Concentration: Richard Feuk of Rochester locks in. Photo by: Steve Huntley.
Photo by
Steve Huntley
The greens are roaring again.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Bowls returned to the Campaspe region on Tuesday with the resumption of the midweek pennant competition, which has moved from the Friday timeslot for the 2023-24 season.
However, the change did not affect local bowlers throughout the grades, as 240 bowlers battled it out in round one.
Division One
At Moama Bowling Club, the Division One reigning premier spent little time settling into its premiership defence.
Moama was clinical in a 79-41 round-one win over Deniliquin, getting all rinks up convincingly.
The Steamers were led by a mammoth 32-14 victory from the rink of Wayne Stephenson (skip), Colin Hayes (third), Margot Brennan (second) and Gary Olver (lead), while Rob Wastell (24-13) and Marilyn Stephenson (23-14) helped blow the final margin out to 38 shots.
Meanwhile, the Steamers’ 2023 grand final opponent, Rochester, also notched a first-round win, though in a tense encounter at Mathoura.
The Helen Holzer-skipped rink earned a 21-19 victory, but it would be Mathoura’s only rink up for the day as rinks skipped by Kaye Barker (21-20) and Richard Feuk (19-15) helped Rochy claim a thrilling 59-56 win to kickstart its campaign.
On the mark: Mathoura’s Helen Holzer was a shining light on the weekend. Photo: Steve Huntley
Photo by
Steve Huntley
In the last game of the round, Echuca crossed the Murray River to face Rich River and returned with a big win.
Echuca skips Ian Page and Kerryn Evans both claimed two-shot wins, but the difference was the Echuca rink of Roma Opie (skip), Pam Lewis (third), Kristy Gillingham (second) and Robyn Tooley (lead), who claimed a pivotal 25-6 victory to power the visitors to an overall result of 61-38.
Division Two
The second tier of midweek bowls has been reduced to seven teams this season, with Mathoura and Tongala out of the running, but league newcomer Stanhope has wasted no time settling into the competition.
It was a convincing 78-38 winner over last year’s grand finalist Echuca, with Stanhope skip Jennifer Crilly and her players earning the win of the day with a 22-shot victory.
Despite the lopsided overall score, the Echuca rink of Joan Moss (skip), Rhonda Gallagher (third), Neil Dovaston (second) and Joan Armstrong (lead) managed to steal a rink 18-17 over Stanhope’s Geoff Mulcahy.
Meanwhile, reigning premiers Moama cracked the 100-shot barrier in round one with a 101-41 win over Rich River.
Steamers’ skip Sandra Connolly oversaw a 44-10 win in rink one, while Stuart Whyte (27-14) and Shirley Sampson (30-17) helped power Moama to a win.
Deniliquin RSL also pushed near the 100-shot mark, earning a 90-29 triumph via a stellar effort from the Tony Tonta-skipped rink of Rod Reid (third), Ron Marchetti (second), and Cheryl Bradley (lead), notching a 40-shot win.
Division Three
The season kicked off with a win to reigning premier Deniliquin, which earned a 16-shot victory over Rich River.
Deni RSL made it a clean sweep for the clubs up the Cobb Hwy with a 54-29 win over Tongala Red, while Tonny Yellow missed out in a 36-41 defeat to Echuca.
Meanwhile, Lockington started strongly with a 45-37 victory over Moama Black.
But the Steamers didn’t walk away empty-handed, with the Green team claiming a 16-shot win against Elmore.
Rounding out Tuesday’s action, Mathoura defeated Rochester by 11 shots.
15°C