Sport
3 February, 2026
Finals set in stone for weekend pennants
With one round remaining in the Goldfields Playing Area weekend pennant, all finals tickets have been snatched up after a rollercoaster day of bowls.
DIVISION ONE
Maryborough Golf has earned the opportunity to defend its crown, largely due to a 73-48 triumph over Maldon.
Things started rocky for the hosts, with Annette Gillham stunning Gerry Carmody to take a 16-13 rink win for Maldon.
However, Anthony Chambers got Golf back on course with a 36-15 demolition of Peter Sedgwick, allowing teammate Kevin Prime to place the finishing touches with a 24-17 win over Wesley Honeyman.
That victory meant Carisbrook needed a victory over Dunolly Blue to keep their finals chances alive. Last season’s runner-up provided a favour for their recent foes, nailing the final blow to Carisbrook with a commanding 96-38 victory.
Chris Williams started proceedings for Dunolly Blue by overcoming Roy Pickering 26-16, followed by Alan Weir thwarting Ross Gregory 35-12 and Tony Galofaro vanquishing Ron Baker 35-10.
Despite the dominant win, Dunolly Blue were powerless to see Talbot punch their double chance spot after they held on to a nail-biting victory over Avoca 54-48.
With Talbot’s Peter Fletcher and Avoca’s Ian Proctor left deadlocked at 17 apiece, Daniel Giddings seemingly secured the visitors’ stunning victory by defeating Chris Crossley 21-9.
Peter McLaughlan had other ideas, clawing Talbot ahead with a 28-10 win against Frank Shannon.
Talbot will turn their attention to a semi-final date with the Maryborough Highland Society, who are now hosting a two-game losing streak after Newstead delivered one of the most surprising upsets in recent memory, outlasting the ladder-leaders 56-52.
With Garry Coburn tying against David Cobden 20-20 and Greg Shay overcoming Brian Daly 21-17, it looked as though Newstead’s valiant effort would fall just short.
That was until Bill Burnett added to his catalogue of memorable performances by defeating Greg McHugh 19-11, giving Newstead a win to remember.
DIVISION TWO
The double chance semi-final looks poised to be a Highland lockout after Highland White took home a ladder-shifting win over Maryborough Golf, 41-31.
Golf delivered a substantial fight, but Highland White pulled through thanks to Dennis Prosser surviving Gary Chaplin 20-19 and Frank Mifsud conquering Trevor Young 21-12.
Second-placed Highland White now has a 13-point lead over Golf, needing to win just one rink in their last match to clinch the double chance.
Living up to the role of spoiler, Avoca stunned finals contenders Talbot 44-39 to record their second win of the season.
Despite Talbot’s Ray Prentice getting the better of Ann Loosmore 26-22, Avoca’s Geoff Loosmore flipped the suspected script by defeating Laurie Vernon 22-13.
The surprise upset opened the door for Dunolly Gold to book their finals berth at Talbot’s expense, making no mistake with a top-four clinching 40-25 win over Dunolly Green.
Aaron Britten and Raeleen Mebbrey took the golden finals ticket for their team, with Britten vanquishing Marian Webb 21-15 and Mebbrey besting Fabio Delconte 19-10.
Highland Black continued to refine their finals preparations with a hard-fought triumph against Bridgewater, 47-37.
Albert Spencer delivered the damage for Highland Black, commanding Ron Brown 29-16 to nullify Bridgewater’s Christopher Brooshooft overcoming Robert Bursill 21-18.
DIVISION THREE
In a pivotal battle for finals seeding, Newstead defeated Dunolly in a 34-33 thriller, narrowly holding onto their top two spot.
Both rinks were decided by two shots or less, with Noel Bott’s 20-18 victory against Graeme Cain getting the job done despite Paul Chase defeating Angela Hill 15-14.
Chase’s rink victory helped shirk the gap between Newstead in second and the team chasing them down in Carisbrook to just two points after they vanquished Maldon 47-24.
Jeff Smith and Phillip Burt delivered a sweep for Carisbrook, with Smith holding off Leonie Briggs 17-14 and Burt dominating Glen Coy 30-10.
Not to be outshone, the Mary-borough Highland Society has put division three on notice after a commanding 55-19 victory against Avoca.
Gregory Long starred by trouncing Anthony Brennan 26-4, while Allan Pike overcame Gordon Marr 29-15.
ROUND 14
While the final round is somewhat anticlimactic with a majority of dead-rubber games, some finals seedings remain in the balance heading into the final round of the home and away season.
That isn’t the case in division one, with finals participants Mary-borough Highland Society, Talbot, Dunolly Blue and Maryborough Golf unable to move up or down the ladder.
In a neat coincidence, the top four all have away trips to bottom four opponents as Highland plays Carisbrook, Talbot takes on Maldon, Dunolly Blue visits Avoca and Golf faces Newstead.
The division two finals equation can officially be solved if Highland White book their double chance place by taking just a point from Talbot.
In any event, Maryborough Golf will be keen to showcase its best when it hosts Bridgewater in the unlikely event Highland White faulters.
Division two also sees ladder-leaders Highland Black host Dunolly Green and Dunolly Gold play Avoca.
In division three, the equation is simple for Newstead. Win both rinks against Maldon and they go to the double chance semi-final.
A defeat opens the door for Carisbrook to take second in a potential semi-final preview against the Maryborough Highland Society, while Dunolly hosts Avoca.