Isn’t it great that we have so much bowls action to report on? It seems only a short time ago that we wondered if we were ever going to get out on the greens to enjoy the sport we love.
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Cobram bowlers John Taylor, Alan Temple, Barry Turner and Jeff Beasley took the prize for best first game in the 60 and Over competition at Numurkah on Monday, November 29.
Winners at our 2-4-2 pairs on Tuesday, November 30 were George Mynard and Barb Turner, the only two-game winners, with runners-up being Tracey Emery and Carol Mathers.
Remember, all bowlers from any club are welcome. Names to be in by 8.30am every Tuesday for a 9.30am start. Call Glenda on 0407 040 208.
Thursday Men’s Trade Day was played at Numurkah and Cobram’s Paul McKay, Ron Dougherty and John Dixon took top prize with four wins and 68 points. One can only imagine the disappointment for the runners-up, who must have thought that four wins and 65 points would win them the day.
Friday pennant at Cobram for our division one side had a slightly delayed start because of the Thursday night storms. We played our nearest neighbours – Barooga – and this time Cobram won all three rinks. Kerry Baldacchino played a great skip’s game and helped her team to a seven-shot win over Ruth Burnett’s team. Carol Doherty’s squad had a close battle with Carol Wigg’s crew, with the outcome of the game changing from a potential draw to a two-shot win with Carol Doherty’s last bowl. On the third rink, despite some shot-saving bowls from Barooga skip Brenda Ingram, Marj McDonald’s team had a comfortable rink win.
We play Finley next week and a win is essential to continue our progress up the ladder before the mid-season break.
Friday division two played away at Numurkah Golf, and this time the top of the table ‘Golfers’ were too strong on all three rinks. Our newest pennant players are enjoying their bowls and will only improve playing against better bowlers.
Cobram had its top three sides playing at home when Saturday pennant bowlers were met with their first windy day of the new season, however the Cobram division one side was up against its biggest challenge, facing second-placed Numurkah Golf. With both sides wanting to stamp some authority onto the season, this was destined to be a battle royale.
The unbeaten Tigers leaped out of the blocks with Greg Dunn’s four jumping out to a very commanding lead early against `Chops’ Stranger. At one stage Cobram was up 20 to 3 on this particular rink. Dunn’s four ended up winning by seven shots.
John Dixon’s rink certainly held its own against Geoff Sutcliffe and the rink win went down to the wire. With scores level on the last end, the Numurkah Golf side managed to only just hold onto shot, getting up by one.
Steve Tatnall’s rink had a very tight tussle with Mark Jones, with Ross Smith really standing up playing third for Tatnall. This game also went down to the last end with the Cobram four holding game with Mark Jones to deliver his last bowl. With the wind playing around with biases all day, Jones needed the aid of a wide bowl to come into the head, moving the jack out of danger for the Numurkah team and holding shot. Tatnall was unable to convert the head back to his favour, with the opponents taking the chocolates.
Cobram was up by two shots over the three rinks. Overall, however, it was a top quality match given the conditions, leaving the Tigers sitting on top of the ladder undefeated.
Cobram division two also found itself at home, sharing a green with the division one side and playing against Finley 2. Colin McDonald enjoyed his time back in the side after having a week off through illness, with Peter Garland starting to show what he can do with his “stick”. This particular Cobram rink had a day out, having a very comfortable 42-9 win over Karen Peacock. Marg McDonald was well served with John Anders at third, playing his best game of the year. Whilst not having such a commanding win as Col Mac, Mrs Mac still finished the day with a 12-shot win. The Quinanes — David and Pat — topped off the day with another rink win for Cobram, cementing the side into second place on the ladder.
Cobram division three took on Barooga 3. In a reverse of the Friday result, this time Barooga took the points on all three rinks. Carol Doherty again did battle with Carol Wigg, but this time Cobram was not able to hold out the opposition at the back end of the game.
Keith Faulkner’s crew came up against Peter Wood and, despite scoring 10 unanswered shots at the end of the game, had a heartbreaking loss with Barooga scoring four shots on the final end.
Andrew Rushby’s four also made up 10 shots mid-game, but fell short to Fred Pinnuck’s squad.
So, they remain third on the division three ladder.
Cobram 4 played away at Berrigan. Alan Temple was the lucky skip this week to have birthday boy Luke Dunn as his lead.
We all know what a difference it makes when your lead puts their bowls next to the jack, and Luke did not disappoint. The team won five of the last six ends to cement its solid win against Kura Goldsmith.
Meanwhile on the other rink, Barb Turner’s four consolidated their win over Clare Harvey by scoring four or more shots on four ends. A good percentage-boosting win.
Cobram 5 played away against Numurkah 4 — also in the variable wind. This turned out to be a reversal of result for Numurkah from last week when it played our number 4 side.
Glenda Mann had a new line-up, and despite a good start, slowed down in the last third of the game while Sieg Seiter’s crew got their second wind and took the rink by two shots. On the other rink Numurkah’s Bill Werner jumped out of the blocks to have the scoreboard showing 14-0 in his rink’s favour, before — assisted by some great bowling by Frank Wallace (second) and Annette Temple (third) — Carol Mathers got back to within two shots. On the 15th end, Cobram was in front over all, but it was all Numurkah on both rinks after that.
Some reminders:
•Men’s club singles games to be played ASAP.
•Chicken and champagne breakfast bowls from 8.30am Sunday, December 19.
•Kerr Real Estate ham and turkey club selected triples at 12.30pm Sunday, December 19.
•All Friday pennant players are requested to return to the club after the game on Friday, December 17.
State singles qualifier finals for Murray Bowls Playing Area
Cobram hosted the semi-finals and finals for men’s and ladies’ state singles qualifiers on Sunday, December 5. These games were played with much less wind than was encountered on Saturday. We also had an interest with Cobram’s John Dixon through to the semi-final. John defeated Ross Higgins (Numurkah) 25-21, and Barry Cosgrove (Wunghnu) defeated Roy Taylor (Tocumwal Golf) 25-17. In the ladies’ competition, Linda Isted (Numurkah) defeated Katrina Glover (Numurkah Golf) 25-15, and Loris Houlihan (Numurkah Golf) defeated Sue Jamison (Picola) 25-23. All games were of a high standard, proving that the participants were worthy of their places in the semi-final.
In the final, played in the afternoon, Barry got out to an early lead and from then on his combination of accurate draw bowls, precise conversion shots, plus the occasional end-killing drive, made John dig deep. Despite matching Barry’s tactics, John was not able to claw back that head start and the result was 25-17 in Barry’s favour.
On the other rink, Loris and Linda had a great battle, but in the end Linda’s consistent and accurate draw bowling saw her win 25-14.
Barry and Linda will now represent Murray Playing Area in this event at the regional level and we wish them good bowling and success there and hopefully beyond.