GARFIELD BOWLS
Saturday Pennant
On Saturday 29 January the Div-3 side played host to the side from Traralgon.
The Garfield side won all four rinks, winning easily overall by 121 shots to 76.
Nick Henwood returned as skip of the team of Frank Prins, Ron Saunders and Tom Cleary. They started slowly, being down by three shots after five ends; but then, a seven-shot heart starter in the next two ends jolted them into action, and they never looked back, winning by 37 shots to 21.
Graeme Burton, Joe Lenders, Alan White and skip Shane Oliver, on the other hand, started with a flurry and were six shots up before their opponents scored. They continued to limit them to one or two shots now and again, winning well by 25 shots to 14.
Stephen Whyte’s team, of Alan Wilson, Bob Lamport and Gary Helmore, also began well, but an early eight-shot lead was whittled down to three by half-time. But the second half of the game was all theirs, and they won convincingly by 29 shots to 17.
Les Pumphrey, Gary Payne, Ray Biffin and skip Steve Bassed had a see-saw match on their hands, with neither side winning more than two ends in a row until the Garfielders won three to break away to a small lead after 21 ends. The remaining four ends were again shared between the sides, leaving Garfield to win by 30 shots to 25.
The side remains firmly locked into first place on the ladder.
While Traralgon was visiting Garfield, Garfield was also visiting Traralgon…the Div-5 side travelled there to play a difficult match on wet grass after Friday’s big storms.
It was a day when both sides had trouble reaching the head, and there were many ends with a large wall of bowls in front of the jack when the skips came to take their turns. In dramatic fashion, Garfield won the day by one shot, with a final score of 70 shots to 69.
The team of Gwen Fabris, Gillian Harper, Damian Brick and skip Don Knight were outscored early as they struggled with the conditions, and were down by eight shots after eight ends. Then they hit their straps, caught up with and passed their opponents, winning the game by 30 shots to 23. This side finished first.
Helene Newton’s team, consisting of Jan Johnson, Judy Pocklington and Lexi Taylor struggled mightily all day against a far stronger opponent, being down by 22 shots after 22 ends. However, a spirited last hurrah by them saw that deficit reduced to 16 at the end of the game, which they lost by 14 shots to 30. This small victory was significant in the overall story.
The last rink to finish was that of Brian Fox, Maureen Lamport, Barrie Smith and skip Gordon Moxey; they still had two ends to play when Helene’s team finished. They had fought a tight tussle with their opposition for most of the day, the difference not being more than three shots until halfway through the second half of the game, when they drew out to a seven-shot lead with those two ends to play; at this point, Garfield was down by two shots overall.
Traralgon scored one shot on the penultimate end to be three shots in front, but then the Garfielders scored four shots on the last end, winning their game by 26 shots to 16, and the overall match by just one shot.
This exciting result maintains the side’s fourth place on the ladder.
Midweek Pennant
On Tuesday 25 January Garfield’s Midweek Div-3 side played host to a Yinnar side determined to demonstrate why they are on top of the ladder.
While Garfield lost overall, by 55 shots to 68, they didn’t go down without a fight.
Sue Stansfield’s team, consisting of Wes Goodman, Gillian Harper and Damian Brick, played a game in three parts.
They were seven shots up after five ends and then they had a rest while Yinnar played well for a bit, levelling the score at 11 shots all after 14 ends. Then it was Garfield’s turn again; they stormed home, winning all of the last seven ends to win by 28 shots to 11.
The team of Judy Pocklington, Peter Stansfield, Lexi Taylor and skip Helene Newton had a lot of luck during their game – all of it bad. They missed shots by a hair’s breadth, while their opposition skip came in many times to wrest the end from them. At the end of a not very satisfying day, they lost by 10 shots to 36.
Maureen Lamport’s rink, with Jan Johnson, Malcolm Newham, and Bob Lamport, were down by eight shots before they scored. The rest of the game was one of catch-up as best you can. They made a very good effort at it, reducing the deficit by half, going down in the end by 17 shots to 21.
Despite this loss, the side remains in fourth place on the ladder.
-Damian Brick-
