Sport

Echuca-Moama and district bowls notes

By Alexander Dabb

Oct 24, 2023

Bowls is back: Steve Cunnington of Echuca bowls during the weekend pennant contest against Deniliquin, with the greens coming alive again across the weekend and weekday competitions last week. Photo: Aidan Briggs Photo by Aidan Briggs

Moama Bowling Club

Social Bowls

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Tuesday, October 17

Men’s Triples:

Winners: Gil Crouch, Jason McCloy, Alan Cook

Runners-up: Geoff Manners, Peter Walton, Barry Brennan

Best 1st game winners: Peter Broom, Les Saunderson, Ben Franklin

Best 2nd game winners: Peter Tressider, Wally Wadge, Greg Pettigrove

Thursday, October 19

Ladies Pairs:

Winners: Lorna Jones, Sue Holmes

Two-game runner-up: Cheryl Arnel, Rhonda Solomon

Men’s Pairs:

Winners: Ian Smith, Les Saunderson

Runners-up: Tony Hawley, Rob Wastell

Best 1st game winners: Alex McQuarrie, Alan Jones

Best 2nd game winners: Brian Kirk, Col Struthers

Friday, October 20

Ladies Scroungers

Winner: Beryl Bell

Runner-up: Shirley Riters

Rink 1 winner: Carmel Simpson

Rink 2 winner: Shirley Riters

Rink 3 winner: Bery Bell

Rink 4 winner: Carol Matthews

Rink 5 winner: Pam McCloy

Ditch to Ditch: Peggy Bell, Di O’Bryan

Thursday, October 19

Winners: Gwen Hurst, John McVicker, Bill Musgrove

Runners-up: Lyn McVicker, Pam Reyment, Joy Hooper

Echuca Bowls Club

Tuesday last week was the first round of Midweek Pennant, with division one having a comfortable 23-shot win over Rich River. Best rink went to Roma Opie, Pam Lewis, Kristy Gillingham and Robin Tooley with a 25-6 victory.

Division two was soundly beaten by newcomer Stanhope by 39 shots overall.

Joan Moss (s), Rhonda Gallagher, Neil Dovaston and Joan Armstrong were the only winners, with a one-shot victory.

Division three defeated Tongala Yellow by five shots thanks to an eight-shot win by Dennis Ricketts (s), Marg Shearer, Marg Hoelter and Ros Neil.

The first round of Weekend Pennant resulted in wins to divisions one, four and five Blue.

Division one defeated Deniliquin by eight shots (64-56) in an evenly contested event.

Jim Ferrier (s), Phillip Thorn, Robert Taylor and Leica Roney were the best-performed rink with an eight-shot victory.

Reigning premier division two was given a touch-up by Deniliquin RSL by 18 shots, losing all three rinks.

Division three travelled to Stanhope and was well beaten by 18 shots overall.

The only winning rink was Kevin McGreevy (s), Daryl LaVelle, Chris Campbell and Bill Cook who won by 13 shots.

Division four travelled to Lockington and won by 16 shots thanks mainly to an 11-shot win by Ron Payne (s), Virginia Kalsbeek, Mac Campbell and Cec Moss.

In division five Echuca Blue defeated Echuca White by six shots, with Dennis Smith (s), Bruce Haines, Jeff Werner and Steve Morgan best in a 20-16 victory.

Monday’s Social Bowls were won by Craig Beck and Peter Foran with two wins (+8) from Rob Height and Ivan Edwards with a win and a loss (+3).

Thursday’s Jackpot Pairs saw only two winners of both games, with George Thornley and Neil Dovaston taking home the chocolates (+16) from runners-up Phillip and Mal Thorn (+12).

Best one game went to Kevin McGreevy and Col Berryman (+17).

Friday Scroungers was won by Toby Egan from Chris Egan.

The next tournament is the Charlie Williams-sponsored Twilight Triples on Monday, November 13 at 5pm. Three games of 10 ends with tea after the second game.

Entries to Rhonda Gallagher on 0448 400 051.

The ever-popular Men’s and Ladies’ Christmas Fours Bonanza follow, with the men’s event on Thursday, December 14 sponsored by Echuca Mitsubishi, and the ladies on Friday, December 15 sponsored by Moama Bowling Club.

Hams and turkeys are the prizes, with entries to Rhonda Gallagher on 0448 400 051.

Mini Bingo continues to be unclaimed, sitting at $4000, and is drawn on Friday evenings between 4pm and 6pm at drinks and nibbles.

Rich River Bowls Club

Our new uniforms have arrived and are available for purchase with the new smart design.

Wednesday, October 11 — Men’s Jackpot Pairs

Winners: Peter Moon and Peter Jackson — three wins, 65 points, 24 shots up

Runners-up: Gary Radford and Bill McEwen — two wins, 64 points, 14 shots up

Third: Graeme Moffat and Kevin Searle — two wins, 60 points, 2 shots up

Wednesday, October 18 — Men’s Jackpot Pairs

Winners: Roger Teasdale and Sean McCallig — three wins, 82 points, 24 shots up

Runner-up: Barry Devlin and Leon Sharp — two wins, 61 points, 9 shots up

Third: Alan Polak and Eugene Xodo — two wins, 56 points, 18 shots

Daisy Taylor Pairs: Congratulations to the grand finalists in a close-fought match

Winners: Liz Easther and Barb Searle — 11

Runners-up: Jacqui Millar and Moira Thomas — 10

Club mixed pairs

Another tight tussle, two-point winners. Congratulations to winners Liz Easther and Peter Jackson and runners-up Sam and Noeline King.

Club coaching each Friday now at 10am with Trevor. Open to beginners and all our members to refine their skills.

Ladies Championship Singles: Thursday, October 26.

Men’s Championship Singles on or before Thursday, November 2.

Ladies 2 Bowl Triples Tournament: Friday, November 24. Entries now open.

Tournament secretary: Jan Hocken 0417391572, Carol Guille 0417 520 846 or richriverbowls@gmail.com

Ladies Social Bowls, Thursday 9.30am for 10am start.

Wednesday, Men’s Jackpot Pairs.

All bowlers and friends most welcome. For entry, phone the bowls office on 5481 3390 on the day of play and leave a message or place name on the appropriate sheet on noticeboard at front of clubhouse.

Lockington Bowls Club

The club held a successful Waterwheel Classic Fours on Sunday, which attracted 128 bowers from clubs including Cohuna, Cohuna Golf, Echuca, Elmore, Gunbower, Inglewood, Kerang, Lake Boga, Leitchville, Lockington, Mathoura, Moama, Pyramid Hill, Rich River, Rochester, Stanhope, Tongala and Woodbury.

Club president Neil Haines welcomed all bowlers and wished them well on the day.

The sponsors were AutObarn Echuca, and the club acknowledged the continued support. The club welcomed Bendigo-Campaspe Goldfields Region chair Vicky Tierney from Inglewood, along with the secretary Barry Brown (Rich River) and deputy chair Steve Peter.

All three competed on the day and Tierney spoke at the luncheon interval on the progress of the region and wished all bowlers a successful season of bowls, outlining several issues facing the area.

On the greens, the competition was electric, with bowlers facing windy and cool conditions, but the condition of the playing surface was outstanding.

At the completion of the four games of 10 ends, there were only three undefeated teams to contest the five-end play-offs.

In the first play-off, the composite team of Paul Kearney, Keith Hewitt, Steve Pavone, Jason McCloy (s) from Rich River and Mathoura defeated the Rochester rink of Rob Clayton, Francis Keech, Graham Willis, Don Gillies 9-3 over five ends to progress to the final. There they met the Ingewood team of Vicky Tierney, Arthur Harrison, Jason Jackson and Lindsay Kelly (s).

After a torrid battle, the composite team of Kearney, Hewitt, Pavone and McCloy emerged as the winner by a margin of 6-3.

The victory was a back-to-back story as both Kearney and McCloy were members of the Classic Fours last year, teaming with Stuart Sutton and John McGowan. A historic moment to have their names in gold lettering.

Tournament secretary Chris Stewart congratulated the winners and placegetters and thanked women’s president Denise Gilmore and her committee for the tremendous effort in providing the great meals on the day.

Stewart also acknowledged the input from the greens staff Les Brereton and Lloyd Buchanan for the excellent playing surface. The bar staff along with Mary Thomas were thanked for the pleasant service during the tournament.

Pauline Humbert once again excelled in the presentation of the raffle and presentation envelopes. The special competition winners included Joe Cauchi (Pyramid Hill), Steve O’Callaghan (Mathoura), Som Power (Kerang), Mark Browne (Elmore), Dennis Smith (Echuca) and Wayne Cowley (Tongala).

The first rounds of the Campaspe Playing Area midweek and weekend pennant competitions were held during the past week.

On Tuesday, the women played Moama Black at home and were victorious with a 45-36 win and shared the rinks. (D Gilmore l.t L Quinton 16-23; Phylis MacFarlane defeated P Bell 29-14).

In the weekend pennant, the club failed to win a game, as all three divisions lost.

Division Three lost to Deniliquin 55-63 winning just the one rink. (A Harris l.t. G Thomson 16-24; J Harris d. T Todd 22-20; L McInnes l.t. T Danckery 17-19).

Division Four lowered its colours to Echuca to the tune of 53-69 with only one rink in front at the completion of play. The John Fisher rink picked up six shots on the final end to win by two shots. (D Thomas l.t. J Leary 15-22; J Fisher d. T Deenan 22-20; L Brereton l.t. R Payne 16-27).

Division Five travelled to Elmore and returned home with a 12-shot loss 29-41. (N Haines l.t. A Gerrish l.t 15-18; K Stout l.t. P Brock 14-23).

The club’s “lucky lotto” competition is in full swing with Cindy Felmingham and Jeff Carnie the early winners. The competition is worked on the first drawn supplementary number.

The women are holding an Invitation Fours tournament on Thursday, November 16, starting at 9.30am. Contact Katthi Maddison for details.

Rochester Bowls Club

60-and-over: Winners on the day were Howard Tonkin’s Kyabram team with five in the yardstick and the closest bowl. Runners-up, also five in the yardstick, were Allan Benson’s Rochester team.

Shepp Park: Runners-up on October 20 were K. Barker, J. Tamburini, G. Bancell and J. Major.

Social bowls: Winners on October 20 were J. Limbrick, K. Williams and B. Hetherington. The raffle winner was J. Limbrick.

Social bowls will be on October 27, 8.45am to 9.15am. Ring the office to put your name down; 10am start. All welcome.

Midweek pennant, round one results

Division One, away to Mathoura: Rochester won 59 to 56 shots (B. Trengove, J. Major, J. Tamburini and M. Knight lost 19 to 21 shots; R. Feuk, J. McCallum, K. Hall and H. Curnick won 19 to 15 shots; K. Barker, J. Weeks, L. Milgate and G. Bancell won 21 to 20 shots).

Division Two had a bye

Division Three, home to Mathoura: Rochester lost 32 to 43 shots (M. Macraild, R. Willis, J. Murray and B. Godden lost 13 to 17 shots; B. Smolenaars, D. Milgate, F. Wolfe and J. Limbrick lost 19 to 26 shots).

Bowls coaching continues October 26 at 10am. Marg Knight would love to see anyone who would like to have coaching turn up and learn the skills of bowls.

Thursday pairs on October 26 will be three-bowl pairs. List in the foyer.

Names in by noon. Start at 1.30pm. Put your name in with a partner.

Pennant practice will be on Thursday from 4pm for weekend pennant from now on.

In partnership with Rochester Bowls Club, the Campaspe Shire Council flood recovery team is holding three barefoot bowls events for residents on October 27, November 15 and December 13.

Dinner is free, served at 7.30pm. To book, call the flood recovery hub on 1300 666 353 and press ‘2’ or email council.

Weekend pennant, round one results

Division One, home to Mathoura: Rochester won 71 to 58 shots (R. Clayton, M. Knight, L. Walles and J. Weeks won 25 to 17 shots; R. Dennis, A Crilly, T. Quinlan and B. Trengove lost 21 to 24 shots; D. Gillies, G. Willis, K. Barker and R. Feuk won 25 to 17 shots)

Division Two, home to Mathoura: Rochester lost 66 to 80 shots (G. Smolenaars, L. Milgate, J. Major and A. Gusak lost 27 to 29 shots; P. Stahl, K. Burrow, R. Turner and G. Chambers lost 24 to 34 shots; A. Williams, R. Knight, G. Browne and N. Hodge lost 15 to 17 shots)

Division Three, home to Rich River: Rochester won 65 to 56 shots (B. Major, J. Tamburini, R. Howe and G. Houlihan lost 22 to 24 shots; W. Bertuch, M. Ellis, F. Keech and P. Stack won 20 to 16 shots; E. Hall, K. Williams, A. Benson and K. Hall won 23 to 16 shots).

Division Five, away to Moama: Rochester lost 60 to 26 shots (J. Murray, J. Limbrick, Y. Smolenaars and B. Godden lost 11 to 33 shots; M. Macraild, G. Warden, G. Prince and D. Murray lost 15 to 27 shots).

Open fours star tournament

Thursday, November 9, 12.30pm start, three games of eight ends. $60 a team. Beautiful afternoon tea. Contact Rob Clayton on 0419 007 865.

Bar duty: New roster four days a week, 5pm to 6.30pm, Monday to Thursday.

October 23 to 26: A. Benson, L. Milgate; October 30 to November 3: J. Boyd, H. Moon; November 6 to 9: G. Browne, D. Murray. Bar manager: David Murray, phone 0477 520 385.