PAKENHAM BOWLS
Pakenham One finished third on the ladder which – under the current arrangements – earned it a home semi-final against fourth placed Berwick One.
Meanwhile Mulgrave Country Club One, top of the ladder, played Dandenong One, second, in the second semi-final.
Both sides came out firing at Pakenham and after the first fifteen ends there was nothing separating them; the score was 12 all and each had one up, one down and one dead square.
As the game approached the half way mark, there was little change in the overall situation and when the game stopped for the lunch break, at 31 to 30, Pakenham was in front by the bare minimum of just one shot.
However at that stage there was a marked change in the breakdown of the score as the Lions were well up on two rinks but down three shots to 14 on the third.
With storms gathering, the lightning rule then came into effect, extending the length of the break, with play suspended until the threat had passed.
That rule applies even where a game is being conducted under cover of a dome.
It is known that coach “Nifty” Nev Brown does not favour taking a break as it often results in an undesirable change in momentum.
In this case however, the change worked in Pakenham’s favour as John Parker’s rink, which was being punished, suddenly found its mojo and outscored its direct opponent by 15 shots to six over the second half to finish just two shots short.
The other two collectively outscored the Wickers by 22 shots to 11 over the same period to arrive at the start of the business ends with a 10-shot lead and then rounded it out, winning by 24 shots, 68 to 44.
Pakenham’s best rink with 25 to nine was “Nifty” Nev Brown (S), Ned Courtin (3), Claire Smyth (2) and David Leitch (L).
The other semi between Mulgrave and Dandy One at Mulgrave was won fairly comfortably by Mulgrave which therefore progressed direct to the grand final.
Having finished second on the ladder, Dandy earned the second chance and a home game against Pakenham in the Preliminary on Thursday 26 February.
The Lions expected a tough game at Dandenong and turned up ready for the fight.
However, Pakenham surprised the home side and by the completion of the first fifteen ends had established an early lead of 15 shots to nine with two up and one down.
At that stage John Parker’s rink led by eight shots to one but that “one” was an “own goal” which “JP” might take a while to live down!
As the game progressed, Pakenham continued to steadily take control and by the half way mark, with the score at 34 to 22, had doubled its lead to 12 shots, still with two up and one down.
Dandy was then outscored by two shots to one during the next stage of the game, and the Lions arrived at the start of the business ends with a more comfortable lead of 19 shots.
From that point they charged home, scoring 17 shots to five over the final fifteen ends to win by 65 shots to 34 with two up and one down.
Foxy’s rink did not play its final two ends as by then, the game was beyond Dandy’s reach.
Remarkably, both “JP” and “Nifty’s” rinks won by 19 shots and each won 15 of the 21 ends. However the best rink, by percentage, was “Nifty” Nev Brown (S), Ned Courtin (3), Claire Smyth (2) and David Leitch (L) – how much did that “own goal” cost “JP”?
When asked the rhetorical question, “How can a rink win by 26 to seven at Prelim Final level?” ‘Nifty’ responded, “I was on fire today!”
The Ones have certainly built up a head of steam moving forward to the grand final to be played against Mulgrave at Mulgrave on Thursday 5 March; another GF which will not be played at a neutral venue.
DIVISION THREE
Pakenham Two finished fourth on the ladder and were pitted against third placed Narre Warren Four at Narre in the Div 3 first semi-final.
The home side grabbed the early running in that contest and after the first fifteen ends held the lead at 18 shots to 13 with two up and one down.
It was a slow grind forward from that point to the midway mark, where the Panthers had barely increased their lead from five to seven shots, still with two up and one down.
However, the Lions came out with renewed purpose after the break and by the top of the home straight had whittled the lead back to five shots again.
The final fifteen ends were to see a real team effort by Pakenham; Paul Currie (S), Karen Oosthuizen (3), Ray Illing (2) and Fernando Aguanta (L) led all day to finish 26 to 15 up; “Stormin” Norm Box (S), Wendy Pownall (3), Joe Van Zuylen (2) and Jane Ryan (L) won the last five ends on the trot, picking up nine zip in the process; and Lindsay Stevenson (S), Judith Ferrari (3), Brenda Moloney (2) and Karen Rayner (L) were down 10 shots to two after the first five ends but then outscored Narre 14 shots to 12 over the remaining 15.
Pakenham won the day by just two shots to advance to the preliminary final against Ferntree Gully Two on the Thursday.
For many years, Ferntree Gully has been something of a graveyard for Pakenham bowlers and that proved to be the case again on Thursday 26 February when the Lions fielded an unchanged side from Tuesday’s victory.
The Gully got away to a good start on their home ground and after fifteen ends had a lead of 18 shots to 11 with two well up.
From that point forward, the home side outscored the Lions at every stage of the game; by the half way mark the overall score had grown to 35 shots to 23 and at the start of the business ends it had increased marginally to 53 to 38.
Pakenham continued to hang in there but were unable to make any inroads and eventually lost by 54 shots to 71.
The only winning rink for the Lions was Paul Currie (S), Karen Oosthuizen (3), Ray Illing (2) and Fernando Aguanta (L) with 23 to 17.
The Threes have had a great year and can look forward to being competitive again next season.
Ferntree Gully will meet Mulgrave in the grand final at Mulgrave on Thursday.
CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
Both the Mens’ and Ladies’ Club Championships were played before a small but appreciative crowd last Friday night.
In the Ladies’ event, past winner Jennifer “Chookles” Bainbridge met current Division 1 player Claire Smyth in a match which went right down to the wire, with quality bowls played by both ladies, end after end.
The final outcome was a win to Jennifer by the narrow margin of 25 shots to 22.
Well done to both bowlers.
The Mens’ title pitched “Nifty” Nev Brown against Chris “Foxy” Fox in a contest which developed into something nearly as close as the Ladies’ match.
It was a case of Foxy’s predominantly draw shots against “Nifty’s” occasional aggression and featured some great heads.
In the end “Nifty” took the title by 25 shots to 21.
A number of other Championship events have also been decided and will be reported on separately.
-Des Leigh-
