Pennant Season 2019/2020 Round 10 & Club Singles Championships

PENNANT ROUND 10 & CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS – 2019/20

Both the ladies’ and men’s Club Singles Championships were decided last Thursday evening.  A good crowd turned out in balmy conditions to watch Jennifer Bainbridge contest the ladies’ title against Gail Bowman while Trent (Gribbo) Gribbin and Geoff (Voota) Van Vugt battled it out in the men’s event.  Bill Bosch attended to the hunger pangs of both spectators and markers with a constant stream of perfectly cooked snags – served according to the regulation Bunnings method with onions on the bread first.

Players in both games produced some magnificent bowls but as play progressed it was apparent that Trent in particular was on fire, while Jen was stamping her authority on the ladies’ game.  The final outcome was a 25/14 win for Trent while Jennifer prevailed by 25/12.  Each of those score lines appear to indicate easy victories but that was not the case – both losers were worthy contenders and played better bowls than what was suggested by the final figures.  Good luck to both Jen and Trent as they progress through the Champion of Champions games.

SATURDAY

As the reverse rounds of the season commenced, Pakenham One (Div 1) had the luxury of a second consecutive game at home, albeit against Beaumaris, a team which was above them on the ladder and which had beaten them in round one of the season.  Things did not look good early in the piece – after the completion of 20 ends, with two rinks down and one all square, the Lions trailled by 10 shots.  However by the half way mark, due to a concerted effort across the green, that situation had been reversed and despite one rink being badly mauled, Pakenham had three rinks up and an overall lead of 12 shots.  By the start of the business ends that lead had been reduced to seven shots and Beaumaris then had a real crack to get within five shots – however the Lions came back hard (particularly on the rink which was down) to grab victory by 15 shots overall and collect 16 Pennant points.

Best winning rink with 29/15 was Neil (Big Dev) Devlin (S), Des (Grizzly) Leigh (3), Gian (Bug G) Pianezzola (2) and Graeme (Wildman) Wilde (L).  The win saw Pakenham take third spot from Beaumaris.  They are away against Armadale (seventh) for the last round before the Christmas break.

Playing away at Hampton Park, Pakenham Two (Div 2) let one get away that should have been won.  They held a slender lead early in the game but had increased that to 14 shots, with three rinks up, by the half way mark.  They still had two rinks up and led by 12 shots at the commencement of the business ends but were massively outscored in the run home to lose overall by eight shots.  With one rink up and one drawn they collected three Pennant points.  The winning rink with 25/17 was Paul Currie (S), Jennifer Bainbridge (3), David Laird (2) and Val Moore (L).  The Twos are ninth on the ladder – they host Carrum (seventh) next round.

Although playing at home, Pakenham Three (Div 4) were never in the hunt against clear leaders, The Dandenong Club.  The deficit was already 15 shots after 20 ends and although to some extent the brakes were then applied, the Lions had three rinks down and trailled by 19 shots by the half way mark.  Things did not improve after that and with 95 shots to 56, the visitors eventually won by 39 shots.  Pakenham’s only winning rink with 20/17 was John (Giovanni) Donazzan (S), Kevin (Digger) Goonan (3), Lindsay Stevenson (2) and Jan Moore (L).  Now at seventh, the Threes face a tough away game next round against Narre Warren, second.

Down on the grass at Berwick, Pakenham Four (Div 5) saw their early lead slowly eroded over the course of the afternoon to eventually lose a relatively low scoring game by 10 shots.  The only winning rink with a healthy 22/11 was Alan Waterson (S), Ian Kitt (3), Gail Wilcock (2) and Helen Wright (L).  Now in tenth, they have a home game in round 11 against Noble Park, eighth.

MIDWEEK

Sitting at eighth on the ladder, Pakenham One (Div 1) played host to Brighton (third) in what was occasionally a heated encounter but one in which the Lions had the last laugh, collecting maximum Pennant points, with all rinks up and a 15 shot win.  Early in the game, things were not all going Pakenham’s way; they were in front by a small margin but only because one rink was well up.  Nevertheless, by the half way mark they had established a 13 shot lead and by that stage had all three rinks in front.  From that point, even though they were outscored over the final 15 ends, they never really looked to be in trouble.  Best rink with 19/11 was Keith (Golden Arm) Archer (S), Terry (Tmac) McRedmond (3) Peter (Hacksaw) Bott (2) and Graeme (Wildman) Wilde (L).  Despite their good win, the Ones are still in eighth spot but are now only one point behind Mulgrave and four behind Mordialloc.  They host Mulgrave next round.

Pakenham Two (Div 2) were across town at Cardinia Waters where they jumped out of the blocks for an early lead.  However that was short lived; by the half way mark, at 45/21 the locals had more than doubled the Lions’ score and although Pakenham more or less matched their hosts from that point forward they could not make any inroads into the deficit – and dropping an eight didn’t help their cause.  Pakenham’s only winning rink, with a big score of 23/8 was Kevin (Digger) Goonan (S), John Moore (3), Luis Aguilar (2) and John Siekman (L).  Now in the lower half of the ladder, the Twos will be away to Cranbourne next round.

With one rink well up and the other two losing by very narrow margins, Pakenham Three (Div 4) had a win at home against Berwick.  Their game was neck and neck in the early stages but Pakenham was one shot behind at the half way point.  Neverthless, with the one winning rink continuing to build on a good lead and Josie Mazzarella’s crew outscoring their opponents 10 shots to three in the run home, they won overall 65/56.  The winning rink with 30/17 was John (Giovanni) Donnazzan (S), Reg (Wombat) Mattingly (3), Jan Moore (2), and Lavinia Moss (L).  Now in seventh spot, they are at home to Keysborough, sixth, next round.

Yet again, the Six-A-Side Pakenham Four could not find sufficient players and forfeited to Hampton Park.  Now at the bottom of the ladder, they will be away to Noble Park, third, next round – if they can field a team.

HI-LO

The winner for round 10 was Giovanni Donnazzan with number 42.

Des Leigh (Grizzly)