General News
7 January, 2020
Cockatoos aim to defend home turf
COBDEN bowler Colin Hammond wants his side to make its home green a fortress in the second half of Corangamite Bowls Division pennant.
COBDEN bowler Colin Hammond wants his side to make its home green a fortress in the second half of Corangamite Bowls Division pennant.
The Cockatoos, currently second on the ladder, resume their season with a home match against Camperdown Golf on Saturday.
They sit 10 points ahead of a five team chasing pack that includes Apollo Bay, Camperdown, Colac Central, Colac and Colac City, with a finals berth in sight with seven rounds to play.
But Hammond said his side needed to keep winning if it wanted to makes its finals dream a reality, particularly on familiar territory.
“We’re one game up on about five sides so it’s really important we win all our home games (in the second half),” Hammond said.
“If you’re losing games, you’re in a tricky position, so we’ve just got to start off well again and win these early ones.
“Being a home game, it’s one we really need to win.”
The two clubs will meet for the first time since their round one clash, which saw the Cockatoos prevail by 27 shots at Golf.
But this time around, Hammond is expecting a determined Golf outfit to throw everything at his side as they try to lift themselves out of the relegation zone.
He said their opponents had the experience within their ranks to be a handful for most clubs, adding his side needed to be on the ball from the first bowl.
“They’ve already won three games and have Skeney (Craig Skene) back and they also have the likes of Glenn Winsall, Kev Conheady and Rossy Fleming so they’re still a good team,” he said.
“They’re probably a bit older than most other teams but those guys are bowling three times a week so we probably have to be wary that they’ve been bowling (regularly).
“Golf have a lot of experienced guys, so we need to be prepared to counter that.”