PAKENHAM BOWLS
There is no way to sugar coat it; Saturday’s results were extremely disappointing for the Pakenham Bowls Club.
Pakenham One (Div 1) was away at Cheltenham and were involved in yet another nail biter.
After the first twenty ends both sides had two up and two down but with the score at 13 to 16, the home side held a three-shot lead.
It was still two up and two down at the midway point but with one Pakenham rink failing to fire at that stage, Cheltenham had increased its lead to eight shots.
Over the next twenty ends or so the Lions staged something of a comeback and by the start of the run home had reduced Cheltenham’s lead to a single shot.
During that passage of play, the rink which previously had been copping a hiding actually outscored its opponent by eight shots to three, thus making a significant contribution to the recovery.
Unfortunately, the home side regrouped and held on to finish with three rinks up and racked up a 76 to 70 win.
Yet another close one that fell the wrong way for the Lions who are still hanging in there in sixth spot but only just, with Dandenong breathing down their necks only three points behind.
Pakenham’s only winning rink, with 27-9, a huge score in the circumstances, was “Nifty” Nev Brown (S), John Hagen (3), Clair Smyth (2) and Mark Ryan (L).
Weekend Pennant now pauses for the Christmas break and will not resume until 17 January 2026. Pakenham One has a home game against Mulgrave scheduled for that day.
Pakenham Two (Div 3) were home to Berwick Three for a very winnable game but one which simply got away.
The Lions started well in that game and by the end of the “first quarter” had established a lead of 23 shots to 18 with two up and two down.
By the midway mark, all four of the local rinks were in front and Pakenham held what appeared to be a commanding lead of 54 shots to 29; however, bowls can be a cruel game.
By mutual agreement, there was no break for afternoon tea as Berwick wanted to finish as early as possible to get away for their Christmas function.
Whether that was a contributing factor will never be known, but during the first 20 or so ends which would normally have followed the break, Pakenham lost control of the game and was comprehensively outscored across all four rinks to arrive at the start of the business ends trailing by 63 shots to 64 with its lead completely obliterated.
From that point forward, the Wickers maintained the pressure to score a hard fought 86 to 75 win with three up and one all square.
Pakenham’s best rink with an 18 all draw was Lindsay Stevenson (S), Michael Hahn (3), Wendy Pownall (2) and Eric Peterson (L).
The Twos remain in seventh position on the ladder, well out of touch with the four.
They will be away at Keysborough (eighth) in round 10.
Pakenham Three (Div 5) was bayside against Carrum’s strong number one team.
The Lions were always struggling in that game and as early as the twentieth end were down on all four rinks and trailing by nine shots to 19.
By the midway mark Carrum had significantly added to its lead which by then had blown out to 30 shots.
During the next passage of play Pakenham’s players put up a bit more of a fight; however, they still trailed by 40 shots at the start of the business ends.
With the outcome never in doubt, the game then continued to its logical conclusion with Carrum taking the win by 91 shots to 53 with three up and one down.
From Pakenham’s perspective, the one redeeming feature was the fight put up by Paul Currie (S), “Stormin” Norm Box (3), Trent Bedford (2) and Jan Moore (L).
That rink was down five shots to two after five ends but stayed in touch to be six to nine after 11 ends then hit the front by one shot at 16 ends and finished the game12 shots up at 22 to 10.
They completely turned the game on its head, winning the last nine ends on the trot!
The Threes are now in fifth spot, 10 points behind Mulgrave in fourth but well clear of Chelsea in sixth.
They will be home to Cranbourne Four (eighth) for the first round of the New Year.
To add to the Weekend Pennant tale of woe, with so many players unavailable, Pakenham Four was unable to field a side and was forced to forfeit its home game against Dandenong.
As a result, Dandenong leapfrogged them into sixth spot on the ladder, pushing the Fours back to seventh.
The Fours are scheduled to meet Edithvale, away, in round 10.
MIDWEEK
Both Midweek sides were at home against Narre Warren for an all Lions and Panthers event.
Prior to the commencement of play, all present stood together to observe a minute’s silence in remembrance of those who tragically lost their lives in the Bondi massacre, in support of those who were wounded and in recognition of the bravery of the first responders and members of the general public who put themselves at risk to confront terrorism and to provide assistance, in many cases to total strangers.
It was a sombre but important way to start the day; all Australians have been affected to some degree by what occurred on Sunday 14 December.
Pakenham One (Div 1) took on Narre One in a game which was unexpectedly one sided.
The pattern was set in the first fifteen ends with Pakenham completing that period in front by 18 shots to four, with all three rinks up.
During the next passage of play, one of the Panthers’ teams fired up to take the lead on their rink but with the other two being soundly beaten, the Lions arrived at the half way mark still well in front by 38 shots to 16.
During the following 15 ends both sides scored at about the same rate and by the start of the business ends there had been little change – Pakenham led by a comfortable 20 shots with two up and one down.
The Lions then ramped up the pressure, outscoring the visitors by 20 shots to four over the final fifteen ends to win by 69 shots to 33 with all three up.
Pakenham’s best rink with 30 shots to five and winning 17 of the 21 ends was Chris Fox (S), Max Mannik (3), John Hagen (2) and John Hines (L).
With the two sides previously above them on the ladder having been beaten last Tuesday, Pakenham One has leapfrogged both to finish 2025 in the number one spot…finally some good news!
They will kick off 2026 on January 13, away against Berwick One (currently fourth).
Pakenham Two looked like they were in for a battle early in the piece.
After 15 ends, although leading by 17 shots to nine, they were down on two rinks and it was only “Stormin” Norm Box’s crew with 10-zip after five ends which kept them in front.
However, from that point forward, both sides seemed to wake up but with the Lions outscoring the Panthers by 22 shots to 20 during that period, Pakenham’s lead had marginally increased to 10 shots by the half-way mark.
Then during the middle stages of the game, one of Pakenham’s rinks lost 11 ends on the trot which allowed Narre to close the overall gap and at the start of the business ends, although the Lions had two up, they led by just 45 shots to 40.
However, with all three of the home sides’ rinks firing up in the home straight, Pakenham stormed home to win by 64 shots to 46 with two up and one down.
Pakenham’s best rink with 26 to 11 was Lindsay Stevenson (S), Bruce McGennisken (3), Simon Mallia (2) and Brenda Moloney (L).
The win saw the Twos move up from fourth to the third rung of the ladder.
Their first outing in 2026 will be away at Mulgrave.
HI-LO
The winner for the Christmas bonus round was Michael Hahn with number 20.
Best wishes for a happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year and please stay safe.
-Des Leigh-
