BBC BROADCAST SATURDAY PENNANTS APRIL 18th           (Terry Norwood at the desk)

Grade Six

Bowral played host to the ‘Tigers’ from Taralga and were very keen to reverse the result from the earlier round 2 when the Tigers prevailed. Prior to this match, Taralga was leading the competition, with Bowral holding down fourth position, so there was much hanging on the outcome of the encounter.

In the match on  rink 4 of the Wilson Green, Mick Fisher, Dennis Beatty, Peter Martin and Dugald Braithwaite were more than matched at the start to be behind 4 – 7 after six ends, but then rallied to move closer at 9 – 11 after eleven. They then closed to be level on the thirteenth, and a double on the next end gave them the lead. However, Taralga was not going away and the scores became 16 all, and then 17 all with two ends to play. Bowral grabbed the lead with a single on the twentieth only to be topped by Taralga with a double and victory on the last.

On the next rink, Barb Wainberg, Peter Flight, Dave Coltman and Al McGhee made a strong start to lead 8 – 0 after four ends, but the score became 8 – 7 four ends later as the Taralga bowlers began to find their range. A single then to Bowral was followed by four very solid ends to Taralga who skipped away to lead by six and looked to hold the upper hand. Over the next few ends, Bowral hung in tenaciously, to get within two shots, but it was the Tigers who  finished the stronger to get home 22 – 15.

In the third game, Noel Fraser, Jim Neely, Oscar Whalin and Ash Lewis opened with a flurry of winning ends to lead 20 – 1 after ten! Great stuff! The Tigers then hit back to collect six shots over the next four ends and give the Bowral boys something to think about. And think they did, and with heads down and bowls in the head, they rattled home winning the final seven ends and adding twenty-four shots in the process. Overall, it was a dominating performance with Noel, Jim, Oscar and Ash bulldozing their opponents out of the match and getting home huge winners at 44 – 6.

So, overall it was a successful day for Bowral who, although losing two rinks, won the day by virtue of the massive win by Ash and his team. Bowral notched up 8 competition points to the 2 points for Taralga, and grabbed some much needed confidence to take them into round 8 after the ANZAC weekend. Currently third on the ladder and 14 points behind the leaders, Bowral are still in touch.

Grade Seven

Bowral travelled to Camden to take on the third placed ‘Rams’ in a must win encounter if Bowral was to stay in the hunt for the top spot. The weather was perfect for bowls, and the green was in fine order, with this match set down for rinks 23 – 25.

In the encounter on rink 25, Mick Flynn, Clive Neutze, Reta South and Chris Forrester made a solid start to be 5 – 2 up after four ends, and by the ninth, had pushed the lead out to 11 – 5. However, Camden then mounted a comeback, and by the thirteenth had squared things up at 13 all. The score then became 15 all, and with three ends to play, Bowral had edged to a one shot lead. However, Camden regained the lead and despite a double to Bowral on the last, held on to win 21 – 19. It was a great match with all the Bowral four contributing solidly.

On the next rink. Arnie Lenczuk, Lynne Boshier, Ross Barber and Gordon Lewis started slowly but by the fifth end were only a shot behind at 5 – 6. The ‘Rams’ then put together some fine ends, and by the eleventh had stretched the lead to 13 – 7 to have Bowral under pressure. However, Bowral dug deep and began to claw their way back so that by the seventeenth, they were only two shots in arrears. And when they notched up a triple on the twentieth, they hit the lead by a shot. With the skips heading to the mat on the last, Camden held game, but skip Gordon sneaked one in the backdoor for second and so the game ended in a draw at 17 all.

In the third match, Graham Hunt, Ricci Wilson, Terry Norwood and Robin Staples made a fine start to lead 7 – 1 after four ends and, despite dropping three shots, then advanced the lead to 14 – 4 by the eleventh. Skip Robin was having an absolute blinder reversing the head time and again with dead draws. The score advanced to 19 – 8 by the sixteenth with a couple of solid ends to Camden and then Robin took over again. With the maestro on the jack, Bowral gobbled up the final five ends to run out big winners at 27 – 8. It was a solid win, but the front three will have to provide more support to the skip in future matches.

So, overall it was a winning day for the Bowral team with a win, a draw and a defeat for 8.5 competition points to the 1.5 points for the Rams. This places Bowral third on the ladder now just 11 points behind the leaders Camden RSL. With three rounds to play, Bowral is still, in with a chance of winning the section but will have to keep winning. Picton at Picton will be the opponents when competition resumes after the ANZAC weekend with round 8, followed by current leaders Camden RSL at home.