IT has become one of the main attractions of the Murray Valley Bowls Division season.
The Summertime Pools Annual Pennant Shield between Swan Hill and Murray Downs Bowls Clubs will be held on Saturday afternoon as both sides look to make a statement heading into finals.
While the teams will be looking to make that statement on the field, both clubs are hoping the drawcard fixture can send a different kind of message off it – that bowls is the perfect sport for those looking for a tree change in their recreational activity.
Swan Hill Bowls Club (SHBC) president Brian Richardson explained to The Guardian the word they’re trying to spread about the sport.
“We’re targeting those men and women who have recently retired from football, cricket or tennis but are still looking to still be involved in competitive sport,” he said.
“Bowls is the perfect sport for that – the body doesn’t get taxed as much and is more leisurely paced but still a very competitive game.”
A prime example of this is SHBC star Frank Jacka who was previously a football umpire and senior footballer for Ultima.
Jacka said making the move to bowls was one of the best decisions he has made.
“I love bowls because of how easy it is on my legs – it’s absolutely brilliant, I wish I had taken it up earlier,” Jacka said.
“It’s a sport you can come and be competitive at, but also, if you want a bit of fun, you can play in the lower divisions.”
Murray Downs Bowls Club (MDBC) premiership-winning captain Joshua Thornton had similar experiences.
“I transitioned a lot earlier than most people because of my body,” Thornton said.
“I couldn’t play footy or cricket the way I wanted to, but I still yearned to have those competitive urges fuelled in a team sport.
“When I started, I went, ‘this is perfect – I get to play home and away like footy and play with a bunch of good blokes’.”
There’s a perception that bowls is purely an older person’s sport and 10 years ago, that was probably correct.
But across the past decade, the sport’s demographic has changed significantly, with more young people taking up the sport.
MDBC president Gary McCaig said this fixture is helping do that in the region.
“This shield has been an excellent concept and creates a bit of rivalry,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we’re not playing a night game, but the previous contests have been, which is a great way of showing people we’re not stuck in the old archaic practices of the sport.
“Bowls is a young sport now – I was speaking to someone last week who plays in the Bendigo area and their players are mostly between the ages of 16 to 28.”
On-field, the matchup is potentially a preview of the finals, with Murray Downs clear in first spot and Swan Hill consolidated in the top four after their crucial win over Moulamein last week.
Murray Downs, while sitting on top, have lost their previous two match-ups to second-placed Racecourse, showing the competition they can bleed.
However, Thornton said his side was keeping level-headed in the run into finals.
“There’s no doubt the last Racecourse game we played nowhere near to our abilities, but we’re still confident of where we are at, and grand finals aren’t won in January,” he said.
For Jacka and Swan Hill, sneaking into the finals in fourth spot holds no qualms for them.
“I feel that we’re peaking now,” he said.
“We had a fantastic win against Moulamein on the weekend and we love finishing fourth because there are no expectations on us, and we always cause a shock or two.”
Richardson is urging locals to come down to watch and enjoy the big game and sausage sizzle the club will be putting on.
The shield will be presented after the match.
