WEEKEND PENNANT ROUND 1- SEASON 2023/24

After a stellar 2022/23 season, Pakenham did not kick off the new one as well as might have been hoped, with Sides One and Two both losing to Mulgrave Country Club – however the Threes and Fours started their campaigns on a positive note with wins at home.

Pakenham One (Div 1) is missing a few familiar faces from the usual lineup but they have been replaced by some quality recruits, including “Nifty” Nev Brown, son of former President, Frank (dec).  Their game on the grass at Mulgrave did not start well with the hosts jumping away to a 24 shot lead after just the first 20 ends and the Lions were forced to play catch-up bowls for the remainder of the match.  That deficit had been clawed back to 13 shots by the start of the run home, but it proved to be too much and by the completion of play Pakenham lost overall by 19 shots.

The Lions’ only winning rink, which mounted a spirited fight back from one to nine down after the first five ends, was Geoff “Voota” Van Vugt (S), Chris “Foxy” Fox (3), Tom (Young Voota?) Van Vugt (2) and Brian Norton (L) – at 21/17 they finished four shots up.

Next Saturday the Ones have a home game against Keysborough which started the season with a win over Berwick.

 Pakenham Two (Div 3) were at home under the dome to Mulgrave.  Although that game started fairly evenly, there were worrying signs from early in the piece – even though the Lions trailled by only a manageable six shots after the first 20 ends, one rink had at that stage won only one of its first five ends.  Then, unfortunately, as the visitors began to feel more at home, they slowly took charge of the match and by the half way mark had almost doubled Pakenham’s score and with only one rink in front and one haemorrhaging badly, the home side was in trouble.

As the contest neared completion it was obvious that the Lions were going to fall short by a big margin.  However there was one redeeming feature – after being behind for three quarters of the game, “Stormin” Norm Box’s rink outscored Mulgrave by 10 shots to one over the last five ends to snatch a 27 to 23 victory.  It is likely that the whole of Pakenham heard Norm bellowing as he urged his team to greater effort.  He was ably supported by big Jim Williams (3), Gary “Crow” Crowley (2) and at lead, a welcome newcomer to the club, Maree Taylor (L).

The Twos have their chance of redemption at Parkdale, also round one losers, next round.   

And now for some good news – Pakenham Three’s comprehensive win against Hampton Park Two.  This game should have been played at Hampton Park but as that venue is currently a designated construction zone that was not possible. 

The contest was evenly balanced at first but with their noses in front on three rinks out of four, Pakenham held a narrow four shot lead after the first 20 ends.  By the half way mark, that margin had increased to just five shots with both sides having two up and two down.  However from that point forward the Lions put the collective foot down and by the start of the business ends had established an 11 shot lead and again had three rinks in front.

By the end of play, Pakenham won with all four rinks up and a convincing 30 shot lead, mainly due to the 10 shots to nil scored over the last five ends by Bill Bosch’s rink and seven to one over the same period by Charles Harris’ rink.  The best of Pakenham’s winning rinks with a score of 25 to 13 was Bill Bosch (S), David Moore (3), Helen Wright (2) and Lindsay Stevenson (L).

The Threes will again be at home next Saturday, hosting Keysborough, which was narrowly beaten by Mulgrave in this round.

Pakenham Four (Div 7) did not have it all their own way against Churchill Waverley Golf – nevertheless they did finish the day with a win.  Their game was played outdoors on the fast Crowley Green.

Early indications were that theirs was going to be a close contest and that was the way it panned out.  After the first twenty ends, both sides had two up and two down but it was Pakenham which held a slender four shot lead.  By the half way point the margin had grown to a more comfortable 14 shots but it was still two up and two down at that stage. 

With twenty ends remaining, the Lions were still looking good although their lead had been slightly reduced to 12 shots.  The visitors then surged and came close to snatching an unexpected win – however that was offset by a great fighting finish by Dave Wood’s rink which had been behind all day but finished with a 25 to 21 win, outscoring their opponents seven shots to one over the last five ends.

In the end, the Fours got home by five shots with two rinks up.  Best rink with 30 to 24 was Reg “Wombat” Mattingly (S), John “Giovanni” Donazzan (3), Julian Colmegna (2) and Gail Bowman (L) – however they nearly let it get away as they held a comfortable 25 to 10 lead after 16 ends but were outscored 14 shots to five over the last five.

The Fours will be away next round against The Dandenong Club 5 who had a big win over Mulgrave this round.

MIDWEEK

Midweek Pennant resumes for season 2023-24 on Tuesday 24 October.

HI-LO

The winner for Round One was Jan Moore with number 16.

Des Leigh