HAVING long been the benchmark club of the region, Murray Downs can now lay claim to being one of the leading clubs in the country after four bowlers won bronze at last Thursday’s Australian Bowls Championships.
Josh Thornton, Brian Lehmann, John Caldwell and Garry McCaig defeated hometown favourites Western Australia to win the third-place playoff of the men’s fours section, 14-12.
The quartet from Murray Downs had opened up a sizable 12-3 lead by the halfway mark of the decider before the West Australian combination came storming back into the contest, winning five of the last seven ends.
But it was too little, too late for the hometown side, who ultimately fell short, with Murray Downs skipper Thornton coming up clutch in the final ends to deny WA the match-winning ends they required.
Thornton, who is a Commonwealth Games gold medallist and two-time national champion, rated last Thursday’s result as one of his career highlights, telling The Guardian that it was a performance beyond his wildest expectations.
“This is right up there for me,” Thornton said.
“To put it into perspective, Murray Downs is a little place and we’ve just beaten some of the biggest bowls clubs in the country.
“It’s not even a town, it’s a little club, and for the four of us to not only win a state title but to go on and finish third in Australia is a fantastic effort.
“I couldn’t have wished to do it with three better blokes either, so I’m chuffed.
“The four of us started this journey all the way back in November last year when we started playing in the Murray Valley area.
“We won that, then won the region, then won state, and while we didn’t win it all, we went so close and, honestly, we weren’t far away.
“That first game we probably started a little slower than what we’d like and if it wasn’t for that, we might have been playing for gold.”
That opening match of the national championships would prove to be their only loss of the tournament, South Australia defeating the Murray Downs quartet, 19-12.
Their slow start continued into the second match against Tasmania, with Thornton, Lehmann, Caldwell and McCaig trailing 11-3 at the end of the eighth end.
From that moment on, though, their nationals experience turned on its head, with the Murray Downs combination claiming a tournament-changing seven-shot win in the ninth end.
That end helped Thornton and his team finish with a wet sail and keep their tournament alive with a 21-17 victory, with the Murray Downs skipper pondering what might have been if not for their slow start.
“It was only two ends really that cost us in that first match (against South Australia),” Thornton said.
“We dropped a five and a three in that first game and the final margin was seven, so if we take that away then who knows what happens.
“Even the second game (against Tasmania) we still didn’t start as well as we’d like, and it was the fact we were gifted a seven in a way that changed that match.
“Normally when you draw a seven, it’s as a result of someone playing a good bowl or someone’s taken their bowl out, but from then onward, the day was all positive.
“We played Queensland in the last game and we had to beat them by seven to overtake them and still rely on South Australia not doing so well.
“We were behind in that match too, but played a couple of good ends late which gave us a chance of winning.
“We could see that South Australia weren’t going to win so we knew if we could hold on that we’d be through to the bronze medal playoff.
Hold on they did, with the Murray Downs combination coming five shots behind with five ends remaining to claim a two-shot win, 15-13.
While Thornton is no stranger to the big stage, it was the first time in the national spotlight for his teammates, with Lehmann full of praise for his unflappable skipper.
“‘Shorty’ (McCaig), John (Caldwell) and I did our bit but our skipper (Thornton) killed it,” Lehmann said.
“When the decider was on the line in the last two ends, he just nailed it.
“He played the right bowls in the third-last and last end to ice the game.
“They were just unbelievable bowls because they (Western Australia) were coming hard.
“It’s one of my highlights, that’s for sure.
“We’ve all had a few highlights along the way but this is right up there.
“You can win a singles event and, while it’s great, it’s not something you can celebrate.
“This is different.
“It’s a team sport and, while we missed out on the gold and silver, to get through and win the bronze was beyond all of our wildest dreams.”
