BOWLS REPORT WEDNESDAY JULY19th (Terry Norwood at the desk)
A few items as a start:
- The RSL Shield competition continues on Saturday July 22nd with the playing of the singles and triples matches. The current leader is team Lewis on 35 points with team Braithwaite in second place on 27 points.
- A number of bowlers represented the Club with distinction in Zone 5 triples matches last weekend. Defending Zone champions Terry Butt, Mick Spong and Mick Armstrong made it to the the semis final but unfortunately went down in a very tight game. Alastair McGhee, Stephen Della and skipper Dugald Braithwaite got through to the quarter finals while in seniors Bob Crowley, Ash Lewis and Kevin Stafford went down by a single shot in the round of sixteen. Great bowling fellows.
- The Match Committee is still calling for Rookies (any bowler who joined after January 1st 2019) to enter the pairs competition. Names can be added to the sheet on the notice board.
- All bowlers who put their names forward for pennants are asked to indicate their availability by marking off the dates beside their names on the notice board.
- The next meeting of the Men’s Bowls Executive will be held on Saturday July 22nd at 10.30. Minutes of this meeting will be available shortly thereafter.
Social Bowls Wednesday July 19th
Thirty bowlers arrived for social bowls on what was a splendid winter’s day. Bright and sunny with only a gentle breeze, there could be few complaints as the bowlers trundled out onto the Waratah Green. What was a challenge for most bowlers, however, was a return to the slick synthetic surface after a few weeks on the much slower Wilson Green. Thirty bowlers was ideal for the match committee to set up five games of triples.
On rink 7, Grahame Denman, Terry Norwood and skipper Robin Staples took on Jill Harwood, Owen Williams and Steve Day. Steve’s team opened with four shots and when they notched up a five on the fifth end, they led 9 – 5. Team Staples then clawed their way back into the game and by the eleventh end had squared the match at 11 all. However, with Jill leading very well and Steve right on the jack, team Day won five of the next six ends and took control of the game. They led by eight with an end to play and were able to shake off a five shot loss on the last to win 22 – 19.
On the next rink, Joel Hunt, Ted McPhee and skipper Chris Forrester battled it out against Barry Werfel, Arnold Lenczuk and Clive Neutze. Clive’s team won four of the opening five ends to lead 7 – 2, but team Forrester came charging back to lead 13 – 10 at the halfway mark. Joel and Barry were having a ding dong battle as lead taking turns at stealing the ascendancy. With Ted and Chris chipping in at vital times, team Forrester kept their lead and went on to a six shot victory 21 – 15.
In the usual 18-end battle, Keith Edwards, Bill Meredith and Paul Rubie took on Neville Tanner, Bill Pope and the spritely youngster John Cummins. Team Rubie got off to a very solid start and led 11 – 1 after just six ends. John’s team were really under the pump but found some form on ends 8 and 9 to close the gap to 4 shots. By the fourteenth end Paul’s team led by two, but twelve shots on ends 15/16 to team Cummins put the game to bed. They took the victory at 23 – 15. What a comeback from that start!
On rink 10, Keith Scriven, Don Coleman and skipper Peter Morales took on Ian Duncan, Harold Wall and Gordon Lewis. Both teams got on the scorecard early but a scorching five shot haul to Peter’s team saw them lead by 8 – 3 after five ends. However, Gordon’s team got their heads down and, with Ian leading well, hit the lead by a shot at the halfway point. In a seesawing second half, the teams shared the ends so that there was only two shots in favour of Gordon’s team with an end to play. In an exciting finish, they took a shot on the last to hang on and win 20 – 17 in a close one.
In the match on rink 11, Mark Rundle, Richard Denman and Ian Crow battled against Denis Lees, Russell Dunstan and Mick Flynn. And this turned out to be another fairly close encounter. Mick’s team got away to a flyer and led 10 – 3 after six ends. Ian’s team found some red hot form on the next three ends and roared to an 11 – 10 lead. Game on! As the second half proceeded the teams exchanged the lead and then locked up the score at 19 all with three to play. Ian’s team took a shot on the nineteenth but when they conceded a massive four on the next end they found themselves in a very deep hole. Mick’s team went on to win 24 – 20.
Finally, in a late report of a Saturday social match, Ian Crow, Graham Denman and Jim Starkey took on Arnold Lenczuk, Tony Oakes and Robin Staples. Oops, in a very one-sided affair, Robin’s team won twelve of the eighteen completed ends and took victory at 31 – 7!