Bowls Bushrangers contest rookie pairs in Cowra

BOWLS The green and gold will be proudly represented this weekend as three of our mighty Bushranger pairs head to Cowra to compete in the Mid-Western Rookie Pairs qualifying rounds. Flying the flag for our club will be Jason Howell and Pat O’Neill, Billy Cowell and Tim Everest, and Maynard and Wayne Wright, who will all be looking to put their best bowls forward against competitors from across the district. It is always fantastic to see our members stepping up to represent the club at district level, and we know all three combinations will do the Bushrangers proud. There will no doubt be some tough competition throughout the qualifying rounds, but our boys will be ready to give it their best shot, enjoy the challenge and hopefully bring home some great results along the way. From everyone in the club, good luck Jason, Pat, Billy, Tim, Maynard and Wayne. Play well, enjoy the weekend and wear those Bushranger colours with pride! Go the Mighty Bushrangers! JOHNY WOODS TOURNAMENT Round 2 of the Johny Woods three-week tournament is done and dusted, with Richard Green still leading the charge after two rounds. With just one week of competition remaining, the tournament is still wide open and there’s plenty to play for. A strong final round could see the leaderboard change, so it’s shaping up to be an exciting finish this Saturday. Game 1 produced a tie for the winning honours, with Juss Scifleet and Cherie Vincent sharing the spoils with Cliff Nelson and Wayne Burton. In Game 2, Posso Jones and Tara Shaw combined well to take out the win. It’s not too late to get involved and put a score on the board for your chance to feature in the final results of the three-week tournament. The nomination sheet is on the board at the club, or simply phone the club with your name by 12.30pm Saturday. With the final round upon us, anything can happen. Who will come out on top? FILL THE GREENS FOR CAUSE A reminder to everyone to mark Saturday 10 October in your calendar for our Wings4Kids Charity Bowls Day. Wings4Kids does amazing work throughout our region, helping families when they need it most, and this is a wonderful opportunity for our bowling community to get behind a very worthwhile cause while enjoying a great day on the greens. The day will feature two games of 10 ends, played in triples, with an entry fee of $25 per person. It promises to be a fun and relaxed day with plenty of laughs, friendly competition and, most importantly, the chance to raise much-needed funds for Wings4Kids. Don’t have a team? No worries! Simply nominate individually and we’ll help place you into a team on the day. Everyone is welcome, so grab your mates, put your name down and come along for a great day of bowls. We would absolutely love to see the greens full on the day. The more people who join us, the more support we can give to this fantastic charity and the important work they do across our region. Let’s rally together, fill the greens and make this a charity day to remember! CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS Posso and Cherie claim mixed pairs crown The first of our 2026 Club Championship titles outside the major singles and pairs was decided on the weekend, with the mixed pairs final producing a great battle on the greens. This year’s decider brought together a terrific mix of experience and new talent. Newcomer to competition bowls Lara Shine teamed up with our hardworking greenkeeper Phil Hocking to take on two players who are certainly no strangers to finals bowls, Posso Jones and Cherie Vincent. While Posso and Cherie may still call Eugowra home, we’re more than happy to claim them as locals around the club! Posso and Cherie were quickest out of the blocks, while Lara and Phil took a little time to settle into the contest. But once they found their rhythm, the game quickly tightened up. By the ninth end, Lara and Phil had fought their way back to 8-all, setting the scene for an entertaining second half of the final. From there, Posso and Cherie managed to keep their noses just in front, but there was certainly no easy run to the finish line. Lara and Phil continued to apply the pressure and made their opponents work hard for every shot. It was a terrific contest between all four players, played in great spirit and with plenty of quality bowls along the way. For Lara, in particular, reaching a club championship final so early in her competition bowls journey was a fantastic achievement. In the end, experience prevailed, with Posso and Cherie securing a 19-13 victory and, more importantly, earning the all-important victory dance rights! Congratulations to Posso Jones and Cherie Vincent, our 2026 Mixed Pairs Champions, and a huge well done to Lara Shine and Phil Hocking on a wonderful campaign and a hard-fought final. A great final, four worthy competitors and another Club Championship title decided for 2026! MAJOR FOURS Team Bayley powers into semi-final Ian Hodges, Shayne Staines, Greg Gunn and Bert Bayley have booked their place in the Major Fours semi-finals after producing a strong 28-14 victory over Paul Baker, Maynard, John Cutler and Troy Clarke on Saturday. Team Bayley wasted little time settling into the contest, jumping out to a 7-1 lead after four ends. However, Team Clarke was not about to let them have things all their own way. Clarke’s combination responded strongly, claiming the next three ends in succession, including a valuable four, to close the margin to just one shot and put themselves right back into the contest. Unfortunately for Team Clarke, the dreaded number seven then proved difficult to escape. They remained stranded on seven for four consecutive ends while Team Bayley found another gear and began building a handy advantage. By the 12th end, Team Bayley had established an 18-10 lead, but with nine ends still to play there was plenty of bowls left and no room to relax. A big turning point came on the 13th when Team Bayley collected a valuable five, stretching the margin and putting themselves firmly in control. Despite the advantage, they still had to remain focused, with Team Clarke continuing to fight for every shot. The closing stages became a much tighter affair, with the final six ends producing only singles. That suited Team Bayley perfectly, as they protected their advantage and steadily worked their way towards the finish line. When the final bowls were delivered, it was Team Bayley taking the honours 28-14 and securing their place in the next stage of the championship. The challenge certainly doesn't get any easier from here. Hodges, Staines, Gunn and Bayley will now face Brett Davenport, Dan Tisdell, Christian West and Pooch Dukes in the first Major Fours semi-final. With a place in the final up for grabs, it promises to be another cracking championship encounter. SOCIAL BOWLS Wednesday – Triples was the order of the morning last week with the money going to both rinks where winners were Neil Riley and Geoff West for skip Cliff Nelson winning 19-11 in 14 ends over Cheryl Hodges who came crashing back to earth after her gallants efforts the week prior leading for Therese Davis and skip Noel Jolliffe. They had a commanding lead 6-1 after four and carried this to 12-3 at the end of eight. The Jolliffe trio showed some fight with a three on end 11 but all to late. Runners-up also had it easy with Irene Riley, Eddie Gould and Tim Everest having a mountain of great bowls winning 23-10 in 16 over Colleen Liebich, Neil Condron and Dale Scott. They also had a good start, 8-2 after six continuing to carry this on to 19-5 after 11. The third game of triples had Darrell Avery, Lyn Simmonds and Lyall Strudwick scraping home 14-13 in 14 over Angela Dent, Sue Smith and John Kennedy. They led 11-3 after eight to only add to their score, a three on end 13 while the ‘President’s Men” had a merry time posting 10. But all to late. The first game of pairs was a draw, 18-all between Don Craft and Jeff Nicholson over 20 ends playing John Gorton and Phil Bayley. Little separated the combinations, 8-7 after six, 12-all after 11, 15-all after 16 sharing the run home with three each. The last game of pairs was also close with Wayne Wright and Peter Barnes up 20-19 in 22 ends over Dale Jeffery and Laurie Crouch who was on top of his game all morning. Again little between the two combinations all game, 6-all after six, 9-11 after 11, 14-15 after 16 and 17-all after 19. A three on end 21 was the winner. In-club winners, Therese Davis and Noel Jolliffe. Thursday - With the Mid-Western Rookie Pairs qualifying rounds just around the corner, some of our Bushrangers took the opportunity to sharpen their skills and get some valuable match practice under their belts. Maynard and Wayne Wright took on fellow Rookie Pairs representatives Billy Cowell and Tim Everest, with both teams using this opportunity as valuable preparation ahead of their upcoming competition. On this occasion, it was Billy and Tim who hit their straps, combining well and looking every bit the well-oiled machine as they powered their way to a convincing 29-12 victory. Adam Maynard and Sue White were pushed right to the wire in a nail-biting contest against Tara Shaw and John Kennedy. With little separating the two combinations throughout the game, it all came down to the closing stages, with Adam and Sue just pipping Tara and John at the post, 20-19. Family combination claims the win when Graham Sheather, visiting from Albury, teamed up with his brother-in-law Bert Bayley for an enjoyable outing on the greens. The family combination proved too strong on the day, securing a 23-17 victory over Laurie Crouch and Viv Russell. Girls get the job done, Sue Smith and Cherie Vincent combined well on the greens to claim bragging rights over Bobby Grant and Al Phillips. The girls proved too strong on the day, finishing with a 10-shot advantage and taking out the game 22-12. It was a close battle on the greens, with Phil Bayley and Posso Jones holding their nerve to claim a narrow 19-17 victory over Ange Dwyer and Wayne Burton. With just two shots separating the teams at the finish, it was a hard-fought contest that could have gone either way. Resting touchers: Laurie Crouch and John Kennedy. Raspberries: Cherie Vincent, Bobby Grant, Sue White and Tim Everest. Winning rink: Billy Cowell and Tim Everest. Losing Rink: Bobby Grant and Al Phillips. Jackpot winner of the day: Ange Dwyer Sunday - There here was no rest for some of our keen bowlers, with 16 players backing up from Saturday’s tournament to enjoy another morning on the greens for Sunday Social Bowls. Tara Shaw and Viv Russell enjoyed a close 17-14 win over Ange Dwyer and Pat O’Neill, while Trish Todd and Maynard combined strongly to defeat Juss Scifleet and Ross Williams 19-7. The family combo of Peter Greenhalgh and son-in-law Shayne Staines proved tough to beat, claiming a 24-8 victory over Gill Taylor and Al Phillips. Rounding out the morning, Joyce Gray and John Cutler finished strongly with a 20-8 win over Noel Hocking and Al Hilder. Resting touchers: Maynard, Al Phillips and Tara. Raspberry: Juss Scifleet. Winning rink: Trish Todd and Maynard. Losing Rink: Gill Taylor and Al Phillips. Jackpot winner: Shayne Staines.