Sport
16 February, 2023
MAGPIES GOLF BOWLS NOTES
THIS week’s headline for our weekend pennant teams should read ‘Reality Check 101’, as we came back to earth with a thud.
THIS week’s headline for our weekend pennant teams should read ‘Reality Check 101’, as we came back to earth with a thud.
Of the three divisions competing on Saturday, none were successful, and of the twelve rinks competing over those three divisions, only two ended up successful.
But to put things into perspective, all three teams played quality opponents, and two of them were as the away team, giving up the home green advantage, and I think, as most bowlers do, that playing at home has a distinct advantage.
That is not making excuses, as we were all beaten on the day by opponents who played better bowls.
Whereas, if the headline referred to Midweek Pennant, it could have read ‘Finals charge continues.’
Both of the divisions that we compete in have golf bowlers taking part in the Preliminary finals after division one won two rinks and drew on the third, and division three won on only the one rink, but with enough in hand to cover the losing rinks.
Saturday, division one travelled to Winchelsea and came home with just Glenn Winsall’s scorecard in the positive, with his rink ending the day four shots in advance of their opponents.
Losses to the other three rinks by four, seven and nine shots left us with a sixteen shot deficit overall, and not enough points to hold on to top spot on the ladder, which now goes to Apollo Bay.
With just one more round to be played, unless the ‘wheels really fall off’, and division one suffer a huge loss, they are pretty safe in the number two spot, and should play ‘the bay’ in the first week of finals.
Division two also had a day that they would rather forget, going down overall to the top team of Colac, by thirty-one shots, with only Dan Stewart’s rink able to claim bragging rights, successful by twelve shots.
The three remaining rinks suffered losses by twenty-three, eighteen and two shots respectively.
Still sitting in fifth spot, and trailing fourth placed Cressy by just four points, division two are still a chance to make a finals appearance, as Cressy take on the top side, while Golf are at home to the
third placed Birregurra, where a strong finishing burst could see us sneak into fourth spot.
Division three didn’t have a great day either, finishing well down on the scoreboards across the four rinks, and with no chance of a run at the finals, will be looking to finish the season with a win next week.
Not having the luxury of a consistent line-up each week, with players changing every week due to unavailability etc, division three have done a marvellous job staying competitive every week and
continue to represent us proudly.
With the final round of the season upon us, division one have another long road trip, as they head to Lorne, to take on the bottom side, albeit a side that has taken a lot of scalps from top teams so far.
With the advantage of their home green, Lorne will be formidable opponents and the slightest lack of concentration from the Golf bowlers could be catastrophic, as we need a strong win to consolidate second spot.
The team to represent division one is:
K Conheady (s), John Molan, B Conheady and R Bateman; G Body (s), D Bateman, D Stewart and J Paasse; C Skene (s), P Reilly, A Sinnott and M Mahony; G Winsall (s), G Fitzgerald, M Brebner, and D O’Donohue.
The manager will be David, and the bus will leave at 10.15am with Fitzy driving.
As already pointed out, division two are to play host to Birregurra, and find themselves in a fairly precarious position, where they must defeat their opposition on a majority of rinks, and rely heavily on Colac to give Cressy a solid thumping, but with all things falling into place, there is always a chance, with finals waiting.
The team for division two is:
S Lucas (s), P Place, K Russell and J O’Donohue; C McLeod (s), R Wyles, R Dunstan and J Norton; P Richards (s), P Hindhaugh, W Henry and G Teal; T Place (s). L Fitzgerald, I Daws and G Edwards.
Manager is Steve.
Division three are at home to Lorne, and will have a 12midday start to their game, which sees the fifth and sixth placed teams face off to see who can win the final game of the year.
The division three team is:
S Whiteside (s), J Henry, T Darcy and E Waterfall; G Brian (s), N Brebner, J Edwards and E Blyth; P James (s), J Salau, C Wilson and N Tolland; Janet Molan (s), D Place, V Coverdale and K Kerr.
Manager is Garry.
Emergencies for this week are: P Scott, T Taylor and A Whiteside.
Our midweek teams continue to steamroll opponents on their quest for a premiership, with division one getting over Colac City by an impressive twenty-one shots, with Pam Place and her team home by ten, Ilma Daws and her team home by eleven, and Rene Wyles’ rink playing out a draw.
Next week sees Golf come up against Winchelsea in the Preliminary Final, to be played at Colac Central, in a match that should prove to be an exciting one with very little difference in the abilities of the two sides.
And the team to represent Golf is:
P Place (s), D Stewart, M Brebner and E Waterfall; I Daws (s), C Skene, Janet Molan and N Tolland; R Wyles (s), G Body, B Boyd and J O’Donohue.
Janet is the manager.
Division three defeated Colac by three shots, with Steph Whiteside and her rink strong winners, getting over their opponents by fifteen shots, enough to cover the losses to Marg Stephens’ rink and Garry Brian’s rink by five and seven shots respectively.
They now progress to the preliminary final, also to be played at Colac Central, where they will take on the City 3 team, and their team is:
M Stephens (s), P James, P Scott and R Skene; G Brian (s), E Riches, J Edwards and V Coverdale; S Whiteside (s), D Place, E Blyth and G Edwards.
Manager is Garry.
Emergencies for midweek pennant are: P Reilly, L Fitzgerald, L Johnstone and C Wilson.
Last Sunday saw the end to the B Grade championship and the crowning of a new and well deserved winner, with John O’Donohue taking out the title in a very tight and entertaining final, defeating Peter Reilly twenty-one shots to eighteen.
And while the B Grade match was filled with top quality draw bowling by both players, spectators were also enthralled with the ability of the two pairings engaged in the second of the Pairs Championship semi-finals.
There was only the one shot separating Glenn Winsall and Peter Hindhaugh from Dan Stewart and David Bateman as the players headed into the final end.
With one of their opponents bowls very close to the kitty, Dan and David were left with no alternative but to play weighted shots, which unfortunately for them were unsuccessful.
This left Glenn and Peter as the final pair to enter the championship race, where they will take on Gary Body and Jack Paasse, on a date to be decided.