BERWICK BOWLS
It was another huge weekend for the Berwick Bowls Club who completed round five with some fantastic results.
The selectors thanks go out to Malcolm Garner, Lynn McCurran, Alan Thompson and Geoff Wright especially due to their positive ‘club-first’ attitude and stepping up at the last minute to fill roles through late unavailability.
With only a week to go before the Christmas break our overall positions across most grades is exceptional. With two sides sitting on top of the ladder, two sitting second and others just outside the four, the clubs weekend pennant overall position is one to be very proud of.
• Side 1 – def by Keysborough-1 by 27shots – Ladder Position – 2nd
After four straight wins the top side came crashing back to earth this week and were no match for a very solid Keysborough outfit. When it mattered, Keysy were well on top and although we were only 10 shots down at the break, the margin slowly grew afterwards.
The rink of Keel, Garner, Hodgson and Mills had a tough day out going down by 16 and all other rinks narrowly going down, Keysy walked away from Berwick with the full 18 points!
Did they get ahead of themselves or do we put it down to just one bad day?
We’re not sure but next week is an opportunity to host and beat Upwey-Tecoma who they haven’t beaten in the past two or three seasons so it’s vital the one’s get back on the winning list prior to the break and get some confidence back before the start of the new year.
• Side 2 – def by Narre Warren-1 by four shots – Ladder Position – 6th
What a heart-braking loss! The twos knew they could get the points but fell narrowly short against the rivals Narre 1. Azzopardi’s rink managed a one-shot win after a hard-fought day under the Narre roof while Tony French’s rink went down by six after last week’s big win. Clarkey’s rink was well beaten but the highlight of the day has to be Rob Morley’s win along with Geoff Dawson, Dave Reddy and Alan Thompson who trounced the Narre rink skipped by Michael Daly 33-15.
Morley’s rink set it up for the win but unfortunately a big loss on any rink, as we saw in the ones sometimes can’t be covered. The two’s need a win and host Cranbourne 1 in what will be another big opportunity but also a tough one too.
• Side 3 – def Narre Warren-2 by 10 shots – Ladder Position – 1st
A fantastic win by the threes this week who now sit atop the section ladder and send Narre 2 out of the four!
Craig Mills rink of Jackie Saunders, 17-year-old Blake Keel and Karyn Mackie set the day up with a 12-shot win on their rink whilst Kenny Graeber and Karl Lapinskas both picked up ladder points and although well down early Roy Down’s rink fought back after being well down early to ensure the side had a real chance for the win.
It made all the difference and showed the top two sides that close losses, draws and close wins will always give you a good chance of coming away with the points. The threes travel to Chelsea to play their top side on Saturday and another win may see them put a further gap on the chasers heading in to the Christmas break.
• Side 4 – def Mordialloc-2 by 31shots – Ladder Position – 5th
The top-six in this section is all within a win of each other and fours did a great job to stay in touch and have a mighty win over Mordy’s second side. Big rink wins by Trevor Norton’s side and Teddy Tratt’s rink, Annette Kirby on fire, set up the win for the 4s.
With five sides at home on the weekend it was great to see the sides winning well to take their ladder positions to a positive chance of being there in March for the big stuff.
A few changes and unavailability late on Saturday didn’t deter the fours and they took the result away from Mordy early on. The fours will host last place Mulgrave 3 on Saturday and need to consolidate now with a big win to jump up into the four.
• Side 5 – drew with Burden Park-2 – Ladder Position 8th
So close to their first win and yet they certainly had their chances to take the points. Two rinks up and two rinks down and a great 10-shot win by Bruce Shearer’s rink just wasn’t enough to get over the line. It’s proving a tough season for the fives yet they keep getting opportunities but just fall short. This week they travel to Mulgrave Country Club and this might just be the week for the fives to notch their first win. A big win could see the fives jump two or three spots on the ladder which would set them right up for a big second half of the season.
• Side 6 – def Hampton RSL 4 by 72 shots – Ladder Position 1st
Wow…what a win…the sixes are on fire…red-hot at the moment!!!!
This skips of this side, Bill Stilo, Vaughn Smith, Helen Watson and Pat Steere have got their sides humming at the moment and Steere especially has had three wins in a row with a total margin of 100 shots or more!
They sit on top of the ladder and have well and truly earnt their spot there. This week though, will be a tough test as they travel to Dandy Club. On ladder position and recent results, they should win this one but you just never know at Dandy Club, they play their greens well and let’s hope the sixes stay on top and produce their rare form again this week.
• Side 7 – def Noble Park-4 by 58 shots – Ladder Position – 2nd
Keep in mind this is only a three-rink division so again another huge win for the sevens.
Set up brilliantly by the rink of Rob McIntyre, Jan Pearson, Marg Jorgensen and Terry Wood who won by 32 shots the depleted Noble Park side just had no answers. They’re setting up their season nicely the sevens and who knows where they’ll end up but if the first five rounds are any indication, we are in for a great year by them. The game will be much closer this week as the sevens take on Carrum’s second side but we’ve got them at home and we are predicting a close win by the sevens.
• Side 8 – def Moorabbin-4 by 62 shots – Ladder Position 1st
The sevens win we thought was pretty good but the eights have smashed Moorabbin’s fourth side by 62 shots. Geoff Anderson, Graham Rushton, Tom McDermott and Michael Ferey have produced the biggest rink win of the year so far winning 40 to 4!
Two big wins, and John Arboit getting the win on his rink, saw the eights take all 16 points and they sit first on the ladder. This week sees first play second in what will no doubt be a very tough and close game. At home, we’re backing the eights to get the job done.
-John Rich
