finals (best of 7): 10.30am Brian Cole (Penguin) v Gerrad Wicks (Latrobe), 10.30am Les Higgins (Hobart) v Bob Boutcher (Devonport), followed by Gregg Watt (Hobart) v Gary Bjarnoe-Elliott (Launceston), Graeme Pickett (Launceston) v Luke Webb (Hobart). 

Semi-finals (best of nine frames): 5.30pm Saturday evening. 

Sunday, 11am: Tasmanian snooker championship final. Best of 13 frames. 

For more information go to the cue sport website, www.nteba.com.au or call the secretary on 0419113528.

A CROWD of 120 people attended the Northern eightball finals at the Launceston Workers Club on Saturday. 

Perth Hotel was going for three successive premier league grand final wins.

However, after claiming the first game of the night they had to watch the Commercial Hotel win the next seven and run out champions 9-3. 

The finals in divisions 1 and 2 both went down to the last frame, with the LWC green team winning 8-7 against Mowbray and the LWC Warriors defeating the LWC Rangers. 

The summer eightball roster will start on Tuesday, October 12. 

Snooker action 

IN A grade snooker, reigning premier Works Black has shown it is well in the running for back-to-back titles by downing ladder leader Launceston RSL, with straight Peter Wallace, Rodney Martin and Bruce Lockley all winning 2-1. David Bates won on forfeit. 

Exeter RSL also kept its chances alive with a 3-1 win over the Blue team. Adam Bindoff, Ben Swain and Rex Swain all won 2-0, while Rolf Stevenson won 2-0 for Blue. 

Devils maintained fourth spot drawing 2-2 with Gold, Andrew and Heath Rainbow won 2-0 for the Devils. Gary Bjarnoe-Elliott and Steve Leary won 2-0 for Gold. 

The A grade ladder, with one round remaining is: Launceston RSL 44, Black 42, Exeter RSL 42, Devils 38, Blue 34, Gold 28, 

The consistency trophy in both grades is decided on the percentage of frames won to frames played. To qualify for the trophy a player must have played at least two thirds of matches or 14 of the 20 matches available. 

David Bates (Black) with 66.67 per cent leads from Roydyn Bishop (Launceston RSL) 60.46 per cent and Robin McEnnulty (Launceston RSL) on 59.45 per cent. 

In A Reserve results, Green beat Navy 7-5. David Thomas and George Zammit both won 2-0, John Fordham won 2-0 for navy. Amber beat Exeter 8-4. Tracey Saltmarsh, Ivor O'Connor, Peter Grimes and Damien Bushby were all winners for Amber, while John Adams and Derek Peart won for Exeter. 

Longford RSL kept its slim finals chance alive beating Red 8-4. Greg Williams and Wayne Purdon were winners for Longford. 

The A reserve ladder with one round remaining is: Green 161, Red 133, Amber 133, Exeter 127, Navy 125, Longford RSL 119. 

David Thomas (Green) leads the consistency on 66.67 per cent from Alan Armitage (Red) 59.37 per cent 

State titles

Eight players have qualified for the knockout section of the Tasmanian snooker championship at the Burnie Club on September 11-12. 

Northern players Graeme Pickett and Gary Bjarnoe-Elliott made the cut, as did defending champion Les Higgins. Gregg Watt and Luke Webb from South and North-West players Brian Cole, Gerrad Wicks and Bob Boucher also made the finals.

WITH just two weeks left in the Northern interclub snooker roster, the A Reserve competition ladder is hotting up, with all six teams still a chance to play in the finals.

Works Green will finish minor premiers, but just 20 points separate second and last place. 

Longford RSL is most likely to finish with the wooden spoon. 

In A Reserve results, Red won 7-5 against Amber. 

Alan Armitage, Keith Coomber and Steve Andjelkovic won for the Red team, Damien Bushby and Peter Grimes winning for Amber. 

Exeter drew 6-6 with Green, Lloyd Rogers won for Exeter, Dean Wilson won for Green. Navy and Longford also played a draw. 

Craig Jory won for Navy, Wayne Purdon winning for Longford. 

A-RESERVE LADDER: Green 152, Red 129, Amber 123, Exeter 123, Navy 120, Longford RSL 109. 

RSL victory 

IN A grade snooker, Launceston RSL, the ladder leaders, beat bottom team Gold 3-1, with Roydyn Bishop 2-1, Paul Zoon 2-0 and Terry Adams 2-0 recording wins. 

Steven Leary won 2-0 for Gold. 

The Devils were far too strong for Exeter. Wally Sully 2-1, Josh Rainbow 2-1, Heath Rainbow 2-0 and Scott Kopriva 2-1 completed a clean sweep winning four nil. 

Blue and Black played out a draw. David Bates 2-1 and Peter Wallace 2-0 won for Black, Brothers Rolf and John Stevenson both won 2-1 for the Blue team. 

A-GRADE LADDER: Launceston RSL 44, Exeter RSL 38, Black 38, Devils 36, Blue 34, Gold 28, 

Top win

KEITH Coomber won the A reserve snooker championship at the weekend defeating Lee Morcom 4/0 in the final. 

Coomber beat Andrew Rainbow 4/2 in his semi-final, Morcom beat Paul Zoon 4/0 in the other semi. Full results on the web. 

Finals 

SATURDAY sees the Northern Tasmanian 8ball Association hold finals for premier league, division 1 and division 2 at the Launceston Workers Club starting at 6pm. 

The night will start with a special presentation for the premier league with the inaugural David and Sharon Smart memorial shield for the most consistent player in premier league. All players and spectators are welcome to attend the night starting at 6pm and concluding at about 10.30pm 

For more information go to the cue sport website, www.nteba.com.au or call the secretary on 0419113528

THE Rainbows found a pot of gold last week, their team the Devils beating Launceston RSL 3-1 to move back into the Northern snooker interclub four.

Josh Rainbow, the competition's youngest player at 15, won 2-1, while his older brother Andrew, 17, won 2-0. Their father Heath won 2-1. 

Roydyn Bishop (2-0) was RSL's only winner. 

With just three weeks left in the A-grade roster, competition for ladder positions is hotting up, with all six teams still a chance to play in the finals. 

Exeter RSL beat Black 4-0 to leapfrog them into second spot, while Blue and Gold drew 2-2, with both teams still in the running. 

For Exeter RSL, Adam Bindoff 2-1, Garry Bakker 2-1, Rex Swain 2-0 and Derek Peart 2-1 were all winners in a very close match, with two games decided on the black in the third frame. 

Brothers Rolf 2-1 and John Stevenson 2-1 won for Blue, while for Gold, Steven Leary 2-0 and John Fraser 2-1 were winners. 

A-GRADE LADDER: (after 17 rounds) 

Launceston RSL 40, Exeter RSL 38, Black 36, Devils 32, Blue 32, Gold 26. 

Exeter victory

IN A Reserve, Exeter RSL won 8-4 against Navy and moved back into the four at Navy's expense. Chris Reid and Greg Reid were Exeter's winners. Amber beat Longford RSL 7-5. Damien Bushby and John Saggers both won 2-0 for Amber and Dennis Collins won for Longford. 

Green drew with Red 6-6, with all players winning one and losing one frame each. 

A RESERVE LADDER: Green 145, Red 120, Amber 118, Exeter 116, Navy 113, Longford RSL 102. 

North's shield 

THE John Hanson Shield, played in honour of the late 1981 Tasmanian snooker champion, was played at the Claremont RSL last weekend. 

North took the shield, winning 20 matches against 12 matches lost. 

North-West won 14 and lost 18, while South won 14 and lost 18. 

Although the North won by six matches, the tournament went down to the line, with the Northern team winning all of the last four matches to clinch victory. 

Best-performed Northern players were Andrew Saltmarsh, Keith Coomber, Rolf Stevenson and Andrew Rainbow in snooker, and Lee Morcom in billiards, all of whom won three matches out of four played. 

Finals time 

THIS week the J. Boag & Son eightball finals get under way with first and second semi-finals in the three divisions, played at various hotels and clubs in Launceston. 

The Premier league second semi-final sees Perth Hotel take on the Commercial at the LWC. In the first semi Duke of Wellington will play LWC Flaming Devils at the Duke. 

In division 1 Mowbray hosts the LWC Scorpions team and the other final is between Sunny Hill and LWC Green at Sunny Hill. 

Division 2 sees LWC Rangers playing LWC Warriors and in the first semi-final Sunny Hill Red plays Sunny Hill Delinquents. 

Grand finals will be played on Saturday, August 28, at the LWC starting at 6pm with all players and spectators welcome to attend.

IT IS almost 30 years since a young cockney upstart from London came to Launceston to play in the world amateur snooker championships.

Jimmy "Whirlwind" White, a tearaway 18-year-old, had to be given special permission by British officials to make the trip to Tasmania. 

The world titles were held at the Albert Hall in Launceston and White progressed through the tournament and played Tasmanian legend Ron Atkins in the final. 

White won the final 11-1, immediately turned professional and went on to become one of the most successful players in the history of the game. 

Atkins, 73, still has fond memories of the 1980 world titles despite the lopsided score in the final. 

"I would have to say it was the proudest moment of my life," he said. 

Atkins was president of the Tasmanian Billiards and Snooker Association at the time, and behind-the-scenes preparation of the Albert Hall was the focus of his attention rather than playing in the tournament. 

"I was originally second emergency and hadn't had a cue in my hand for two or three months," he said. 

After a couple of players pulled out, the opportunity was there for Atkins to play, but still he was more content to ensure the world titles went ahead without a hitch. 

"One of the officials said that I would regret it if I didn't take the opportunity, and as the tournament progressed I played myself into form and got through to the final." 

Atkins said the world championship event was only the second to come to Tasmania at the time, following the world chopping championships held on the North-West a couple of years earlier. 

"A number of other states wanted it and we had to put our case," he said. 

"I had played in two world championships previously and knew what was required ... and the other states couldn't come up with as good a venue as the Albert Hall." 

A budget of $80,000 was required, and at the last minute Atkins and fellow organiser Rex Swain came up with a liquor permit so a small bar could operate during the titles.

"It was an upstairs bar and it left us $12,000 above budget." 

Atkins said a blueprint from the 1980 world titles was used as guidelines for future world titles. 

Swain is in the middle of organising an anniversary dinner to mark the world titles. 

Negotiations are continuing with the Launceston City Council for a grant to assist and the function will probably be held at the Launceston Working Men's Club. 

"We want a facility big enough to hold a snooker table as we have plans for an exhibition game or a display of trick shots," he said. 

White and Malta's Paul Mifsud and Arvind Savur have been invited to provide their memories of 30 years ago, which will be shown on video on the night. 

After his youthful indiscretions, White mended his ways, becoming so popular he was known as the "people's champion", made the final of the world professional championship six times and in 1999 was awarded the MBE. 

Swain said invitations had also been extended to Warren King (South Australia), John Campbell (New South Wales), Bill Barrie and Jim Banner (both Western Australia), James Giannaros (Tasmania) and Atkins, who had played for Australia during the titles.

Click Here to View the Program in an Online Book Format - World Amateur Snooker Championships 1980 Program

GRAEME Pickett has won his 12th Northern Tasmanian snooker championship with a comfortable 5-2 victory over Garry Bjarnoe-Elliott in the final played at the Launceston Workers Club last weekend.

Pickett won the opening two frames and Bjarnoe-Elliott the third. Pickett took the next two to lead 4-1, lost the sixth and steadied to take the championship with a 53 break in the seventh. 

Pickett beat Peter Donati 4-1 and Bjarnoe-Elliott beat Terry Adams 4-0 in their semi-final matches. 

Five players will be selected from the Northern championships to compete in the state championship at the Burnie club starting on Saturday, August 28. 

Full results can be found on the cue sport website, www.nteba.com.au. 

In Northern A grade interclub, ladder-leader Launceston RSL won comfortably 3-1 over Blue. Roydyn Bishop 2-0, Paul Zoon 2-0 and Harley Stebbings 2-1 won for RSL, Peter Donati 2-1 for Blue. 

Black and Devils drew 2-2, David Bates 2-1 and Bruce Lockley 2-1 won for Black, and Josh Rainbow 2-0 and Wally Sully 2-1 were Devils' winners. 

Exeter RSL and Gold also drew 2-2. For Exeter, Rex Swain won 2-1; for Gold, Trevor Leary 2-0 and Steve Leary 2-1. 

David Bates continues to lead the A grade players' rankings with 24 wins from 36 frames, followed by Roydyn Bishop 22 from 38, Adam Bindoff 22 from 39 and Robin McEnnulty 20 from 31. 

A grade ladder: Launceston RSL 40, Black 36, Exeter RSL 34, Blue 30, Devils 28, Gold 24. This week's best break: David Bates 46, Andrew Saltmarsh 31. 

In A reserve, Navy moved back into the four, winning 8-4 over Amber. Steven Collins and Alan Legg both won 2-0 for Navy. 

Green got back on the winners' list 7-5 over Longford RSL. David Thomas and George Zammitt won for Green, and Chris Knowles was Longford's winner. 

Red moved to second on the ladder with a 7-5 win over Exeter RSL. Bob Cain and Barry Glover won for Red, with Lloyd Rogers winning for Exeter. 

A reserve ladder: Green 138, Red 113, Navy 109, Amber 109, Exeter 106, Longford RSL 97. Best break for this week: Adrian White, 35. 

Green players dominate the players' rankings, with David Thomas 20 wins from 30 frames, followed by Rowan Phelps 19 from 30 and Glen Johansen 19 from 32 frames. 

For more information, go to the cue sport website, www.nteba.com.au or call the secretary on 0419 113 528.