CARDINIA WATERS BOWLS
Cardinia Waters came into the grand final hoping to emulate their incredible form from the week prior, but it wasn’t to be, as Willow Lodge ended its season with the ultimate success at Narre Warren last weekend.
The venue came as a surprise as it’s not unusual for grand finals to be played on grass, but there were no complaints as players were shielded from the scorching sun under the Pantherdome.
Side Two carried the hopes of the whole bowling club into its grand final game at Narre Warren on Saturday.
Cardinia Waters finished on top of the Division 8 ladder, albeit just a few points above Willow Lodge.
A close game was expected, and it certainly delivered as competition was fierce in the “battle of the retirement villages”.
Cardinia Waters started slowly as they struggled to find the correct length on the very large and slow green, but by afternoon tea, they had caught up, and were a few shots in arrears.
Willow Lodge led by 11 shots later in the game and had seemingly shut Cardinia Waters down, but the villagers got their second wind and caught up, right at the death knell.
With 62 of 63 ends played and scores level at 54 apiece, the big crowd and the players were focussed on this last end.
Cardinia Waters’ Steve Hale (skip) found himself down with his last bowl to play. Driving at the head, he hit the jack out of bounds and created a dead end.
Playing the end again saw Willow Lodge draw three bowls into the head, effectively shutting Cardinia Waters out of the game, and the flag.
The final score was 57-54 with Willow Lodge worthy recipients of the flag.
John Carr (skip) led Cardinia Waters to a winning rink 21-17; he played with Stuart Tokely, Peter Mitchell and Jenny Cole.
Steve Hale finished a great season winning 20-17 alongside Michele Bondfield, Marie Stephenson, and Lorraine Devine.
Whilst the players and supporters were disappointed with the loss, they can hold their heads high as for some, it was their first season playing Pennant and for others it was a chance to play a more demanding role in the team.
During the season, Cardinia Waters only lost two home and away games and were coming off a thrilling victory.
Their preliminary final game against Churchill Waverley Golf will go down as the most memorable game of the season, but unfortunately they couldn’t reproduce that form.
MIDWEEK PENNANT
The last game for Cardinia Waters’ midweek Side Two was a preliminary final game against Cranbourne RSL, played last week.
It was an interesting game with RSL starting well, and then being overtaken around lunch time, before coming home strong for a six shot victory.
Despite the loss, Cardinia Waters won on two of the three rinks played.
The best rink was by Steve Hale (skip), assisted by Jim Barrie, Robert Mitchell and Paul Brindle, winning 21-16.
Also on the positive side of the result was Michele Bondfield’s rink, which battled for a two -shot win, assisted by Ian Kennedy, Peter Mitchell and Ron Seamer.
It has been a great season for this Division 5 side, which almost turned last season’s fourth-place finish into a grand final berth.
The side will now take stock and look forward to next season, where it will aim to stamp its authority as a force within the competition.
– John Moore
