Berwick Bowling Club hosted one of the biggest tournaments in the Casey Cardinia region early in the new year with the Casey Fours attracting a large field of contenders.
An influx of 168 players descended on the club across two days, with volunteers putting in a mammoth effort to feed all involved, run the bar and manicure the surrounds.
The field was a hot one which included current premier league players Dave Ashby, Milan Prosenica, the Murphy brothers from Clayton along with club partner Rod Peterson.
Others that played in the event were recently crowned Newborough Classic Singles Champion Colin Veenendaal, NSW U18 Representative Tom Rich, Victorian U18 Representatives Olivia Slade, Amity Bickley; current Moama Premier League player Cameron Keenan; and Scottish pair John Fleming and Blair Davison who recently represented the Scotland U25 youth team.
After day one, the first three games were tight at the top, with nine teams within six points.
It was the rinks of Jodie Ashby, Chris Owen, Matt Murphy and Paul Murphy, along with the Dandenong club rink of Chris Slater, Scott Guymer, Blair Davison and Fleming, that sat on top of the leader board on 61 points after day one.
The draw for the second day saw some of the top-10 pitted against each other which would eventually split the teams coming into the final rounds.
Also on the day, with the generous support of Frencham’s Indoor Plants and Sear Insurance Brokers, the $1000 draw bowling competition got underway at 6pm.
The field was in great spirits and quite loud after a day on the greens and a few beverages.
Geoff Dawson and the boys from Karingal Bowls Club failed to nail it when they had the chance.
Instead, it was John O’Donnell with the final bowl who drew just outside the line of the 700mm diameter circle but, after it came to rest, it fell to its side for the winning bowl.
The crowd erupted and many caught the action on video.
The temperature again reached 30 degrees on day two – it was going to be a long, hot, tough day for all involved.
After two games on Saturday and five in total, there were four sides unbeaten.
Fleming and O’Donnell’s teams both sat atop the competition with 102 points, Murphy on 100 points and Rod Peterson on 97.
There were another eight teams behind them with only one loss to date who were all vying for a part of the $12,000 cash on offer.
Ethan Mills’ rink took eight ends off the Fleming rink in the last game to make it hard for them to win.
It wasn’t to be for Fleming or Murphy as the rink of Alvarez, McQueen, Ellard and O’Donnell won 11 ends out of 15 for a big win in their game to sit on top of the competition, unbeaten after six games on 123 points.
Ashby, Owen, Murphy and Murphy also finished with six wins, but didn’t quite get enough end wins to take the prize, eventually finishing three points shy on 120.
Fleming finished third on 119 points with two-time previous winner Neville Brown and his rink finishing a further 10 points behind in fourth on 109 points.
Peterson’s rink of Zammitt, Monaghan and Dave Ashby squandered their opportunity in the last game going down to David Bond’s rink in a big upset.
They finished sixth on 103 points.
Berwick Bowling Club would like to thank Berwick Mazda, Victorian Statewide Conveyancing, Frencham’s Indoor Plants, Sear Insurance Brokers and all the community businesses that supported the event.
Planning is already underway for the 2024 Casey Fours.
The last time the Casey Fours was played was 2014 with Pat Thompson, Joan Heggart, Ted Tratt and Daniel Hudson taking the winners cheque.
This year with the support of Berwick Mazda, Victorian Statewide Conveyancing and many of the local business community support, Berwick Bowling Club managed to hold the event with $13,000 in prize-money up for grabs across the two days on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 January.
Over 160 bowlers entered the event and with a big $5 breakfast on offer the punters were at the club early to get a great start with breakfast being served from 7.30am.
With entries complete, all bowlers hit the green for the first of 6 x 15 end games commencing at 9am.
Final Prizemoney Positions
1st $5000: Alvarez, McQueen, Ellard and O’Donnell.
2nd $2000: J. Ashby, Owen, Murphy and Murphy.
3rd $1600: Carter, Guymer, Davison and Fleming.
4th $1000: Veenendaal, Sherwen, Hill and Brown.
5th $800: England, Mathieson, McLaughlin and Carroll.
6th $600: Zammitt, Monaghan, D. Ashby and Peterson.
7th $200: Slade, Slade, Rich and Keenan.
7th $200: Leitch, Young, Corrigan and Bond.
Best First-Day Game $300: Zeibell, Hodges, Tratt and Gladman
Best Second-Day Game $300: Shute, Williamson, Butcher and Ridd.
