All systems are go for the 2023-24 Allan Matheson Shield season

After its lengthy premiership rule was ended in the 2021-22 campaign, Shepparton Golf rightly retook its spot on the throne in March and again look to be the goods.

However, Tallygaroopna and Kyabram could have easily gone all the way and will be rivalling Golf for the top prize once more.

Shepparton Park has had a player exodus of sorts and retaining a spot in the four will prove to be a new challenge for the fresh-look outfit.

Meanwhile, Stanhope’s departure from the Goulburn Murray bowls scene midway through the year sent ripples through the local landscape, but a new challenger appears in the top flight.

It is none other than last season’s division two premier Euroa.

The Strathbogie Shire side makes the jump up in class and will look to stake its claim, buoyed by the prospect of an added degree of cut-throat competition.

And, by a stroke of fortune, Mooroopna avoided relegation thanks to Stanhope’s surprise exit, and has been given another chance to prove its worth.

Everything points to a crackerjack few months on the greens, so strap in and enjoy what’s to come.

Shepparton Golf

2022-23 finish: Premier

Club comment - Brad Orr (Coach)

“I think the top three will be Ky, Tally and us again ― fourth spot probably could be up for grabs. But I’m guessing Hill Top might sneak in,” Orr said.

“Benny Fletcher's obviously been a great addition, he loves bowls, he probably reminds me of myself about 10-12 years ago to be honest.

“He can't get enough of training, while we’re just happy to roll out there for an hour or so, he's happy to roll out there for four hours.

“I think Brad (Robinson) is a bit refreshed this year too, so he he should be looking to have a bit of a big year.

“Glenn Power comes back, I rate him as a pretty good leader to be honest ... so I think we just get the rinks gelling.

“We might throw it around a little bit ― I know I miss round one and ‘Stokesy’ (John Stokes) misses round two.

“We'll just see how we go and before Christmas; there might be a few clearances coming in.”

Prediction: First

Whether or not it goes back to back in finals, Shepparton Golf seems poised to reach the top rung ― and stay there ― in 2023-24.

There is quality studded across all 16 of Golf’s members. And now they’ve got a taste for premiership success back on the tongue.

You could argue Kyabram has the depth to go all the way this season, but doubting a club with winning ingrained in its culture like Shepparton Golf does would be foolish.

Kyabram

2022-23 finish: Runner-up

Club comment - Brent Reiner (Coach)

“Everyone’s keen, but we actually haven’t been able to have a proper hit-out for the whole pre-season,” Reiner said.

“We’ve still got a few players that are unsure if they’re playing or not ― from last year’s team there is Sally Beach, Connor Trewen, Paul McInnes,” he said.

“We lost Geoff Beattie, he’s the only one who is 100 per cent confirmed (not to play).

“But we’ve got a lot of new recruits, we picked up Hayden Crilly and Jamie Stokes from Stanhope ... David Shreenan from Ballarat and Steve Piggott from Queensland.

“If we can get those other three players back that are unsure at the moment, we’ll take it up to Golf.

“Last year, for such a good season to come to an end how it did is a real kick in the guts. It’s taken myself a while to pick up a bowl again, I took it pretty hard. But onwards and upwards.”

Prediction: Second

On paper, Kyabram looks to have added more firepower to the ranks from last year.

With only one confirmed out and a string of handy new additions, the only thing that may impair Reiner’s side is a lack of pre-season cohesion.

Future star Josh Cartwright has been rewarded for his hard work with an opportunity to skip this season and there’s an exciting blend of youth and experience that makes Kyabram a threat to the likes of Shepparton Golf and Tallygaroopna.

Tallygaroopna

2022-23 finish: Third

Club comment - David Daws (Chairman of selectors)

“The teams are looking pretty similar to last year,” Daws said.

“We lost Scotty Adams, he’s gone to Hill Top this year as the coach and we wish him all the best there.

“We’ve picked up Chris Kearney from Benalla to replace him. He’ll slot in really nicely as a quality third in the team.

“You’re always trying to be up there every year and this year is no different.

“It was disappointing last year, but when you make it to the finals anything can happen.

“It certainly could’ve been ours, it could’ve been Kyabram’s but it fell the other way this time. We’ll have a run a try and make it fall the right way this year.”

Prediction: Third

There’s been a shift in power at Tallygaroopna, with Mark Ryan handing the selection role to David Daws after taking on greens keeping duties.

Scott Adams’ departure to Tatura-Hill Top leaves a fair gap, but expect the Redlegs to be a similar beast to seasons past.

From a premiership in 2021-22 to a preliminary final exit last season, Tallygaroopna will be itching for a return to the promised land.

Shepparton Park

2022-23 finish: Fourth

Club comment - Paul Becroft (Bowls director)

“Unfortunately we have lost four players out of division one,” Becroft said.

“But the thing is, we’ve got good replacements. We’ve got Brian Hall coming back from Numurkah, he’s a div one player from up there and he’s played div one at Shepp Park for years too.

“Kerry Leask is coming across from Benalla, she’s in division two at the moment, but she’ll probably play division one too ― she’s played for the state, so she’s got good qualifications.

“We’ve got a couple other players coming back from injuries from last year. The likes of Dennis Smyth, Ray Sellwood ... they’re both back into the ones.

“We also brought young Brianna Warren, who’s probably our youngest bowler, into the ones as a leader just to give her that experience and see how she goes.

“I like to think we are as strong, if not stronger than we were last year. Our ambition is to get into the four for a start and just see how we go from there.”

Prediction: Fifth

Expect to see a face-lifted Shepparton Park take to the greens this season.

A quartet of regulars in Ash Williamson, Josh Warren, Dylan Hearn and Rob Thorne have departed the division one ranks, but Becroft is adamant Park has not been weakened.

In fact, he stated his side was stronger than ever.

If Park can get things to gel in time, finals could be the destination, but it weighs heavy on how quickly it can get things to click.

Tatura-Hill Top

2022-23 finish: Fifth

Club comment - Scott Adams (Coach)

“We’re hoping to make finals obviously and I’m pretty confident, I’m putting it out there early that we can do that,” Adams said.

“They lost several games by little margins last year, so it was just a matter of getting things right.

“There will be a few changes, we’re going to try a few younger ones and try and keep them in division one this year. If we can get it right, I think we can go pretty good.

“Hopefully the older crew we’ve got can look after them a bit.

“They’re not brand new bowlers, they’ve been bowling for a while and they’re just starting to hit their straps in the early 20s. Hopefully it can all go good for us.”

Prediction: Fourth

With a new man at the helm Tatura-Hill Top could be anything this year.

Scott Adams has plenty of tact about him and his first order of business after making the jump from Tallygaroopna was roping Jeff McNaughton back into the third position.

He’s also placed an onus on promoting younger members of the club into division one ― namely Tom Crawford, Seth Tziros and Mitch Reeves ― a wise strategy as far as longevity is concerned.

Landing back inside the four is not out of the question for the combine this season.

East Shepparton

2022-23 finish: Seventh

Club comment - Daniel Nichols (Coach)

“Pre-season has gone very well, we’ve had 75 per cent of members available to play the practice games,” Nichols said.

“We’ve also had 40 or 50 people at training each week which is huge.

“I believe that we can finish middle of the table and, if we get lucky, we could even sneak in fourth spot.

“Lynn and Graeme Barber have gone, Jack Spencer who skipped for us last year isn’t playing, I believe he’s gone to Nagambie.

“But we’ve gained a skipper with Ash Williamson and we’ve picked up a really handy bowler in Vince Lia who’s leading in the ones as well.

“We’ve also picked up a handful of other bowlers who are playing division two and in lower divisions as well.”

Prediction: Sixth

It’s hard to gauge how East Shepparton will perform in the new campaign.

Trusty figures have moved on, but the signing of Daniel Nichols in the off-season looks to have been a smart choice as he arrived with a newfound hunger.

He also brings realism. Nichols isn’t expecting to win the whole thing in 2023-24, but is hoping to scare a few of the top sides and show an improvement from last season’s seventh placing.

Mooroopna

2022-23 finish: Eighth

Club comment - Darren Kelly (Weekend pennant manager)

“Hopefully we’ll be competitive against the top teams,” Kelly said.

“We’ve picked up a couple of good bowlers, Josh Warren coming over from Shepp Park, a local boy coming back to Mooroopna, which is good. He’s a quality skipper.

“And picking up Craig O’Shannessy from Mooroopna Golf is good too, they’ll strengthen our ones a little bit.

“We were pretty competitive against the top teams at times last season.

“We didn’t get smashed off the park or anything like that. We got better as the second half of the season went by, we probably lost a couple of games we had a chance to win.

“Another year with some newer bowlers, hopefully we can perform a bit better this year.”

Prediction: Seventh

Mooroopna seems likely for a move up the ladder in season 2023-24.

An injection of quality in the form of Josh Warren and Craig O’Shannessy is one thing from a playing perspective, but roping locals back into the fold is a clear message about building for the future.

With East Shepparton up first we’ll soon see if Mooroopna has really improved or not.

Euroa

2022-23 finish: Division two premier

Club comment - Ken Sutcliffe (Division one skipper)

“We’re obviously last year’s (division two) premiers, so we’ve got the job in front of us haven’t we,” Sutcliffe said.

“We really haven’t picked up any champions, so we’re going to be fielding a similar side to last year.

“Looking forward, those three (Shepparton Golf, Kyabram and Tallygaroopna) are going to be in finals and somebody else is going to be fourth, I don’t know who that is.

“(We don’t want to) be on the bottom, we want to be somewhere between seventh and fourth.

“It’s a big step up (to division one), we finished fourth last year. It was a good competition and the top four or five of division two and the bottom four of division one don’t have a lot in them.

“We’re going to battle against the good sides and be competitive against the rest I hope.”

Prediction: Eighth

Euroa has stuck to its guns for division one bowls, opting to run with a similar side which clinched the premiership in the tier below.

It’s a bold move. But is it wise? If Euroa isn’t up to scratch, it will be found out in no time.

Recent history doesn’t favour new sides making the jump up from division two, with Mooroopna’s one win last season a telling sign of the difference in class.

However, Sutcliffe is pragmatic in his approach and said the side would be picking its battles wisely against higher levels of opposition.