PAKENHAM BOWLS
In a great result for Pakenham, all four of the club’s Weekend Pennant sides finished in the four and therefore qualified for the 2024/25 finals.
Pakenham 1 (Div 1) completed the home and away rounds in second position with the Mentone “Edge” on top.
With third playing fourth in the elimination final and first playing second in the second-semi, Pakenham faced the daunting prospect of tackling Mentone on their home deck in the first round.
They took some confidence into that game however, knowing that they were responsible for one of only three losses inflicted on Mentone this season.
The Lions surprised their hosts to grab an early lead of 20 shots to 12, with three up, after the completion of the first twenty ends.
By the half-way mark that margin had marginally increased to nine shots and they still had their noses in front on three of the four rinks.
Remarkably, in what was proving to be a very tight contest, the margin at the start of the business ends remained at nine shots although by that stage it was two up and two down.
Then, with Mentone coming home strong over the final twenty ends, the game ground down to a nail-biting climax with Pakenham winning by a single shot, with one up, one even and two down.
The Lions’ best rink with 21shots to 15 was Geoff “Voota” Van Vugt (S), John Parker (3), Trent Gribbin (2) and Darren Webster (L).
The Ones now progress directly into next Saturday’s grand final; to be played at a neutral venue…yet to be advised.
Mentone mounted up again on Sunday, soundly thrashing Cheltenham in the prelim final and will therefore be Pakenham’s opponent this Saturday.
Pakenham Two (Div 3) finished the season in third spot thus qualifying for a home elimination final, their opponent being Edithvale One.
For the majority of this game there was not much separating the two teams and both held the lead at various times during the afternoon.
After twenty ends the Lions were in front by 19 shots to 15 with two up and one level with their lead increasing to 43 to 34, with three up, by the half-way mark.
By the start of the business ends, with the score at 57 to 62, Pakenham had relinquished the lead but at that stage still had two up and one level.
The home side then outscored the visitors by 23 shots to eight over the final twenty ends to win by 80 shots to 70 with three up.
Pakenham’s best rink with 30 to 15 was Jennifer “Chookles” Bainbridge (S), Dave Wood (3), Wendy Pownall (2) and Peter Gribbin (L).
The Twos turned out again on Sunday at the Dandenong Club to contest the preliminary final.
The Lions held their own during the early stages of that match and with two up and one level held a four-shot lead after the completion of the first twenty ends.
During the following twenty or so ends however, Dandenong went on a rampage, massively outscoring the Lions and effectively taking the game out of their reach.
The number of shots accumulated by each side during the second half of the game was virtually identical but by then the damage had been done and Pakenham was handed a comprehensive loss. The Two’s season is therefore over.
The only winning rink with 26 to 23 was Peter Bott (S), Paul Currie (3), Vince Bevilacqua (2) and Luis Aguilar (L).
Pakenham Three (Div 5) headed up into the hills to play Upwey Tecoma in the major semi-final (one v two).
In direct contrast to the weather which prevailed during their previous visit, when it rained for almost the entire match, on this occasion players endured very hot conditions with intense glare from the sun (we are occasionally reminded that bowls is a summer sport).
The Tigers got away to a good start in that game to lead by 23 to14 with two up and one level by the completion of the first twenty ends.
By afternoon tea their lead had been extended to 16 shots with three up and they were travelling well.
Immediately following the break however, the Lions staged a minor fight back and by the start of the business ends the deficit had been reduced to a manageable seven shots.
The locals then dug deep and by the end of the game, with the score at 85 to 68 took a 17-shot win.
Upwey Tecoma therefore progressed to the grand final while Pakenham, with the second chance, was required to mount up again on Sunday for a home prelim final against Dandenong.
Some of Pakenham’s players were still feeling the effects from Saturday’s conditions when they turned up on Sunday; but what a relief it was to play under the dome.
Pakenham had beaten Dandy twice during the home and away season but nothing was taken for granted and a tough match was expected.
From the outset, neither side was able to establish a significant break although the Lions seemed to have the upper hand for the majority of the game.
In the end, however, at 85 to 86 it was decided by a single shot with Pakenham, unfortunately, on the wrong side of the ledger…their season is also over.
Both sides had two winning rinks.
The better of Pakenham’s with 25 to 17 was Brian Norton (S), Bruce Perry (3), Gayle Harkness (2) and Karen Oosthuizen (L).
Pakenham Four (Div 7) finished in second spot and therefore played ladder leaders Berwick, in the second semi-final.
The game was on grass, out in the sun (they didn’t really expect Berwick to put them on synthetic, under the shelter of their dome).
After the first twenty ends, the Lions found themselves down on two, level on two and trailing by 11 shots to 21.
By the mid-way mark, they had one up and one level but by then were down by 31 to 45.
Then, during the period after the break and leading up to the start of the business ends, Pakenham’s players put on a spurt.
They outscored the Wickers by 30 shots to 12 over that passage of play and with three rinks up and the score at 61 to 57 hit the top of the home straight with a narrow lead.
It was then a dog fight to the finish with the Lions bringing home the win by just two shots with three up.
Best rink with 21 shots to 15 was Ken “Lipton” Clifton (S), Graham Cooper (3), Trent Bedford (2) and Bill Bosch (L).
The Fours now progress to the grand final, scheduled for Saturday 8 March.
Their opponent will be the winner of the prelim between Berwick Six and Narre Six scheduled for 1 March.
MIDWEEK
The Midweek sides played the last home and away round last Tuesday.
Pakenham One (Div 1) finished the season on the second rung of the ladder following a disappointing two-shot loss at Keysborough.
With two up and one down the Lions held a slender two-shot lead after the first fifteen ends of that game.
By the mid-way mark, however, they were two down and trailed by four shots. By the start of the run home, they again had their noses in front on two rinks but were still down, albeit by a single shot.
By the completion of play the Lions lost by 53 shots to 55 with two up.
The better of the two winning rinks with 21 to 14 was Terry “TMac” McRedmond (S), John Parker (3), David Laird (2) and Paul Philip (L).
The Ones finished 13 points behind ladder leader Mulgrave, four up on Dandy and ironically, 16 points (a full round) ahead of Keysborough in fourth.
They will play Mulgrave at Mulgrave in the second semi-final on Tuesday 25 February with the winner to progress to the grand final.
The long-suffering Pakenham Two (Div 2) completed the 2024/25 season with an across-the-board win over cross town rivals, Cardinia Waters.
The Lions were always in control of that game; after the first fifteen ends they had three up and led by 18 shots to six.
By the half-way mark that lead had increased to 21 shots, still with three up.
From that point forward the visitors were only able to reduce the deficit by one shot and the Lions took a 71-51 win with all three rinks up.
Best rink with 27 to 15 was Rick Burns (S), Gayle Harkness (3), Luis Aguilar (2) and Julian Colmegna (L).
The Twos’ season is now over and they will be relegated to Div 3 next season.
However, although they had only two wins in 2024/25, a number of their losses were by 10 shots or less; they should therefore be competitive in the lower division.
Pakenham Three (Div 4) finished out of touch with the four in fifth place – their season is also over. Their last outing was at Keysborough where they started well to hold a narrow lead for the first quarter of the match but then gradually lost touch as the game progressed.
By the end of play they fell short by 28 shots with two down and one level.
The tied rink with 18 all was Eric Peterson (S), Ken “Lipton” Clifton (3), Karen Oosthuizen (2) and Ray Illing (L).
-Des Leigh-
