GARFIELD BOWLS
Garfield Bowling Club’s pennant teams had two wins and one loss this week, but all remain steady on their ladders.
Midweek Pennant
On Tuesday 22 February, Garfield’s Midweek Div 3 side visited Traralgon at the other end of the Division. Winning two of the three rinks, they came home winners overall by 65 shots to 53.
The team of Judy Pocklington, Peter Stansfield, Gordon Moxey and skip Lexi Taylor won the first end of their game, then struggled to stay with their opponents, being down by nine shots to 15 after 13 ends.
But then the tide turned, and they only lost one of the remaining ends to come out winners by 22 shots to 16.
Maureen Lamport’s rink, with Jan Johnson, Malcolm Newham, and Bob Lamport, were tied five shots all after five ends. However, Garfield scored a six in the sixth end, which completely took the wind out of their opposition’s sails; they then took over and raced home to win by 29 shots to 17.
Sue Stansfield’s team, consisting of Damian Brick, Gillian Harper and Barry Johnson, fought out a tight tussle in the first half of the game with the score tied three times. The second half had Garfield in front, but their opponents finished stronger, with Garfield losing by 14 shots to 20.
The side remains in third place on the ladder, with a home game next week against fifth-place Trafalgar.
Saturday Pennant
On Saturday 26 February, the Div 3 side played host to sixth-placed Yinnar. In one of those odd eye-off-the-ball moments against the lower side, Garfield managed to lose overall by 87 shots to 103.
The team of Frank Prins, Ron Saunders, Tom Cleary and skip Nick Henwood lost three shots on the first two ends. After that, they played catch-and-release with their opponents. They would catch up the deficit only to release the opposition to score some more; then they would catch them again, and have them scoot away again. In the end, they were still two shots behind, losing by 27 shots to 29.
Graeme Burton, Ray Biffin, Shane Oliver and skip Anthony Young played see-saw with their opponents, first up, then down, with the score tied four times in the game, including at the second-last end. An up on the last end saw Garfield win by 24 shots to 22.
Stephen Whyte’s team, of Alan Wilson, Bob Lamport and Gary Helmore, were nine shots down before they even scored, and remained well behind until the 17th end when they scored seven shots to bring them back into the game. A strong finish from there resulted in a 21-shots-all draw.
Gary Payne, Les Pumphrey, Gordon Moxey and skip Alan White also were well down early and consistently, but for them there was no seven-shot rescue end; they lost by 15 shots to 31.
The side remains in first place on the ladder, but with a reduced lead, so a win next week will be important to retain the home-final advantage that comes with first place.
The Div 5 side visited a very windy Churchill to play against the third placed side on the ladder.
The visit, despite the club’s friendly hospitality, didn’t turn out well with Garfield losing by an overall score of 55 shots to 70.
The team of Brian Fox, Helene Newton, Judy Pocklington and skip Barry Johnson started slowly and were down by seven shots after only five ends, but a fightback saw the scores tied at afternoon tea. After tea, the game was much the same on a smaller scale. Garfield was never in front, but never down by more than three shots. They came home winning the last two ends, to snatch a fitting draw, 20 shots all.
Barrie Smith’s team, consisting of Lois King, Maureen Lamport and Gwen Fabris, were in it early, down by only three shots after eight ends.
However, seven shots in the next two ends by Churchill blew the game open and Garfield never looked in it from then on. A late flurry of eight shots in the last three ends presented a respectable final score of 17 shots to 24.
Len Preece, Gillian Harper, Damian Brick and skip Don Knight fought a close tussle with their opponents in the first half to be down by just two shots at the tea break. However, a four-end sortie by Churchill after the break resulted in a nine-shot lead, which Garfield was unable to put much of a dent in, resulting in a loss by 18 shots to 26.
Garfield remains precariously perched in fourth place on the ladder, followed by a bunched field of challengers. A tough game next week against ladder-leading Morwell Club will require a strong performance, and some luck with other results for the side to make the finals.
-Damian Brick-
