PAKENHAM BOWLS
SATURDAY PENNANT
After its roller-coaster ride the previous weekend Pakenham’s Div One side bounced back on Saturday with a good win at home against Parkdale.
Following the recent double-header, this was round nine for the division one team.
The two teams were evenly matched in the early stages of the game and after the first twenty ends on the fast Crowley green, both sides had two rinks up and Pakenham led by just one shot.
From that point forward however, the Lions gradually began to gain the upper hand and by the half way mark they had three rinks in front and a lead of 14 shots.
That lead had almost doubled by the time the game reached the start of the business ends, with both Neil Devlin’s and Brad Martin’s rinks keeping their respective opponents scoreless for more than five ends on the trot.
From that point forward the contest was relatively even again, but it was Pakenham which prevailed finishing with three rinks up and with the final score at 87 to 58, a comfortable 29-shot win.
Best rink, with 28 to nine, was Neil “Big Dev” Devlin (S), John Parker (3), Terry “TMac” McRedmond (2) and Gian “The Doctor” Pianezzola (L).
The Ones are still in eighth position on the ladder, now just one point behind Parkdale, but almost a full round ahead of Brunswick.
They have a short trip down the road to play Berwick (third) next round – the last game before Christmas.
Top-of-the-ladder Pakenham Two (Div 4) approached its round-eight game against Noble Park (bottom) with caution – the visitors had nothing to lose and deserved respect.
However it was evident from early in the game that the Lions were simply a class above their visitors.
By the completion of the first twenty ends the lead was already 32 shots to 10 and by the half way mark that had blown out to 81 to 20.
“Stormin” Norm Box’s rink, in particular, had gone on a rampage and Kerry Lewis and her crew were not far behind.
Pakenham’s score reached the magic “Ton” even before the game had reached the business ends and the final tally was a percentage-boosting 151 to 43.
All four rinks won, but the best of them with a huge 52 to nine victory was “Stormin” Norm Box (S), Brian Norton (3), Ash Graham (2) and Jan Moore (L).
The Twos retain top spot on the ladder, now more than a full round ahead of Mulgrave in second.
They are to play Cranbourne (fifth) away, next round.
Pakenham Three (Div 6) were away at Vermont South.
The Lions got an early jump on their hosts and by the completion of the first twenty ends had two rinks up, one even, and a lead of 20 shots to 10.
After the initial shock though, the locals came back hard and by the half way mark both sides had two rinks up and Pakenham’s lead had been reduced to just one shot.
However Pakenham’s players then found another gear and by the start of the business ends they had ground out a far from comfortable eight shot lead…although it was still two up and two down at that stage.
By maintaining the pressure over the final ends, the Lions came home with a reasonably comfortable 83 to 66 win and with three successful rinks pocketed 16 pennant points.
Best rink with 28 shots to seven was Vince Bevilacqua (S), Rick Burns (3), Ian McKenzie (2) and Alan Waterson (L).
The Threes are still on top of the ladder, 11 points clear of Narre Warren.
They will host Dandy RSL REC (seventh) next round.
There were a number of Covid related vacancies in and about the club last Saturday.
Unfortunately, the domino effect created by players moving up from lower sides to fill vacancies left the Fours (Div 7) short of players yet again and they were forced to forfeit to Cranbourne RSL.
Numbers permitting, they will play top of the ladder, The Dandenong Club, away, next round.
MIDWEEK
For the second week in a row, Pakenham One (Div 2) were away from home, on this occasion at Parkdale.
While little information is available regarding how this game played out, what is known is that the Lions had a close match, finishing with one rink up, one drawn and one down – however they lost overall by two shots.
Pakenham’s winning rink, with 21 to 16, was Neil “Big Dev” Devlin (S), Ned Courtin (3), “Stormin” Norm Box (2) and David Saint (L).
Despite the loss, the Ones retained top spot on the ladder, still almost a full round ahead of Dandy One in second. They will be home to Edithvale (fourth) next round.
Pakenham Two (Div 4) played host to Hampton Park One.
With Big Jim Williams’ rink leading the way, the Two’s were never in trouble in that game.
Despite being behind on two of the three rinks, the Lions held a lead of 23 shots to 11 after the completion of the first fifteen ends, due entirely to Jim’s rink being 19 shots to one at that stage.
Things settled a little in the second stanza, but by the half way mark Pakenham had two up and led 41 to 27.
From that point forward they kept applying the pressure to finish with two up and a lead of 70 to 43 – and the losing rink went down by just one shot.
Best rink, finishing with 37 to 19 was Jim Williams (S), Roger Fraser (3), Gary “Crow” Crowley (2) and Sandra “Wildwoman” Wilde (L).
The Twos still sit on top of the ladder, 11 points clear of Monbulk.
They play Mulgrave Country Club (eighth) away, next round.
Pakenham Three (Div 6) was also at home, their opponent being Cheltenham.
This game did not start well for the locals who were two down and trailled 11 to 18 after the first fifteen ends. However there was an amazing turnaround during the next two periods of play.
Vince Bevilacqua’s rink outscored its opponent by 12 to two over six ends while Rick Burns’ rink scored 11 to nil over the same period.
Having snatched the lead, Pakenham arrived at the half way mark with two up and one down and the score at 34 to 30.
By the start of the business ends that narrow lead been pushed out to 53 to 37.
Peter Wilson’s rink, which had been struggling all day, then joined the party, outscoring its opponent by 11 shots to two in the run home to fall short of winning by just two shots.
Overall, the Threes won by 81 shots to 43 with two rinks up.
Best rink, with 28 to eight, was Rick Burns (S), Kevin Hollier (3), Judith Ferrari (2) and Ian Kitt (L)…how often does this bloke anchor a winning rink?
Also winning by 20 shots was Vince Bevilacqua (S), Eric Pearce (3), Faye Osborne (2) and Roy Harvie (L) but with one less end and a lower percentage than Rick Burns.
The Threes are also on top of their ladder, 18 points clear of Burden Park.
They are scheduled to play away, next round, at Glen Waverley (seventh).
HI-LO
The winner this round was Terry “TMac” McRedmond with number 36.
-Des Leigh-
