GEELONG BOWLS REGION – MIDWEEK PENNANT.
ROUND 1 – SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 – by GRAHAM RAWLINS.
The Geelong Bowls Region Midweek Pennant began in cool, windy and sometimes wet Spring conditions yesterday with reigning Premiers – Ocean Grove – leading out with an exciting one shot win over Torquay in Division one of the competition.
The Ocean Grove green was running well at 15 seconds as the home side won two of the three rinks. Both sides signalled another top season is underway for 2016/17.On rink one Joan Tennant skipped the rink well with controlled bowls throughout to record a three shot win over the Torquay rink skipped by Maureen Gribble. On rink three it was reigning GBR Women’s champion – Karen Harrington skipping well to take a balancing three shot win over Faye Richardson. Again we saw each bowler working hard in the conditions to control bowls for maximum scoring opportunities. At this stage of the match all was in a balance as the number two rink was going bowl for bowl in a very tight match. Eventually it was the work of the Ocean Grove rink skipped by Pat Virtue that held firm to win by that one vital shot. The Ocean Grove skipper lived up to her name as it was ‘virtue’ that provided the Ocean Grove team of Elaine Price, Robert Poule, Gary Burkett and Virtue the good quality of bowls to win thru.
Lara signalled its early season intent with a top 17 shot win over Queenscliff. Playing on a 15 second green the cold and windy conditions gave the bowlers a significant task on the opening day. This win has seen Lara establish itself a benchmark for the rest of the season. The top rink win of the day was from the number one rink of Lara as it posted a resounding 24 shot victory. Skipped by Nola Hinch the Lara rink was consistent throughout and played the difficult conditions very well. The one good feature from Queenscliff came from its third rink with its 10 shot win over Lara. Dianne Roberts showed her class skipping her rink well and already looks to be in for another good season for the Couta’s.
The windy bayside conditions at Portarlington favoured the visitors as Bannockburn enjoyed its seaside visit with a 20 shot win to open its season. The bowls across the top two rinks were tight throughout with the Bannockburn number three rink making it clear sailing in its 15 match winning shot victory. Heather Phillips skipped well and was well assisted in her rink by Wendy Taylor (lead), Michael Hutchinson (second) and the Wiley Geoff Taylor playing third.
Up at Highton the bowlers worked thru some difficult conditions with the home side finishing off with a close but sound 7 shot win over Geelong RSL. The visitors played well across two of its rinks but found the depth of Highton on the number three rink too strong.
In division 2 it was again a battle of the conditions across all greens. The highlight of the opening round was the performance by Geelong Cement with a resounding 70 shot win over Leopold. Although the conditions were equal to both sides it was Geelong Cement that applied themselves to the big task and took the right results. The three rink wins were by 19, 29 and 22 shots respectively which underlines the overall consistency from the Geelong Cement team. The number two rink skipped by Anne Patterson led by example throughout as it moved to its 29 shot win. John Willis (lead), Anne Willis (second), Barbara Lewis (third) and Patterson (skip) took all before them with accuracy and consistency over the 75 ends.
Belmont also recorded a good start to the season with its 51 shot win over Point Lonsdale. The home team enjoyed its local knowledge on the 14.75 second green and played to the conditions well. All rinks recorded good wins with the number two rink skipped by Jandi Slattery taking the colours for the day with its 23 shot win. The combination of Faye Iddles (lead), Lynette Reaburn (second), Brian Brennan (third) and Slattery proved too strong and consistent for the Point Lonsdale rink.
The next round of Midweek Pennant Bowls in the GBR will be played next Tuesday, October 4 with Division 1 – Queenscliff v Ocean Grove; Leopold v Portarlington; Torquay v Highton; Geelong RSL v City of Geelong; Bannockburn v Lara. Division 2 – Point Lonsdale v Bell Post Hill; Clifton Springs v Geelong; Ocean Grove v Leopold; Geelong Cement v Ocean Grove; Highton v Belmont. GBR Saturday Pennant commences on Saturday, October 8, 2016.