On the board: Rich River’s Gary Radford was happy to be back in the swing of weekend pennant on Saturday. Photo: Meg Saultry.
Bendigo Premier League
Moama’s opening-rink assault proved too difficult to overcome for Premier League opponent Bendigo East on Saturday as it continued its unbeaten early-season run.
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Despite winning just one rink for the match, the 20-shot win in Moama skipper Kevin Brennan’s rink one was enough for an 81-69 victory.
Kevin Anderson’s rink two went down by just one shot, while the third rink couldn’t be split on 17 shots apiece, leaving Moama with a 19-shot lead heading into the last.
The task of fending off Bendigo East fell to Moama skip Paul Newcombe, and while his team succumbed to a seven-shot fourth-rink loss, it wasn’t enough to unseat Moama.
It remains in second place on the Premier League ladder and hosts seventh-place Golden Square on Saturday.
Campaspe division one weekend pennant
A round one bye and off-season personnel changes proved no problem for Rich River, which started its Campaspe weekend pennant campaign in fine fashion on Saturday with a 26-shot win over Rochester.
Wasting no time, Rich River fired off 30 shots to 14 in skip Keith Hewitt’s opening rink, while Jason McCloy got off to a winning start in rink two by eight shots.
Rochester staged a final-rink fightback, but ultimately fell by two shots to Rich River skip Peter Nesbitt and his team, sealing an 80-54 first-up win for the 2020-21 weekend pennant grand finalist.
It’s a new-look Rich River outfit this season, but president Gary Radford said his side was suitably covered.
“We lost Daryl Weymouth and Stan Barker, two of our skippers from division one last year,” Radford said.
“We have three new skippers this year, and we have two of our division one ladies bowling in our weekend pennant side.
“It was Keith Hewitt’s first time skippering in division one and his rink had a very good win.”
This Saturday, Rich River will go head-to-head with the table-topping Echuca, who continued its winning ways against Mathoura at the weekend.
Echuca now sits a game clear atop the division one ladder after its five-shot win. But it didn’t have Saturday’s contest all its own way.
Rink one went the way of Echuca skip Ian Page 22-14, but Mathoura skip Mick Humphrey’s 10-shot rink two victory quickly wrestled back momentum.
Much like it did against Moama the week before, Echuca found an extra gear in rink three with a six-shot win, securing the 65-60 victory.
A late charge nearly saw Moama squander an 18-shot lead over Tongala in a tight contest.
On a roll: Moama’s John Shaw follows through on his shot at Rochester on Saturday. Photo: Meg Saultry.
Winding up: Rochester’s Mal Macraild in action for division three on Saturday.
Moama skip Neville Varcoe’s 26-13 rink two win proved decisive, extending the team’s lead after a five-shot win in Graeme Hinsley’s opening rink.
The Tinning quartet — Geoffrey, Barry, Jarryd and skip Bradley — teamed up for the second consecutive match, and very nearly orchestrated the upset for Tongala with a 25-12 rink three victory.
Moama steadied late to hold on for the five-shot win, and hold steady in third spot on the weekend pennant ladder.
Campaspe division one midweek pennant
Moama has blitzed ahead of the pack in midweek division one, climbing atop the ladder with a 43-shot win over Mathoura on Friday.
Moama skips Cassandra Millerick (33-12) and Marilyn Stephenson (25-19) claimed the opening two rinks before Sandra Connelly’s 16-shot rink three victory sealed an 86-43 win.
Echuca is keeping pace with its cross-town counterparts in anticipation of its clash with the ladder leaders this weekend, with the reigning premier winning all three rinks in its 33-shot win over Rochester.
A second rink recovery from Rich River wasn’t enough to overcome Deniliquin on its home turf.
Deni blasted away in the opening rink 30-7, but Rich River skip Toni Beck had more luck in rink two, coming away victorious by 11 shots.
