MIDWEEK PENNANT ROUND 9 – SEASON 2023/24
Pakenham’s Midweek teams rounded out 2023 on a high, with all three sides posting wins on the last Tuesday before Christmas.
Pakenham One (Div 1) (third on the ladder) was away at Burden Park (fifth) for a game that it had to win in order to retain a spot in the top four. The Lions got away to a great start and by the completion of the first fifteen ends had established a lead of 16 shots to eight, with two up and one all square. However the Dragons came back hard over the next “quarter” of the game and by the mid way point Pakenham’s players had a real fight on their hands as at that stage, although they still had two rinks up, the overall score was level at 28 shots apiece.
After the break, two of Pakenham’s rinks regrouped and set about imposing themselves on their opponents, with immediate effect on the scoreboard; however the third rink began to take a pummelling – consequently, there was little movement in the overall score and at the start of the run home the Lions led by the slender margin of just two shots. That pattern continued for the remainder of the contest and at the completion of play, with the score at 58 to 56, Pakenham won the day by two shots with two rinks in front.
Best rink with 24 shots to 15 was Glenn “Google” Bainbridge (S), Terry “TMac” McRedmond (3), Brian Norton (2) and Lynne Smith (L). This rink was trailing by eight shots to 12 at lunch but outscored their opponents by 16 shots to three after the break.
The win elevated the Ones to second spot on the ladder, now 38 points below Clayton, five ahead of Berwick (third) and eight up on Keysborough (fourth). The Lions’ round 10 match (23 January) at home against Clayton presents a huge challenge particularly, as on paper at least, the teams in third and fourth positions both have very winnable games.
There was little separating Pakenham Two (Div 3) and cross town rivals Cardinia Waters One prior to their match up at Pakenham on 19 December – both had a win/loss ratio of 6/2 and Pakenham held top spot on the ladder by just two points from Cardinia Waters in second.
The visitors hit the ground running in that game and by the completion of the first fifteen ends had two rinks up and a lead of 15 shots to 10. However during the period leading up to lunch, the Lions fired up, outscoring their opponents across the board to take the lead at the break by 38 shots to 26, with two up and one down.
However during the next period of play the momentum swung back the other way and by the start of the business ends, Cardinia Waters again had their noses in front on two of the three rinks and had reduced Pakenham’s leading margin to just five shots overall. Nevertheless, the Lions held their own during the run home and with the final score at 65 to 57 won a close contest by just eight shots.
Pakenham had only one successful rink – Keith “Golden Arm” Archer (S) Darren Webster (3), Maree Taylor (2) and Gayle Harkness (L). They led all day and methodically built their score to finish with 31 shots to 10, which more than covered the deficit on the other two rinks.
The Twos still hold top spot on the ladder, now 10 points clear of Cardinia Waters and 14 in front of Noble Park. It is important that they win away against Willow Lodge One (fifth) in round 10 as Cardinia Waters have a very winnable game, at home to bottom of the ladder, Berwick Three.
Pakenham Three (Div 5) were also at home, their opponent being The Dandenong Club Four. Although the Lions sat on top of the ladder with seven from eight and Dandy was down at sixth with only three wins, nothing was able to be taken for granted in that game as one never knew what the team from Heatherton Road would bring to the table.
During the early stages of the contest, almost according to some unseen script, the visitors got away to a flyer and after the first fifteen ends had two rinks up and led by 19 shots to 14 – Bill Bosch’s rink was the only one waving the flag for the home side. Then, as if taking their cue from the Seconds, the Threes also got their act into gear and at the half way mark, although two rinks still trailed by a couple of shots, they had taken the lead by 44 shots to 35.
With Bill Bosch’s and Eric Peterson’s rinks both firing, the Lions then began to draw well clear of their Dandenong opponents and with the home straight in sight, both those rinks were well in front and the overall lead was 75 shots to 47. From that point it was only a canter to the finish line and Pakenham finished with two rinks up and a comfortable 91 to 63 scoreline.
Bill Bosch (S), Mick Knight (3), Lindsay Stevenson (2) and Ray Illing (L) were relentless – they led by nine shots to four after five ends and then continued to lead by bigger margins at every milestone to finish the day with 42 shots to 10. Eric Peterson, Vince Bevilacqua, Gillian Harper and Sandra Mueller also had a day out – they were down one shot to eight after five ends but fought back to a convincing 36 to 22 win.
The Threes have a firm grip on the top rung of the ladder, 25 points (more than a round and a half) clear of Narre 4 and 44 in front of Cardinia Waters and Mt Waverley. They will be away at Burden Park (eighth) for round 10.
Des Leigh