MURRAY Downs Bowls Club have claimed victory in the Murray Valley Playing Area Division 1 Weekend Pennant grand final, wrapping up a rare three-peat.
The Rams have been the team to beat in recent years and proved that once again, as they defeated Racecourse 86 shots to 61 on their home greens on Saturday.
It was a repeat of last year’s Division 1 outcome.
Murray Downs head coach Josh Thornton said the club had never won three in a row before this year.
“We didn’t want to make that the focus, but it was definitely something we had to play for,” he said.
“There was quite a bit of noise from both sides, everyone was getting loud as things were happening.
“I love playing in those environments, it’s just really fun.
“That intensity is just the way that we play, I think the higher the level you are playing the more intense the teams get.
“It’s that bit more competitive, a bit more vocal.”
Thornton said his club knew they could never take Racecourse’s ability for granted.
“They’re a side that we know you’ve just got to play well against,” he said.
“They jumped us … they absolutely had us on toast early in the day.”
Murray Downs claimed wins on two of the three rinks, as Racecourse scored a narrow 26-25 shot win on the rink skippered by Norm Smith and John Caldwell.
But the Rams’ dominance was on display on the other two rinks, winning 34-19 when teams skippered by Josh Thornton and Glen McKissack went head-to-head.
The team skippered by Brian Lehmann claimed a 27-16 shot win over Racecourse’s team led by Mick Holyoak.
But Thornton said he thought there were “three big moments that turned the match in its latter half”.
“The first was when ‘Bucky’ (Lehmann) on the rink next to us drew to the edge of the ditch when he was two down,” he said.
“I think that was probably the bowl of the day.
“We then got a seven not too long after that, which gave us that little bit of a gap we needed.
“The very next thing, Johnny (Caldwell) got a five against Norm (Smith), and I think it was those moments that really cemented the win for us.
“It was a really resilient and grinding win from our side.
“The end rink, in which Norm ending up beating John, was the one giving us most of the headaches all day.
“But they had a fantastic fightback to bring us back, and without that fightback we might not have even got the win.”
Murray Downs also won the title in Division 2, where Murray Downs 2 defeated Racecourse 2, 79 shots to 66, in a familiar manner.
It was back-to-back Division 2 titles for the Rams against Racecourse 2.
The Rams were victorious in two of the three rinks.
But it wasn’t all sadness for Racecourse, who defeated Lake Boga 2 for the Division 3 title.
In an enthralling affair, Racecourse 4 fought back against a gallant Lake Boga 2 side to claim a tight 78-76 victory.
Manangatang 2 claimed a big win over Racecourse 5 to win Division 4 honours, scoring 48 shots to their opponent’s 31.
