Round 13 Pennant Report 2018/19

PAKENHAM BOWLS CLUB – ROUND 13 PENNANT – 19 JANUARY 2019

SATURDAY

After the disappointment of their one shot loss at Warburton last week, Pakenham One (Div 1) bounced back hard on Saturday with a convincing 95 to 60 win at home against Berwick.  The Lions were up and about from the outset and despite one rink lagging behind, quickly established an early lead which had grown to 25 shots by the half way mark, with two rinks well up, one level and one down.  There was no easing of the pressure after the break and with wins on three rinks the home side pocketed 16 Pennant points.  Best rink with a 35/7 score card was Geoff (Voota) Van Vugt (S), Daniel (Huddo) Hudson (3), Des (Grizzly) Leigh (2) and Glenn (Google) Bainbridge (L).

The Ones remain on the sixth rung of the ladder but are only four points out of the top four and almost a full round clear of Ferntree Gully in seventh.  Although beating the clear ladder leaders on their own turf is a tough assignment, they have the opportunity at Mentone on Friday night to pick up the required points when their postponed round 10 match is finally played.

Pakenham Two (Div 2) had a close one at Hampton Park which unfortunately resulted in a loss.  The home side grabbed the lead in the first few ends but by the half way mark, Pakenham was only three shots behind, despite having only one rink up at that stage.  The game was there to be taken, however the Lions fell short by six shots, going down overall 71/77 but with wins on two rinks collected four Pennant points.  Best of the winners was Peter Ellis (S), Gary (Crow) Crowley (3), Charles Harris (2) and Graeme (Wildman) Wilde (L) with a score of 20/16.

The Twos have a hard road ahead – of their last five games three are against the top three sides, although two of those will be at home.  Their opponent for round 14 (2 February) will be top of the ladder Carrum, at home.  Due to the Australia Day holiday, there will not be any games played next Saturday.

It was Queen Elizabeth who coined the phrase “annus horribilis” when describing her year at Windsor.  However the description might also be applied to the season being experienced by Pakenham’s Third Division side.  They suffered another drubbing on Saturday, this time at the hands of the ladder leaders, The Dandenong Club – roll on 2019/20!  At least when they meet sixth placed Cranbourne at home on 2 February they should have a fighting chance.

The Sixth Div Fours shared the home ground with the Ones on Saturday and joined them in the winners circle.  Playing second placed Chelsea, they started slowly and with just 25% of the game completed they looked to be in trouble as they were down on three rinks and behind overall.  However from that point they obviously found another gear which changed the game entirely and by the half way mark they had three rinks up and a handy 56/37 lead.  By the completion of play they had two winning rinks, one drawn and the fourth down by just two shots for a comfortable overall win of 92/65.  It was pleasing to note that the one losing rink clearly outscored their opponents in the run home.  Best rink was Jan Moore (S), Josie Mazzarella (3), Jan Stevenson (2) and Vince Bevilaqua (L), which with 29/14 more than doubled their rival’s score.

The win elevated them to the third rung of the ladder.  They play Berwick (seventh), away, in round 14.

At sixth on the ladder, Pakenham Five (Div 7) might have looked forward to a close away game against fifth placed Berwick.  However that was not the way it panned out.  The “Wickers” were anything but hospitable, first grabbing an early lead and then doubling the Lions score, 54/27, by the half way mark.  From that point it was all downhill – the final score was 55/102 with only one winning rink: Alan Waterson (S), Luis Aguilar (3), Elaine Butler (2) and Ray Wood (L) with a creditable 25/9 score card.   They dropped from sixth to seventh on the ladder and host fourth placed Dandenong RSL REC in round 14.

MIDWEEK

For a variety of reasons, only one game was actually completed last Tuesday.  Given the heatwave conditions, Pakenham One (Div 1) were fortunate to get a result from their game at home against Heathmont.  They got away to a good start but by the half way mark their opponents had snatched a narrow lead and were ahead on two of the three rinks.  However the Lions pushed back hard, particularly on their best rink which finished the day with a score of 31/12.   The final result was Pakenham up 64/49 with two winning rinks, the best of which was Keith (Golden Arm)Archer (S), Terry (Tmac) McRedmond (3), Charles Harris (2) and Kerry Lewis (L).  Although still in fifth spot the Ones are now only four points behind Heathmont in fourth.  They play Mentone (tenth) away next round.

The game between Pakenham Two (Div 2) and Cardinia Waters was abandonded because of the heat and the points were therefore shared.  The Twos (fifth) will host Burden Park (third) next round.

Pakenham Three (Div 5) were given a walk over by Edithvale and should receive maximum Pennant points plus 12 shots, which would cement their position at the top of the ladder (Bowls Vic had not posted results at the time of writing).

The Six-A-Side Pakenham Four had a bye.  Now in fourth spot, they will host Narre Warren (sixth) next round.

HI-LO

Winner of the HI-LO this week was Trent Gribbin with number 21.

Des Leigh