YMGCR BOWLS CLUB O&M MEN’S STATE FOURS CHAMPIONS 2022-23
Not a good day for YMGCR Midweek teams with all three going down. The A1’s played Kiewa at home and went down 2/49 to 12/58. In good conditions considering the weather we have endured over the last few weeks, the Kiewa side took the initiative from the very beginning and was never headed. New skip Julian Jones made his mark early as his rink of Greg Green (who was promoted back to third after the late withdrawal of Les Spencer),Ray Irvine and the ever reliable Sue Middleton all played at a very high level. Jones and the opposition skip both played some outstanding bowls, but with Jones front end continually having more bowls in the head, it final showed in the end when the YMGCR rink skipped away to win 23/11. Anne Miles rink played steady bowls but their opponents eventually got on top and won 15/23. Laureen Smith rink was never in the contest with all four players getting beaten by the opposition and going down 11/24.
The A2’s played Rutherglen at home and in a nail biting climax, lost 2/55 to 12/59. When it all came down to the very last bowl and with YMGCR needing a 2 for the tie…… and with Doddy just missing the game was gone. After losing the last end he went down 21/22, so close but no cigars. At the other end of the spectrum Danny McNeill had the opposite feelings when his rink got up 16/15. He was well supported by Marcia McGrillen, Tony Durkin and Marie Morffew. Allan Goudge rink had a tight battle all day but just fell short losing 18/22. Even though they have lost both their games they have shown that they are well in the race for the premiership, as both defeats have been very tight.
The A3’s travelled to the beautiful little town of Yackandandah just going down in a tight game losing 2/52 to12/54. The best rink was Ian Morffew whose rink won 21/18. It was a good effort from Morf who had the old wily Doug McTier playing third with his new weapon (bowling arm) and well support by two new bowlers who are showing a lot of promise in Denise Trubiano and Ian Febey. Ronnie Lamson who was thrown into the skip position at the very last moment didn’t let it phase him as his rink put up a mighty effort to just go down 16/18. The third rink skipped by Les Balfour also put in a bold showing just going down 15/18. Overall, the team can be very proud of the effort as Yackandandah’s team had just came down from the A2’s last season.
The local derby between YMGCR and Yarrawonga in the A1’s was played at home with YMGCR winning 18/99 to 0/59. The rink of “Disco ” Davies always held the upper hand and with an even contribution from Claire Sanders, Greg Green and Julian Jones, their rink won 31/10. In Scott Widdison rink they got jumped early to be trailing 2/14 after7 ends. Then within the next 4 ends they had hit the lead. After that Laureen Smith then took total control leading magnificently for the rink to cruise home winning the last 7 ends to win 30/16. By the lofty standards of Rod Jones even the great man himself admitted he had a hard day (which is something you don’t relate to the humble Mr Jones). The rink itself all had a bad day but still got the job done, winning 21/17. It was a gutsy effort to get the win in that situation. Jim Lefevre’s rink started badly and after the 11th end trailed 5/10. Things still didn’t get better and after the 16th end still trailed 8/15. Then with 5 ends to go they started their fight back and took the lead for the first time winning the next 4 ends to lead 17/16 and they eventually fell over the line winning 17/16.
The A2’s travelled to the rain sodden town of Benalla and came away with a super win getting over the line 16/89 to 2/74. Well done to the Benalla Club for getting their greens playable. With both grass greens still having plenty of mud on them we were put on the synthetic and it played very well. After a slow start Rob Hummel’s rink (0/9 down after 5 ends) slowly started to claw their way back into the game and hit the lead on the 15th end to lead 21/18. They then won 5 ends of the next 6 to win 27/19. In the exact opposite Ray Brown’s rink dropped a 3 on the first end but after that minor setback then went on a scoring frenzy getting out to a 21/5 lead after 12 ends, AND then the wheels fell off and they limped home to win 26/19. Well done to Ian Febey who was playing his first game on synthetic and took it in his stride and showed he is going to be a very good player. Alan Goudge stepped up to skipper due to “Grumpy” Loveridge illness and he and his rink all played very well and won 19/15. Cat Brincat had one of those days and lost 17/21. Talking to him after the game, he thought that was the best game his rink had played. Just goes to show when it’s not your day……. it’s not!!!
The A4’s played Benalla at home and after a tough battle got home with a narrow victory winning 14/72 to 4/69. In a nail biting finish, Ross Lloyd’s rink went into the last end of the game 1 shot up, with YMGCR holding 2 shots it all came down to the very last bowl…..the Benalla skip missed and the mighty A4’s got the job done again. The stars for the day with a win of 23/11 were Bob Evans rink. Bob is playing fantastic bowls every time he walks onto the rink, but he can’t do it alone. He is getting great support from Pam Dodman, (they are gelling very well and complement each other), from new bowler Denise Trubiano playing her first game in the A4’s, (the girl is showing that she can step up into the next grade and handle the situation), and also from the star little leader in Barb Tennyson (she is starting to consistently string together good game after good game). It seems to be a common theme this week as Doddy also got a bad start losing 6/15 after 16 ends but the old boy’s rink then reeled off the last 5 ends getting the last 14 points to win 20/15. Lloyd’s rink was always in trouble but picking up 5 on the last 3 ends made their score more respectable and also got the team the win. This is a good lesson for all bowlers. If you just keep plugging away every point can make a difference. Pricey rink was in trouble all day losing 13/20, but he also won some very important points late in the game.
The B2’s travelled to Corowa Civic and lost 0/46 to 14/81. A very special thanks to our president Greg Fisher who helped us out by driving the bus. Terry Matthews rink got off to a bad start but flew home to just fall short getting 8 shots in the last 4 ends losing 16/19. Neville Coleman’s rink was well in the game until they dropped 14 shots over 7 ends … BUT to their credit they will get the most gutsy award for the week or maybe for the year as they picked up 10 shots over last 6 ends with only 6 bowls. Dougie McTier had a fall and hurt his wrist and was rushed to the doctors. Thankfully he got a few stitches and has made himself available next week …. what an inspirational guy!!!! Well done to the other two players in the rink John Millar and Chris Horne. Noel Millar’s rink never got going and lost 10/27.
Now to most important time of the week as “RINK OF THE WEEK” goes to Disco Davies, Julian Jones, Greg Green and Claire Sanders.
Wednesday Social Bowls had 20 players and we had 3 two game winners. You would be fairly confident going into the Club House with a +22 score and so it was with Norm Windebank and Mick Klodinski who strutted in looking like winners but……..when the winners were announced it was in fact Col Withers and Neville Coleman with a +31. Not a bad score when you only play 24 ends. We hope that Col’s winnings will help him get over all the rain on the farm. The lucky number was won by Chris Horne and the jackpot failed to go off.
On Thursday the O&M Over 60’s Ladies Pairs Final was played at YMGCR and I’m glad to report the our champ Annie Miles and Sharon Warfe (Benalla) had a comfortable win 19/3 against a gallant team from Yarrawonga.
On Sunday the O&M Men’s 4’s Final was held at YMGCR between our two gun rinks with Jim Lefevre, Troy Williams, Andy Lefevre and Rod Jones playing Disco Davies, Scott Widdison, Les Spencer and Ken Widdison. It turned out to be a one sided affair with the Davies team winning 17/6. The rink was lead beautifully by the old champ Ken Widdison and was well backed up by Spencer and Scott Widdison and when needed Disco then played some telling bowls. Jimmy’s rink was always under the pump and the score line didn’t reflect the true closeness of the game. The boys will now represent the O&M in the State Championship in Bendigo later in the year. Thank you to Doddy for doing a wonderful job of umpiring the final.
Also, on Sunday the O&M Ladies 4’s Final was played at Wodonga. Our past Australian 4’s champs in Kylie Whitehead (Wodonga), Anne Miles, Laureen Smith and Claire Sanders got the victory winning 20/6. They will also head to Bendigo for the State Championships. Not a bad effort when we get 3 rinks in the O&M 4’s Finals….well done to all the players for doing our club proud .
Don’t forget Midweek Pennant will be played on Wednesday and we have “Blokes Day” on Thursday.