GARFIELD BOWLS
It was an encouraging week for Garfield with two wins and a loss keeping hopes alive as we head to the pointy end of the Pennant season.
On Saturday, the Division 2 side played host to Traralgon RSL and had a good overall win by 83 shots to 71.
Graeme Burton, Bob Lamport, Joe Lenders and skip Shane Oliver had a see-saw game with their opponents.
Down by eight shots before they scored, they came back to level at eight-all, before it was their down-turn again.
They lost five shots in a row; they got back four of those five, then lost another six, to be down by 12 shots to 19.
A sterling last stand saw them recover six of those seven shots, finally losing by just one shot…18 shots to 19.
The team of Bob Clarke, Les Pumphrey, Steve Bassed and skip Nick Henwood, were also down early, but when they got going, there was no stopping them and they finished with a good win by 19 shots to 12.
Steve Whyte skipped the team of Gary Helmore, Gerry Fuller and Richard Ross, who played an up-and-down game also, with scores tied at 4-all, 14-all, and ultimately, at 21-all at game’s end.
Rick Sillet, Ron Saunders, Alan White and skip Tom Cleary were level with their opponents at seven shots all after seven ends, but then a quiet patch saw them down by eight shots halfway through the game.
However, not to be left out of it, they rampaged home, scoring 15 shots to 1 in the second half to win easily by 25 shots to 19.
The side remains in fourth place on the ladder and still in the finals race.
The Division 5 side was away to the same club, Traralgon RSL, playing on their grass green and, with widely varying results, lost overall by 63 shots to 47.
Jan Moxey, Lexi Taylor, Cheryl Breteler and skip Gwen Fabris were 10 shots behind before they scored, and while the rest of the game was fairly even, the damage was done, the team losing by 13 shots to 25.
Gordon Moxey, and his team, consisting of Damian Brick, Maureen Lamport and Helene Newton, similarly struggled all day, going down in the end by exactly the same score, 13 shots to 25.
The team of Frank Prins, Len Preece, Henry Breteler and skip Brian Fox were the shining light for the side, having the completely opposite game.
They led from the start and powered to a 21 to 13 win.
The side is in sixth place on the ladder with an all or nothing game next week against Neerim Districts.
MIDWEEK
On Tuesday 30 January, the Midweek Division 3 side continued its reinvigoration by beating Warragul, the side above them on the ladder, with a close but convincing 63 shots to 55 overall win.
Rick Sillett, Maureen Lamport, Bob Lamport and skip Lexi Taylor were up and down all day, with scores tied five times, before their opponents ran away in the last few ends, causing a loss by 19 shots to 24.
Helene Newton skipped the team consisting of Shirley Cooke, Malcolm Newham and Luke Monckton.
They played out a thoroughly engrossing game, with scores tied at 9-all and 17-all, before the Garfielders came home with a tail wind to end up winning by 19 shots to 17.
The team of Jan Moxey, Keith Cooke, Cheryl Breteler and skip Gwen Fabris see-sawed back and forth during the first half of the game, with scores tied twice, but they won the last seven ends on the trot, to storm home to a 25 to 14 win.
This good win has brought the side back from the depths of despair in the last two weeks to be fifth on the ladder and back in contention for finals.
-Damian Brick-
