FRIDAY night bowls is back with a bang this week as long-time rivals Murray Downs Bowls Club (MDBC) and Swan Hill Bowls Club (SHBC) continue their new initiative of playing under lights in the Murray Valley Bowls Division.
In February, the two clubs met for a night game at SHBC for the first time in a contest taken out by eventual premiers MDBC by 15 shots.
However, this time it will be MDBC’s turn to illuminate their greens.
Bowls Victoria country manager for the north-west and MDBC star Josh Thornton predicted a superb atmosphere.
“Our lights are terrific, so it’s going to be fantastic,” he said.
“There’s going to be a Christmas party next to us and I’ve been setting up the Spotify for some tunes.
“We’ve got four other sides at MDBC who’ll come along to cheer us on, along with Swan Hill’s fans and other clubs, so it should be a bumper crowd.”
The two sides now play for the Summertime Pools Shield after SHBC coach Brian Mansbridge managed to bring them on as a sponsor for the night game last season.
They play each other three times during the season and whoever secures more victories throughout the regular season will take home the shield.
Another evening contest was to take place post-Christmas at SHBC, but Thornton hoped all clubs can utilise the timeslot in the future.
“From now on each year, of the three games we play against SHBC, we’ll host a Friday night and they’ll have a Saturday twilight game,” he said.
“We’d like to see it happen more – playing night matches is very good for the promotion of the sport, because it’s played in a timeslot where more people can come and watch.
“Looking at premier division down in Melbourne, there’s a Friday night game streamed every week – obviously, it’s not going to get to that level, but hopefully, we can make it a regular thing.”
As with any outdoor sport, the players are at the mercy of the elements and much like cricket or football where dew settles in during night games, so does bowls.
“The green will start out at a certain pace, but what can happen is we get a bit of dew and it slows down a bit,” Thornton said.
“Last year, it didn’t change much, but with the amount of water around this year, conditions might be a bit different.
“I’m just worried the mosquitoes might grab us and fly us away – they’ll be our biggest issue.”
MDBC is two games clear on top and raging hot favourites to go back-to-back this season.
However, their air of invincibility was doused a couple of weeks ago by this season’s biggest challengers Racecourse Bowls Club.
It was MDBC’s first regular season loss for three years – but Thornton was seeing it as a slight positive.
“Losses at this stage don’t hurt you,” he said.
“I believe they galvanise you and allow you take a step back to think what can we do better.
“Racecourse is a cracking side this year, especially with how well Norm Smith is playing, winning a lot of state events.”
If there’s one side that knows how to beat MDBC on the big stage, it’s SHBC.
Two seasons ago, they stunned the undefeated Murray Downs to take the title, and although MDBC got their revenge last season, Thornton is not taking them lightly.
“SHBC is always a team that seems to get it right the longer the season goes, so we’re expecting a really tough contest,” he said.
“It’s awesome we’ve started these night games with them also – not just because we’re such big rivals but were also great mates.”
