GARFIELD BOWLS
The first week of finals was a mixed bag for Garfield Bowling Club with sides that had the home-rink advantage winning but sides that had to travel being defeated.
On Tuesday 8 March, Garfield’s Midweek Div 3 side played host to Morwell in a win-or-go-home first semi-final.
In a thrilling match, which came down to the last end, Garfield won overall by 64 shots to 59.
The team of Judy Pocklington, Peter Stansfield, Gordon Moxey and skip Lexi Taylor started well, scoring three shots in the first two ends.
Then Morwell got into gear and things became bleak for the home team, down by four shots to 12 after 10 ends. But then the magic came into play, and Morwell won only three ends for the rest of the game, Garfield stealing it from them by winning one shot on the last end to win by 19 shots to 18.
Sue Stansfield’s team, consisting of Damian Brick, Gillian Harper and Barry Johnson played a close fought game, which saw them up by 13 shots to 12 at the half-way point. After that, though, nothing went right for the Garfielders and they lost by 19 shots to 26.
Maureen Lamport’s rink, with Jan Johnson, Malcolm Newham, and Bob Lamport, were down by nine shots before they started their scoring. But start they did and Morwell weren’t in it for the rest of the game, except for the last end, which made the whole match exciting.
With the two skips left to play their bowls, Morwell were holding four shots, which was exactly the overall difference between the sides, so a draw was on the cards.
Maureen had something to say about that though, she came through the head, took the jack cleanly to the back and stayed with it for one shot. This magnificent bowl clinched the end by one shot, the game by 26 shots to 15 and the match.
The side continues its finals run, and will play Newborough in the preliminary final next week.
Saturday Pennant
On Saturday 12 March, the Div 3 side took advantage of their first place on the ladder by hosting their semi-final against Traralgon.
With three teams winning, they won the match overall by 101 shots to 84.
The team of Frank Prins, Ron Saunders, Alan White and fill-in skip Tom Cleary bolted out of the gate and led by seven shots before their opponents scored. Nor did they let up the pressure, allowing Traralgon to win only seven ends for the game, winning convincingly by 39 shots to 19.
While Graeme Burton, Maureen Lamport, Shane Oliver and skip Anthony Young didn’t limit so much the number of ends their opponents won, as the amount scored on each end. Traralgon was kept down to mostly singles, with a couple of twos, while the Garfielders scored multiples on the ends they won, enabling them to win by 22 shots to 15.
Stephen Whyte’s team, of Alan Wilson, Joe Lenders and Gary Helmore, played a close game until half time, when they were two shots in front. The Garfield boys took the third quarter off, while Traralgon shot to a nine-shot lead; but then the roles were reversed and Garfield stormed home to win by the slimmest of margins, 23 shots to 22.
Gary Payne, Les Pumphrey, Bob Lamport and skip Steve Bassed started well, winning the first four ends, with five shots; but then Traralgon started to play, and Garfield found themselves down by 11 shots at the halfway point of the game. The match was even after that, but the damage was done, Garfield losing by 11, 17 shots to 28.
This win moves the side directly to the grand final, in two weeks’ time.
The Div 5 side returned to Churchill – the sight of a large loss two weeks ago – to play their semi-final. While the performance was much better by the Garfielders, they still lost overall by 64 shots to 69.
Barrie Smith’s team, consisting of Lois King, Lexi Taylor and Gwen Fabris, were progressively further behind in the first half of the game.
But they came out refreshed from the tea break, and as they fought their way back, they only allowed their opponents to score three times in the second half. With three ends to go, they were still down by three shots, but one shot in each of those ends drew them level to finish at 22 shots all.
Wes Goodman, Gillian Harper, Damian Brick and skip Don Knight started slowly, and were down by 10 shots before they scored.
They wasted no time in catching up, however, and a very close game ensued, with the scores tied six times. With one end to play, Garfield held a three-shot lead, but a stray ricochet placed the jack near three Churchill bowls and the score was again tied 22 shots all.
The team of Brian Fox, Helene Newton, Judy Pocklington and skip Barry Johnson started out evenly with their opponents, but a mini-rush by Churchill saw Garfield four shots down at the tea break.
A pair of two-shot ends after tea saw that deficit wiped away, and the remainder was close, with Garfield down by two shots with two ends to play.
Unfortunately, Churchill won both those ends, and Garfield lost by 20 shots to 25.
Despite this week’s loss, the side has had a very good season, and can be happy with their final performance.
-Damian Brick-
