Tongala has snatched top spot in the Campaspe Playing Area’s division two weekend pennant bowls competition after results went its way on Saturday.
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The Bulls now lead the eight-team division with four wins from five games, having escaped with a two-shot win against second-bottom Deniliquin RSL in the weekend’s fifth round of matches.
Echuca, which was top before Saturday, lost by eight shots to fourth-placed Deniliquin - a result which has set up a mouth watering contest between the top two teams this weekend.
Tongala has made a massive improvement on last season when it finished dead last in the division, managing just two wins and a draw from 14 games.
Last year the Bulls’ highest ranked bowler in division two was Kim Hanson (seeded 39th), but this season they have six bowlers ranked in the top 10 for the respective bowling slots.
Noel West, bowling with the support of champion veteran Geoff Tinning and former division one star Phil Cooper, won his match by four shots and set up the win. He trailed by two shots with two ends remaining, but picked up five shots on those to win 21-18.
Danny O’Brien managed a tie on his rink, trailing by six before winning five of the final seven ends to square the match. John Riedell went down by a shot on the remaining rink in a spectacular finish where he led by a shot with two ends remaining, dropped five shots on the penultimate end and then took three of those back on the final end to lose 20-21.
Tongala won overall 63-61 (13-3).
– Stanhope will face last season’s division one premier Mathoura and the highly fancied Moama Steamers in successive weeks after returning to the winner’s list against Rich River on Saturday.
A 63-49 (16-0) win has the team four points clear on top of the ladder, ahead of the Steamers, Tongala and Deniliquin.
Tim Hancock has joined fellow skips Greg Fitzpatrick (top seed) and Ben Fletcher (ranked third so far this season) in the top 10 skips in the division one competition.
His six-shot win has him sitting as the division’s sixth seed, the result supporting Fletcher’s five-shot win and the three-shot win of Fitzpatrick - the latter boasting a 4-1 win/loss record this season.
Hancock won all but four of the first 18 ends of the match to lead by 12 with three ends remaining. He lost all of those to eventually win by six, 23-17.
In a low scoring game 15 of the 21 ends were one shot returns for the respective skips, Fletcher winning 19-14.
After losing the first three ends, Fitzpatrick won 10 of the next 13 ends and led by nine with five ends to play. Despite losing four of those he still won 21-18.
– Tongala is now one of three teams with a 4-1 record to start the 2024-25 division one weekend pennant season, taking a five-shot win in a replay of last season’s grand final against Mathoura.
The 58-53 (13-3) scoreline came on the back of Steve Hammond’s 10-shot win with Hayden Crilly, Steve Usher, and Matt Liverton in support.
Glenn Fields tied his rink and Brad Tinning’s up and down season continued, losing by five in his match with Dennis McHarry.
Tongala’s mixed fortunes this year are reflected by the fact they have only three bowlers ranked inside the top 20 (seeds 17-19) this season.
Hammond lost the opening three ends, but won all but two of the next 15 ends (including a trifecta of three-shot hauls) to lead by 14 with three ends remaining. He lost two of those, giving up five shots, but still won 24-14.
Brad Tinning trailed by 11 after a dozen ends of his match, but won six of the next seven ends and closed the gap to two shots with two ends remaining. He lost both of those to lose 15-20.
Fields led 15-3 after a dozen ends of his match, picking up five shots on the 12th end to set up a big lead. He gave all five of those back on the 16th end and the margin was just seven with four ends remaining.
He lost all of those and had to be content with a 19-all tie.
- Stanhope has dropped to sixth on the division two ladder after losing 44-73 (0-16) to now fifth-placed Rich River on Saturday.
Andrew Morris lost by 10 on his rink, Jennifer Crilly by six and Robert Armstrong by 13 as team surrendered 70 shots for the second time this season.
Morris managed wins on just seven ends in his 12-22 loss, while Armstrong trailed by just three after 13 ends before losing six of the next eight ends for a 13-26 defeat.
Crilly led by a shot with six ends of her match remaining, but lose five of those to lose 19-25.
In division four Stanhope sits in third with a 3-2 win/loss records after beating sixth-ranked Rich River by 19 shots on Saturday - 65-46 (14-2).
Despite Ken Hoppner’s 10-shot loss, the 12-shot victory of Peter Harris and Anthony Trist’s 17-shot victory was enough secure the win.
Trist won 14 of the 21 ends in his match, leading by 10 before picking up 10 shots in the final five ends for a 30-13 victory.
Harris led by just one after 11 ends of his game, but won seven of the final 10 ends (surrendering just one shot apiece in his three losing ends) for a 23-11 win.
Kyabram Free Press and Campaspe Valley News editor