GARFIELD BOWLS
It was a great round-five of the Pennant season for Garfield Bowls Club with all three teams recording victories as we close in on the Christmas break.
Midweek Pennant
On Tuesday 7 December the Div 3 Midweek side played host to its neighbors from Drouin – with two rinks up and one down, Garfield won convincingly overall by 74 shots to 51.
The rink of Helene Newton, Judy Pocklington, Damian Brick and Lexi Taylor started out in a tight tussle with their opponents, being three-all and six-all; then the Drouin team started to draw away, and despite a determined comeback at the end, Garfield lost by 18 shots to 22.
Maureen Lamport’s rink, consisting of Jan Johnson, Peter Stansfield and Bob Lamport, lost four shots on the first two ends; then, they started to peg their way back, and at the rain-induced lunch break, they were down by just one shot.
After the break, they came out refreshed, and pulled ahead of their opposition, going on to win by 24 shots to 14.
The team comprising Barrie Smith, Gillian Harper, Barry Johnson and skip Sue Stansfield, started out very slowly, being down by nine shots at the lunch break. They too came out after lunch and powered away from their opponents, finishing strongly to win by 32 shots to 15.
This win restores them to third on the ladder. Next week, they are at home again to Traralgon.
Saturday Pennant
The Div 3 side went to Newborough to play the third-placed side in their division.
Two losses, a draw and a runaway win was enough for Garfield to come home with the win overall by 99 shots to 90.
The team of Barrie Smith, Gary Payne, Les Pumphrey and skip Steve Bassed started slowly, down by 11 shots, before they got on the board; the rest of the game was a close affair, but the team lost by the lead they gave away, going down by 19 shots to 29.
Nick Henwood’s rink, of Frank Prins, Ron Saunders and Tom Cleary, on the other hand, were off and away from the starter’s gun, in a side-saving win by 38 shots to 11.
Alan Wilson, Joe Lenders, Gary Helmore and skip Steve Whyte fought tooth and nail with their opponents, and were down by one shot at the 20th end. A surge by Newborough and a counter-surge by Garfield resulted in a tied game, 24-shots all.
Shane Oliver and his team of Graeme Burton, Lexi Taylor and Alan White started well, but then their opponents caught them and pulled away to inflict an-18 shots to 26 loss.
The side remains on top of the ladder, ahead of the final game before Christmas at far-off Yinnar.
The Div 5 side played host to the gang from up in the hills at Neerim, competing in a yet another close ladder tussle, this time third versus second.
Two one-shot loses and a big win made Garfield victors by 71 shots to 56.
Keith Sainsbury, Gwen Fabris, Helene Newton and skip Gordon Moxey had a ding-dong battle with their opponents all day; the score was level four times in the game, and no-one led by more than three at any time.
Going into the last end Garfield was down by two shots; they were holding three when the players changed over, but the opposition skip cut it back to one and they lost by 20 shots to 21. Welcome back to the fold – after a three-year absence – to Keith.
Bob Lamport’s team, comprised of Wes Goodman, Brian Fox and Maureen Lamport, also had a tight tussle with their opposition for most of the match, with multiple tied scores, including after the penultimate end.
The last end saw the two shots of the day on this rink, the first by Maureen who trailed the jack away from the opposition’s bowls, then by Neerim’s skip to draw even closer; the end result was a nail-biting loss by 22 shots to 23.
The team of Len Preece, Gillian Harper, Damian Brick and skip Don Knight had what can only be described as a day-out with skip Don Knight playing many brilliant shots to take the end from the opposition, or to add to Garfield’s lead; in the end, Garfield won by 29 shots to 12.
A good result in an important match moves the side up to second on the ladder. Next week, they are at home again to Churchill.
