Sport
8 October, 2024
Local bowls competition gets underway
The 2024/25 Saturday pennant started with nail-biting action and major shocks as players returned in drizzly conditions.
Highland Tartan’s quest for a four-peat in division one has gotten off to a surprising start as Maryborough Golf Blue completed a major victory, beating the reigning premiers 56-38.
Gregory Shay got Highland Tartan off to the perfect start, taking a 27-7 win over Anthony Chambers, however, Maryborough Golf Blue showed some great resilience and elite play by taking the next two rinks with Gerry Carmody beating Andrew Brumby 31-3 and Kevin Prime besting Garry Coburn 18-8.
While Highland Tartan struggled, Highland White were able to take top spot in the division one ladder, defeating Avoca Red 81-45.
Robert Bursill got his season off to a strong start, winning 23-14 over Ian Proctor, and the result seemed to get the momentum rolling for his side as Warren Roberts beat Daniel Giddings 27-12 and Barry Mahar defeated Leigh Richards 31-19.
Talbot Gold got to enact some revenge for their preliminary final loss last season, holding on in an enthraling encounter over Dunolly Blue 55-53.
Despite Dunolly Blue’s Peter Waters starting proceedings with a 24-17 victory over Chris Crossley and Alan Weir taking a thriller over Peter McLaughlan 16-15, Talbot Gold’s Matthew Vernon was able to get his team over the line with a 23-13 victory over Tony Galofaro despite them only winning one rink.
The result is a sweet twist of irony for Talbot Gold, who similarly lost their finals encounter with Dunolly Blue last season by two shots despite winning two out of three rinks.
In division two, Highland Gold couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season, taking victory over Avoca 97-42, cementing themselves at the top of the table after round one.
Albert Spencer got his team onto the right foot, winning 47-5 over Gordon Marr and his teammates were able to back up his strong performance by taking some highly competitive rinks, with Roy Crawley outlasting Loralee Field 22-20 and Tilleke Wadeson victorious over Allyson Hearnden 28-17.
New team Bridgewater was given a tough task in their first game, and despite their best efforts, recent division one participant Newstead Blue proved to be too good, winning the contest 86-32.
Brian Daly defeated Glenn Mangan 35-13 to set his team up, with Bill Burnett following in similar form with a 28-5 win over Curtis Mangan and Bernie Gervasoni finished the job off for Newstead Blue with a 23-14 victory over Ian Clutton.
Dunolly Green are already one victory away from equalling last year’s win total, taking a 58-45 victory over last year’s preliminary finalists Carisbrook.
Wayne Stephens made sure Dunolly Green got two premiership points from the start, besting Ron Baker in a tense 12-10 encounter, however, Ross Gregory got Carisbrook in the position to lead the contest going into the final rink with a 27-13 win against Margaret Davies.
Sandra Chaplin’s performance in the final rink ensured Dunolly Green’s victory, taking a comfortable 33-8 win over Roy Pickering.
Maryborough Golf also got a victory to kick off their 2024/25 campaign, defeating Newstead White 79-37.
Kort Gay set the table for Mary-borough Golf with a commanding performance over Graeme Lipback 38-6 and despite some strong efforts from their competition, Harold Patullo proved to be too much for Mark Leckey, winning 21-14 and Francis Smith managed to keep Rob Jackson at bay, taking the rink 20-17.
Maldon and Dunolly Gold had to share eight premiership points to start the season, with their contest the only one unplayed due to a washout, while Talbot had the bye.