Cranbourne RSL cliffhanger

CRANBOURNE RSL Bowls Club’s division-three team had another huge cliffhanger triumph for the second time away from home in two weeks on Saturday.
It fought off a strong challenge by Dandenong Club right down to the last end to grab a two-shot overall (91-89) victory.
RSL was 20 shots down at afternoon tea and a great 23-shot home-run surge by Darryl Wood’s team contributed to it level pegging at the 88th end, saving the day.
All eyes watched the totals’ scoreboard after every end as all rinks results were tallied and the accompanying animation as skips of each team encouraged players to achieve specific shots and adjust their draw lines to the afternoon wind change.
The two-shot win gives RSL another 10-shot bonus to make it a strong contender for second place on the ladder after being in eighth position just two matches ago.
Results – Division 3: Cranbourne RSL (1) d Dandenong Club (91-89).
Darryl Wood’s team (32-20) scored a magnificent 12-shot win against S. Cunningham after struggling to win only four of the first 12 ends.
After tea it got into top gear clinching 11 of the next 13 ends to put on 25 vital shots and single handedly overcome the overall 20-shot deficit at tea. A tremendous last bowl conversion of three down to one up by skipper Darryl Wood on the 98th end saved RSL from certain defeat.
Barry Jones’ team (26-16) led all day gaining 17 of the 25 ends from great team play going in for tea eight shots up and gaining a further eight ends on the home run to produce a convincing 10-shot win against S. Ramsay.
Mal Watkinson’s team (18-26) had another tough game, fighting hard all day against L. McHugh. At tea it was five shots down, but fought back strongly to get to 18-all at the 20th when Dandy Club grabbed the last five ends to coast in by eight shots.
Neil Drummond’s team (15-27) found the going tough against Dandy Club president Tony Evans’ team that won 10 of the first 13 ends and 16 shots up before tea.
RSL then kicked into gear when it won seven of the next 12 ends, but although it was not enough to win its own game, its contribution and keeping the last end to one down enabled it to come home with the 10 bonus points.
DIVISION SIX
Cranbourne RSL (111-71)
had a great 40 shot four rinks win over Pakenham to return the compliment with interest after it won the first round of the season by 23 shots and three rinks up. The RSL victory will keep it firmly on top of the ladder and good contenders for the finals.
Cranbourne RSL (2) d Pakenham (3) (111-71).
Doug Ambrose’s team (35-19) had a strong win after being down four shots at tea against L. Brown. Picking up 12 shots on the next three ends put RSL eight shots up at the 16th end and a further 14 shots over the next nine ends saw it romp home by 16 shots.
Bob Preston’s team (29-15) won only two of the first seven ends against B. Byrne, but then kicked in winning the next eight ends and leading by 16 shots at the 15th and adding a further eight shots from three ends allowed it to coast home by 14 shots.
Shane Riddiford’s team (25-19) worked hard against K. Tomlin in the first half, going into tea one down. It put on a burst of six after tea, but was again caught one down at the 23rd. However putting on seven shots on the last two ends ensured a sweet six-shot victory.
Gary Lacey’s team (22-18) put in a great effort to get the fourth team home against B. Dawson and was 10-all at tea, but took control after the break and led all the way home for a well-earned four-shot win.
LADIES PENNANT
On 22 November, B1 team played Cranbourne (2) at home and won by 20 points.
Esmay May 33-22, Sandra Bright 30-12, Lorna Ambrose 21-26, Helena Rogers 20-23.
B3 team played Cranbourne at Cranbourne and lost by four shots.
Ann Darby 20-17, Veronica Robertson 19-26.
Joy Power was congratulated on becoming club champion and wished all the best in the Champion of Champions to be held 5 December.