MURRAY Downs have locked away top spot on the Division 1 Weekend Pennant ladder following a comprehensive 91 to 63 shot victory over Swan Hill in Saturday’s annual Summertime Pools Pennant Shield fixture.
The minor premiers dominated from start to finish to take home the shield, with victories on all three rinks also giving them the full 12 points and guaranteeing top spot on the ladder – and a rematch with arch rival Racecourse in the second semi-final in a fortnight’s time.
While very happy with Saturday’s result, Murray Downs Bowls Club president Garry McCaig clearly had one eye on this year’s finals series and the prospect of his club going back-to-back when speaking with The Guardian after the game.
“(Racecourse have) beaten us the last couple of times, but only by a handful of shots, so there’s not much difference between the two teams,” McCaig said.
“We’re just looking forward to the second semi-final now, even though there’s still another home-and-away round left. For us it’s about testing ourselves against the best and we’re really looking forward to doing that against Racecourse.”
The closest match-up of the afternoon was on rink one, where the combination Josh Thornton, Matt O’Bree, Michael Hollingworth and Mick Tempini were too good for Brian Mansbridge, Gary McGrath, William King and Brian Richardson, with the visitors eventually holding on 26-24 against a fast-finishing Swan Hill.
While it was a hard-fought win on rink one, the same couldn’t be said for the other match-ups, with John Caldwell (14 shots) and Brian Lehmann (12 shots) and their teammates claiming comfortable victories for Murray Downs.
Swan Hill Bowls Club president Brian Richardson was still upbeat after the game. While acknowledging his side had some work to do, he said that their best was ahead of them.
“Today’s given us a good indication of what’s required to compete against the best sides in finals – and based off today, we’ve got a little bit to improve on,” Richardson said.
“But we’re in the finals and our job now is, as individuals and as a team, to improve and give a better account of ourselves when we get another opportunity to hopefully meet again.
“(Murray Downs) were way too strong for us today – one rink competed all day and just lost, but the other two rinks were pretty comprehensive losses for us.”
In the other Division 1 matches on Saturday, Racecourse put an end to Moulamein’s finals chances with a 78-64 victory, despite both teams winning one rink each and sharing the spoils with a 28-shot all tie on the third.
The difference in the end was on rink one, where Racecourse’s Mark Snel and his team dominated the Moulamein combination led by Garry Armstrong with a 31-13 win – a margin that Armstrong’s teammates couldn’t make up for.
In the final match of the penultimate round Lake Boga locked away third spot on the ladder with an 81-63 victory over Nyah District.
