RACECOURSE Bowls Club exacted revenge for last year’s grand final loss to Murray Downs by winning their club’s round 1 encounter in a nail-biting finish on Saturday afternoon.
Murray Downs claimed victory on two of the three rinks, so it was left to Mick Holyoak, Robert Hayes, DJ Weaver and Graham Bennett to ensure the six overall points went Racecourse’s way.
Murray Downs won by five and seven shots on the first two rinks, meaning Holyoak and his teammates needed to win by 13 shots to give their side the overall win.
That looked as though it wouldn’t be a problem, with Racecourse holding a 15-shot lead heading into the final end against Kevin Rowe’s team, until Rowe’s combination of Garry McCaig, David Alderuccio and Lisa Critten clawed their way back into the contest to hold a seven-shot advantage on the final end.
In the end, the match hinged on the result of Holyoak’s final bowl, with the Racecourse skipper showing a steady hand to draw shot and secure victory for his team.
It was a result which pleased Racecourse president and fellow skipper Norm Smith.
“It was a very competitive game that could have gone either way in the end,” he said.
“Mick won the match for us, without doubt, his team were sensational all day and they deserved to win the game.
“It’s a great result for the club off the back of the way last season finished and we can only get better on Saturday’s performance.
“They (Murray Downs) were missing Josh (Thornton) of course, but you can only play the team that’s in front of you and on that basis, it was a very pleasing result.”
Across town, Swan Hill showed they are far from a spent force by claiming an 87-65 win over Lake Boga.
Swan Hill were well served by the combination of Greg Scandolera, Gary McGrath, Owen Lewis and Bill King, with the quartet claiming a 31-shot victory over Daniel Kelly’s team, to obliterate Lake Boga.
It wasn’t all bad news for the visitors. Lake Boga managed to win the other two rinks by two and seven shots, to take four match points into next Saturday’s round 2 encounter with Moulamein.
That contest shapes as an early must-win encounter for Lake Boga, after Moulamein defeated Nyah District 68-59 to open their 2023-24 pennant season with a win.
Just like the other two fixtures, the match was decided on one rink, with Moulamein’s Martin Stephens leading the way for his team with a 20-shot win over Nyah District’s combination led by Alexander Everitt.
It ensured Moulamein walked away winners, despite Nyah District’s Bryan Smith and Bruce Macdonald winning their rinks by 10 shots and one shot respectively.
On Sunday afternoon, Murray Down’s Buck Lehmann, Matt O’Bree, Cecilia McCaig and Josie Boyd and Racecourse’s Ryan Bice, Faye Devereux, Mary Hooper and Peter Hooper won their way through to the final of the 60 and Over mixed fours competition.
