PAKENHAM BOWLS
All four Pennant sides arranged an early start on Saturday in order to avoid the worst of the predicted heatwave conditions and the possibility of a “burnout”.
Pakenham One was at home for its clash with Bacchus Marsh, the side immediately below them on the ladder.
Again, they elected to play on the unshaded Crowley Green which may have surprised their opponents who were at Pakenham for the first time.
The visitors did not appear to be phased however and at the completion of the first twenty ends had overcome the (supposed) home-ground advantage, and with two up and two down, held a narrow four-shot lead.
From that point to mid way, both sides were virtually even although by then, the Lions had reduced the Bushrangers’ lead to just two shots.
Unfortunately, however, despite Voota’s rink outscoring their opponents by 12 shots to one over the middle five ends, and 16 to six in the second half, the game slowly slipped away and Pakenham lost 89 shots to 66 and collected only two Pennant points.
Pakenham’s only winning rink, which fought back from a disasterous start, was Geoff “Voota” Van Vugt (S), Chris “Foxy” Fox (3), Max Mannik (2) and Peter Bott (L).
As a result of their win, Bacchus Marsh took sixth spot from Pakenham which dropped to seventh, now seven points behind the Bushrangers and only two ahead of Brunswick.
The Lions next outing will be away at Mitcham (third) on Saturday followed by a home game against St Kilda (tenth) on Sunday – the second of the double headers.
Pakenham Two (Div 4) lined up against cross-town rivals Cardinia Waters, who beat the Lions by a single shot in their earlier encounter this season.
After the completion of the first twenty ends, this match gave every indication of also ending in a tight finish as both sides had two rinks up and there was only one shot in it – in the visitors’ favour.
By the mid-way mark it was still two up and two down and at 42 to 38 the difference was only four shots – by then however, the Lions were in front.
From that point Pakenham gradually pulled further ahead to be up by 18 shots at the start of the run home and 13 by the completion of play, with three winning rinks.
The Lions’ best rink, with 28 to 17, was “Stormin” Norm Box (S), Brian Norton (3), Ash Graham (2) and Val Moore (L).
The Twos retained top spot, now 24 points ahead of Mulgrave (second) and Berwick (third) – those sides are equal on points but separated by percentage.
The Lions are home again next Saturday against Upwey-Tecoma, 59 points behind in fourth spot.
With only two games left in the home and away rounds, the Twos are now guaranteed a place in the finals – one more win will secure a home semi-final.
In round five Pakenham Three easily accounted for Ferntree Gully, decisively winning that match by 42 shots.
Nevertheless, in the return bout at Ferntree Gully last Saturday the Threes suffered their first loss of the season.
It did not appear that a home-ground advantage was involved however, as the Lions had three up, one level and a lead of 24 shots to 14 after the first twenty ends.
At the midway mark, the game was still building according to plan, with the Lions leading 49 to 30, with three rinks in front and the other down by only four shots.
However, as the match developed further, the locals began to make inroads into the Lions’ lead which, by the start of the business ends, was reduced to nine shots – nevertheless, at that stage, the Lions still had three rinks up and there was no reason to panic.
Then the unexpected happened – all four Pakenham rinks were outscored in the run home and with two up and two down, the Gully snatched an unlikely win, prevailing by four shots.
As far as Pakenham was concerned, it really was the one that got away.
The better of the Lions’ two winning rinks with 26 shots to 19 was Rick Burns (S), Derek Spraggon (3), Kevin Holley (2) and Wayne Oosthuizen (L).
The Threes are still on top of the ladder but are now only six points ahead of Narre Warren which has lost two games for the season to Pakenham’s one.
With Pakenham away at Narre next round, first position is up for grabs.
Regardless of the outcome of that match, the Threes are guaranted a home final but it is important to start their finals campaign in first place.
They might have dragged one bloke out of retirement but Pakenham Four (Div 7) fielded a full side at home against Cranbourne on Saturday.
They started well in that game against some very experienced bowlers and at the end of the first quarter had two rinks up and trailed by just three shots.
It would appear however, that the visitors had by then become accustomed to the local conditions and they surged, getting all four rinks up and leading 48 to 27 by the half way mark.
The Lions came back hard after the break but spent the remainder of the game playing catch up bowls and eventually lost by 13 shots with only one winning rink.
Staging a great fight back to come from being down at half time to win 26 to 12 were Reg “Wombat” Mattingly (S), Dave Moore (3), John “Giovanni” Donazzan (2) and John Barlow (L).
The Fours are still in sixth spot and with only two games remaining can’t improve on that.
They must hold that position to avoid relegation but are only 11 points ahead of Burden Park in seventh. Pakenham is home to Berwick (second) next round but Burden Park has an even tougher task, hosting ladder leaders, The Dandenong Club.
Both clubs play away in the final rounds, Pakenham at Carrum (bottom of ladder) and Burden Park at Edithvale (fourth) – fingers crossed!
MIDWEEK – ROUND 11
Pakenham One (Div 2), top of the ladder, was away at the Dandenong Club (second).
Dandy has never been a happy hunting ground for Pakenham and from the outset, the signs were anything but promising.
After the first fifteen ends the locals had two rinks up and a lead of 15 shots to 10.
The Lions pushed hard in the next quarter and by the half way mark had reduced the deficit to just two shots, although at that stage they had only one rink in front.
By the start of the business ends little had changed – the margin was then three shots but the opposition still had two up.
The locals then slowly pulled away in the run home to win by 11 shots with two rinks in front.
Pakenham’s winning rink, with a final score of 19 to 13, was Glenn “Google” Bainbridge (S), Ned Courtin (3), “Stormin” Norm Box (2) and David Saint (L).
The Ones retained top spot but are now only two points ahead of both Dandy and Parkdale.
Regardless of what happens in the final three rounds the Ones are guaranteed a berth in the finals – however they must string together more wins to ensure that the all-important semi is at home.
Pakenham Two (Div 4) were home to Noble Park in a strange game where they led for most of the day despite having two rinks down for almost the entire match.
After completion of the first fifteen ends Pakenham led by 16 shots to 10 and had two rinks in front. Shortly after however, two of their rinks suffered meltdowns with one of them losing eight ends in a row. Fortunately, this was balanced by a surge on Lindsay Stevenson’s rink and at the half-way mark the Lions were still in the game, although one shot down.
Fortunately, after the break, Pakenham stopped leaking shots – Lindsay’s crew kept the foot down while Jim Williams’ rink staged a big comeback to finish only two shots down.
The final result, despite having only one rink in front, was a 20-shot win to Pakenham.
Lindsay Stevenson (S), Bill Bosch (3), Ash Graham (2) and Derek Fenn (L) carried the day, winning 36 shots to eight.
The Twos kept top spot, 10 points ahead of Narre Warren and 18 clear of Monbulk but they must continue winning to widen the gap to Narre who have an easier run home.
They will be away next round at Cranbourne (fifth).
Whatever the Threes are on, we all want some of it!
They were away at Churchill Waverley Golf, third on the ladder, last Tuesday and won on all three rinks to come home with some big totals.
Their score board read 24 to three after 15 ends, 41 to 16 at the half way mark, 64 to 18 at the start of the business ends and the final tally was 85 to 27.
Best rink with 28 to five was Peter Wilson (S), Luis Aguilar (3), Judith Ferrari (2) and Frank Grant (L).
The Threes have dominated the competition to such an extent that even if they don’t turn up for the last three rounds they will still finish on top of the ladder.
However, they can’t relax as it is obviously important to keep winning in order to hit the finals with a full head of steam.
They will be home to Burden Park (second) next round.
HI-LO
The winner this round was “TMac” with number 36.
-Des Leigh-
