MURRAY Downs have capped off another dominant midweek pennant season, claiming a clean sweep of both divisions at Tuesday’s MVPA midweek pennant grand final.
The Division 1 trophy was always destined to head across the Murray River, with both Murray Downs 1 and 2 playing off in the grand final at the Racecourse Bowls Club, while the Rams number one team eventually got over the line 52-shots to 46 in a hard-fought decider.
The combination of Garry McCaig, Raymond Wilson, Keith Burrage and Judy Wilson proved to be the difference between the two teams, with McCaig leading his quartet to a premiership deciding eight-shot win over his counterpart Peter Furnell, 28-20.
Despite Murray Downs 2, through the strong play of David Griffin and his team, claiming a win over Kevin Rowe, they were unable to bridge the gap created by McCaig, with the minor premiers going on to claim yet another midweek premiership.
“It was a tremendous effort all round, to have three teams out of four play in grand finals is a magnificent achievement for our club,” Murray Downs Bowls president Garry McCaig said this week.
“It’s pretty hard playing against your own club in a grand final and it happened last year also.
“Last year I remember I was in one side and my wife was playing for the other side, which makes it very tough.
“I think we got it right with team selections this year and when it all finished up, there was only six shots separating us overall, but the main thing was that it was played with really good sportsmanship shown from both sides, which was a credit to all the players.
“Our club has had a very good season, it was a tight grand final and it came down to the last three or four ends.
“Our Division 2 team had a very good side and they won quite easily to be honest – they were always favourites and deserved to win.”
After dominating the second semi-final with a 43-shot win a fortnight ago, Murray Downs 3 continued their good form in the grand final, defeating Racecourse 4 53-shots to 25 in Tuesday’s Division 2 grand final.
Les McPhee, Raymond Halligan, Elaine Lawry and Teresa Furnell combined for a 19-shot win over Racecourse’s Fay Devereux and her team, while Murray Downs Darryl Barry and his team were also too strong, claiming a nine-shot win over Dawn Doran.
