Sport
14 February, 2025
Gripping final round sets finals bracket
After 15 grueling rounds of competition culminating in a nail-biting final day, the final brackets for both Saturday pennants have officially been decided.
DIVISION ONE
Maryborough Golf Blue successfully managed to hold off Dunolly Blue and Highland Tartan by defeating Avoca Red 62-49 to claim second place and receive double chance.
Avoca Red put up a great showing in their efforts to play spoiler, but Maryborough Golf Blue held their nerve and took all three competitive rinks.
Firstly, Anthony Chambers won a thriller against Daniel Giddings 22-21 before Gerry Carmody defeated Champion of Champions semi-finalist Allyson Hearnden 20-15.
Kevin Prime finished proceedings for the hosts with a 20-13 victory over Ian Proctor, setting up a matchup against three-time defending champions Highland Tartan for a spot in the grand final.
The clean sweep meant Dunolly Blue were eliminated from double chance contention, however, their 55-53 victory over Highland Tartan will give them a huge confidence boost going into finals.
Garry Coburn gave Highland Tartan the perfect start with a 26-13 win against Peter Waters, but Alan Weir answered back for Dunolly Blue, overcoming Zac Stewart 21-11.
Tony Galofaro grabbed the deciding leg for Dunolly Blue, prevailing over Gregory Shay 21-16.
In order to snatch away second from Maryborough Golf Blue, Talbot Gold needed a convincing victory against Highland White at home, but the visitors had other ideas, finishing their season strongly with a 65-41 win.
Robert Bursill got the ball rolling with a 19-16 win against Matthew Vernon and Roy Crawley followed in a similar vein, vanquishing Chris Crossley 25-12.
Albert Spencer ensured Highland White collected all 16 points, besting Peter McLaughlan 21-13.
DIVISION TWO
Carisbrook has secured double chance while Maryborough Golf and Maldon finished in the last two finals spots after a fascinating final round of the 2024/25 regular season.
Carisbrook secured second place after a dominant 80-35 win against Newstead White.
Ron Baker opened Carisbrook’s account with a 30-11 win against Rod Jackson and his teammates followed suit.
Phillip Burt overcame Noel Bott 20-13 and Malcolm Milne produced some great bowling to win 30-11 over Stuart Cochrane.
Carisbrook’s victory meant Maryborough Golf, Maldon and Talbot were all fighting for third and fourth.
Sitting just outside the finals by percentage, Talbot gave it their all against the minor premiers but fell just short against Newstead Blue 65-56.
Robert Jackson gave Talbot hope they could hand Newstead Blue their first loss of the season after taking the opening rink against Andrew Theckston 29-19.
However, the hosts proved too good for Talbot as David Cobden defeated Laurie Vernon 21-13 and Brian Daly overcame Robert Pratt 25-14.
That result meant Talbot needed Maldon to lose in straight sets to Bridgewater to qualify for finals, but Maldon passed that test with flying colours, winning 89-37.
Wesley Honeyman won the opening rink 29-11 over David Payne while Annette Gillham was domi-nant against George Mabon 39-9.
Jim Brookshaw finished the clean sweep for Maldon in a tight contest against Ian Clutton 21-17.
Maryborough Golf finished the regular season in third after overcoming Dunolly Gold 65-41.
Kort Gay and Ross Andrews secured the match for Maryborough Golf, with the former victorious against Ian McKenzie 24-16 and the latter defeating Paul Chase 28-9.
Fabio Delconte would grab one rink for Dunolly Gold, holding off Harold Patullo 16-13.
Avoca finished their season on a high note, taking a close encounter away from home against Dunolly Green 68-59.
Ann Loosmore produced some clutch moments to take the opening rink 22-19 against Wayne Stephens, while Gordon Marr had a more comfortable time taking care of Justin Ritchie 30-15.
Dunolly Green’s Walter Mackley would finish his season with a 25-16 rink victory over Geoffrey Loosmore.
Highland received the bye in round 15.
SEMI-FINALS
The do-or-die intensity of finals bowls is finally back, with four exciting matchups to be played at the Maryborough Highland Society.
In division one, Highland Tartan will take on Maryborough Golf Blue for a spot in the grand final.
After just missing out on finals last year, Maryborough Golf Blue has a great opportunity to complete a remarkable season turnaround with a grand final appearance, especially considering they defeated Highland Tartan in the opening round.
The minor premiers are still the odds-on favourite in this match, winning the last two encounters between the two sides.
The loser will take on the winner of a 2023/24 preliminary final rematch, as Dunolly Blue will face Talbot Gold in the elimination semi-final.
Dunolly Blue managed to win that final by two shots even after Talbot Gold won two of the three rinks.
In an ironic twist, Talbot Gold has the head-to-head lead this season, winning two of three games against Dunolly Gold despite only winning one rink in both of their wins.
Division two sees Newstead Blue take on Carisbrook for a spot in the grand final.
This will be the first time the two teams will face each other this season, as their round nine encounter was washed out.
In the other semi-final, Maryborough Golf will face off against Maldon with one team going to the preliminary final, and the other eliminated.
Maryborough Golf will look to improve from their semi-final loss to Carisbrook last season, while Maldon has qualified for finals after finishing sixth last season.