Defending Simpson Cup champions Tea Tree Gully Last year&aposs Simpson Cup finalists Tea Tree Gully and The Grange will again be the teams to watch when the 2011 Adelaide men&aposs pennant season gets underway at Flagstaff Hill on Sunday. Simpson Cup holders Tea Tree Gully, who completed only their second ever Pennant victory with an upset 4-3 win against The Grange in last year&aposs final, will however have to work hard to secure back-to-back wins against a Grange side laden with representative experience, and some expected tough opposition from the likes of Royal Adelaide and Flagstaff Hill. Two-time SA Amateur champion and this year&aposs SA Amateur runner-up Chris Austin will captain Tea Tree Gully, who again field an experienced line up which includes Brett Crosby and Greg Blewitt. The side is further strengthened by the inclusion of the consistent Jacin Cook, runner-up in this year&aposs SA Junior Amateur championship. Having completed a hat-trick of Simpson Cup victories from 2007 to 2009, The Grange again appear likely title contenders and will no doubt be looking to bury the ghost of last year&aposs home-soil finals defeat. The side is an exciting mixture of experience and youth, with SA senior development squad players Chris Brown, Anthony Murdaca, Tom Bond and Alex Hendrick being joined by 2011 state junior team representatives Matthew Lisk and Jack Williams. Royal Adelaide will be looking to improve on last year&aposs fourth placing, and boost some considerable talent led by 2011 SA Amateur champion Brad Moules, twice SA junior open event winner and 2011 SA junior state representative Ben Stowe and the experienced Alex Curtin and Matt Overall. Captained by Nathan Baulderstone, Royal will also be represented by former SAGA president and current Golf Australia board member David Cherry. The dark horse in this year&aposs competition however may well be Flagstaff Hill. Having finished third in 2010, and despite the departure of Max McCardle and Mat Walkenhorst, Jacob Sewell&aposs side has received a considerable boost with the inclusion of Jarrad Roxby and Mikhal Radibratovic, both of whom have recently regained their amateur status after spending time in the professional ranks. Kooyonga&aposs campaign success will rest heavily on the shoulders of SA development squad member John Hayes, who will be looking to the regular championship experience of team mates Daniel Spiers and Charles Shaw to help guide his team&aposs fortunes in 2011. One side that shouldn&apost be lacking match practice will be Glenelg, who field no fewer that six students from the Elite College of Golf led by 2011 SA junior state representative Moe Nagi. Blackwood have added Lee Cole and Michael Phillips to a squad that finished a disappointing seventh in 2010, with captain Andrew Humphries again expected to shoulder much of the burden after a solid campaign last year. Senior development squad member Ben Leske captains last year&aposs A2 winner&aposs Thaxted Park, who field a team more than capable of causing a few upsets after completing 6 out of 7 wins on their way to promotion in 2010. Round one of the Simpson Cup is hosted by Flagstaff Hill on Sunday 15 May, with matches commencing at 11:15am. Round one draw: 1st Tee 11.15 am Flagstaff Hill v Blackwood 10th Tee 11.15 am Grange v Glenelg 1st Tee 12.10 pm Tea Tree Gully v Kooyonga 10th Tee 12.10 pm Royal Adelaide v Thaxted Park For all information and results, click here to visit the Pennant events section.
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