BERWICK BOWLS
WEEKEND PENNANT – ROUND 6
After six rounds of weekend Pennant the ladders for each side are starting to take shape and we are getting a good look at who are the hot sides and which ones need to do some work.
For Berwick we currently have five of our eight sides sitting in the top four, some comfortably and some hanging on to a top-four spot.
Again, many players being unavailable due to various reasons continue to see changes in sides which are not ideal.
Settling the eight sides is important for the success of many of our teams this year.
• Berwick 1: def by Flemington/Kensington 92-61. Ladder: 4th
Well two losses in the past two weeks have seen the top side drop from second to fourth and in danger of falling out of the top four if they can’t secure wins in the double header this weekend at Bacchus Marsh and Parkdale.
Flemington/Kensington had control all day against the Berwick side and they only managed two points for the day through the rink of John Horwood, Jeff Parker, Lawrie Edwards and Steven Ellard. Josh McQueen’s rink was uncharacteristically well beaten by plenty as was the Mills’ rink with John O’Donnell’s rink narrowly beaten.
It’s time for some change within the rinks this week.
We think and our shot selection, attitude and commitment have to improve to see the ones continue to keep their place in the top four.
Two road trips this weekend are must wins. We’ll see how it all goes but it’s an interesting predicament at the moment.
• Berwick 2: def Coatesville 93-69. Ladder: 1st
Wow! Four rink wins and 18 points for the twos.
What a great win in what was a top-of-the-table clash at home against Coatesville.
The twos dominated the game this week.
Karyn Mackie, our head of selection, stepped up for her first game as skip in the second side and got the win by four.
Graeme Manifold and Jeff Janetzki’s rink also had narrow wins but the rink of Tom Cantwell, Malcolm Garner, Ron Lake and Charlie Azzopardi set the day up with a great 11-shot win on their rink to help the twos sit on top of the ladder.
The two’s travel to Moorabbin on Saturday who currently sit third so they’ll have to have their best on display to continue to keep their top position heading into Christmas.
• Berwick 3: def by Narre Warren 1 96-26. Ladder: 8th
Before last week we decided to shift direction with the threes and use them as a ‘Development Side’.
They were going to be up against a great section of clubs and we felt a great opportunity to give some of our newer less experienced bowlers, who are showing great improvement, the opportunity to play a very good level of bowls early in their bowling careers.
It is proving to be a great success, albeit to the detriment or with selection dramas amongst some of our older or more experienced bowlers.
Many of these bowlers will be the future of our club and they are showing already that playing at the higher level is proving to be a great learning tool.
Narre Warren 1 is pushing hard to gain Division 1 status and have brought in new players and coaches this year and is probably one of the favourites to take out this section.
But with only one rink being beaten well, and another taking two points and a rink win, it was a big tick for the threes.
We aren’t expecting many wins or miracles with this group but we do think their improvement will soar over the coming months.
• Berwick 4: def Noble Park 2 105-64. Ladder: 3rd
What a dominant display from the fours against Noble Park’s second side!
A 41-shot overall win and all rinks getting up to take 18 points and jump up to third on the ladder. The fours should have a great chance to consolidate their win this week by going to Hampton Park this week that are winless this season.
There were some great performances this week with Alan Thompson’s and John Kleverlaan’s rink getting up by 14 and 13 shots respectively.
With only three games till the Christmas break the fours have a great chance to really set their season up if they can get over the Upwey/Tecoma and Mulgrave sides.
We eagerly await their performances in the coming weeks and with three out of three could even find themselves on top of the ladder by Christmas.
• Berwick 5: def by Burden Park 2 93-75. Ladder Position: 6th
Although we see the fives sitting sixth there is only seven points separating second to sixth spot on the ladder.
The fives have been hurt badly the past two weeks with unavailability and there have been many changes within the side.
If we can settle them down and get them to Christmas with two or three more wins under their belt they’ll be in the top four.
Bill Stilo’s rink of Susan Balkwell, Cheryl Dawson and Sue Reber had a very impressive 19-shot win and generally, that margin would get you a win.
But the other three rinks just couldn’t stem the flow and were well beaten and unfortunately, as we’ve said before, you can’t cover bad rink losses.
The fives next two games are very winnable against Mulgrave and Edithvale and if they can get them under their belt and go in to the last round of the season with their tails up against ladder leaders Keysborough they could well be sitting very well entrenched in the top two.
Let’s go fives…good shot selection and keep the rink losses to a minimum and we’re backing you to win the next two.
Berwick 6: def Pakenham 4 106-58. Ladder Position: 1st
Wow, what a big win from the sixes this week against Pakenham.
A massive 28-shot win by the rink of Peter and Annette Kirby, Ray Findlay and Brucey Shearer set the day up for the sixes to come away with 16 points and three rink wins.
They’ve now consolidated their top spot on the ladder and are a full two games ahead of fourth position on the ladder so are off to a great start to the season.
Over the coming three weeks they will be tested by two sides sitting just below them but the way this side continues to win games, they’ll be on top at the break at Christmas.
• Berwick 7: def Mulgrave 6 61-58. Ladder Position: 1st
The sevens are still unbeaten this season and sitting on top of the ladder, a game and a half clear of second-placed Keysborough 4.
The sevens are proving to be the team to beat again this year and are backing up a great season last year.
Helen Adair kept her rink loss to one shot and Terry Wood kept his loss to three shots and that was the difference as we say every week.
The win was set up by Trevor Munday, Kevin Fewster, John Garland and Alf Reina who got up by seven to give the sevens a great victory over Mulgrave at home.
The sevens have a couple of tough games against second and third-spot ladder opposition over coming weeks and wins against them will see a commanding position going in to the break.
• Berwick 8: def by Clayton 5 71-45. Ladder: 6th
The eights are only half a game out of the top four and have been smashed with changes to every rink in the past three weeks.
Again, until we can settle sides it will definitely upset the ability for the eights to be consistent every week.
But they continue to give it their best and with so many new bowlers coming to the club we are hoping to have not so many unavailability’s each and every week.
The eights have got really good chances to win games, against opposition either just above or just below them, so with a bit of luck and some consistency in selection we are hoping they can climb the ladder before the break.
There is a lot going on around the club and on the greens leading up to Christmas.
We have the Lila Cotter Ladies Tournament over the weekend, Club Championships and Regional Championships are underway, and of course the $13000 Casey Fours Tournament on 6 and 7 January.
The event is sponsored by Berwick Mazda and Victorian Statewide Conveyancing and is nearly full so we are going to be very busy.
Throw in the massive barefoot bowls season leading up to Christmas and our members are going to be very busy.
Our surrounds to the $1,000,000 roof cover over green three are nearing completion too so we are looking at holding some fantastic events under the lights of the roof in 2023.
-John Rich-
