MURRAY Downs Bowls Club heads into the Murray Valley Bowls Division 1 Christmas break 23 points clear on top of the ladder, after a convincing win against Moulamein at the weekend.
The 94-61 defeat of Moulamein was Murray Downs’ fourth victory in a row, following their first regular season loss in three years against Racecourse.
Brian Lehmann and John Caldwell’s rinks led the way for Murray Downs with 32-18 and 32-19 wins, respectively.
For once, it was Josh Thorton and his team of Mick Tempini, Michael Hollingworth and Matt O’Bree who struggled to find much breathing space, but they still managed a 30-24 win.
It leaves Moulamein sitting fifth, 12 points behind Swan Hill, who will be breathing easier thanks to their 80-53 triumph over Nyah District.
The Swans enjoyed relatively comfortable wins on all three rinks, with Brian Mansbridge and his team of Gary McGrath, Alexander Smith and Brian Richardson winning their rink easily 26-13.
The other rinks finished 26-20 and 28-20.
Nyah District head into Christmas winless.
Racecourse defeated Lake Boga 81-57 but it wasn’t all smooth sailing as Mark Snel’s team lost 26-23 to Peter Phill, Leo Swan Barrie Free and Gary Cowland.
It was a closer affair on the rink between Ken Hamill and Norman Smith’s sides, where Racecourse was victorious 26-20.
The difference was made on the final rink as Racecourse, led by Michael Holyoak, handily defeated Rod Wickham’s crew 32-11.
The victory was a massive result for Racecourse, who jumped Lake Boga to finish the first half of the season second on the ladder.
Lake Boga is still well entrenched in the top four, 14 points ahead of Swan Hill in fourth.
