By TARA SHAW The long awaited Bentick Trophy final was played on Sunday. Brian Asimus (Spro) vs Jeff Nicholson. Both bowlers are a crowd favourites and the game did not disappoint. Four the difference due to handicap, Spro needing to get to 29 and Nicho to 25. Spro was out of the box early showing 5-0 on 3 but Nicho got runs on the board from there and it was 4-6 on 6. Nicho picked up multiple shots on the next three ends to hit the lead 11-8 on 11. Spro fought back to nudge in front again 13-11 on 14. Spro put the pedal flat to the floor to have a handy lead 25-11 on 19. Nicho, pulling out all the tricks, gained another four points to jump to 15 but Spro sprinted to the end with final score showing 29-15 over 24 ends. Social bowls Wednesday morning bowlers welcomed in 2025 with 22 taking to the green last week where card draw winners were silky Sue Smith leading for John Gorton winning 26-15 in 20 ends over Bill Scott and Kerry Dunstan. Only time they were challenged, at the start before advancing to lead 21-8 at the end of 13 ends. Runners-up, Peter Mackay and Sue White who showed no mercy for Mr Mackay’s visitor Chris Wallace and Bill O’Connell winning 34-4 also in 20. A three on end 17 a highlight for the poor ‘ol losers. Peter Barnes and John ‘Slippery’ Ward were also in no mood for friendship play winning 21-11 in 18 over Barry White and Don Craft who had a chance with the score 9-5 after nine. Geoff West and Lyall Strudwick did the numbers to win 18-16 in 20 over Geoff Coles and Paul Doust coming from 5-10 down after nine. A three on the last got them home. In the last triples had Tim Everest, Gail McKay and Bill Cowell winning 16-10 in 14 over Cheryl Hodges, Eddie Gould and Jamie Dukes. They looked good at 10-3 after eight. In-club winners Paul Doust and Peter Mackay. Thursday Bowls numbers were a little lower then usual but it did not stop 12 bowlers. Ron Thurlow lead for John Kennedy against Tara Shaw and Dennis Byrnes. Ron and John were first point scorers but Tara and Dennis hit back. Tara and Dennis were leading 13-4 on 8 and no signs of backing off. 20-6 on 13 and final score being 31-8 on 20. Billy Cowell and Wayne Burton teamed up to take on Jamie Dukes and Cherie Vincent. What started as a close game 4-3 on 4 Billy and Wayne skipped ahead to lead 11-4 on 9. Jamie and Cherie were not giving up picking up multiples to close the gap 10-11 on 11. Luck was on Jamie and Cheries side winning the next 4 to finally hit the lead 15-14 on 17. Billy and Wayne won another seven points to win the game 21-17. Ange Dwyer and Al Phillips drew Max Vincent and Cliff Nelson. Max and Cliff proved early that they would be a force to be reckoned with. 12-4 on 6. The A team started their comeback tour winning the next 8 in a row to lead the board 17-12 on 14. Unfortunately, Max and Cliff were only able to pick up another 4 points but it wasn’t enough to win the game and being the runners up 16-21 on 20. Winning Rink went to Billy Cowell and Wayne Burton. Losing Rink went to Ron Thurlow and John Kennedy. Resting touchers were won by: Cherie Vincent, Billy Cowell and Cliff Nelson. Wayne Burton was the only recipient of the Raspberry for the wrong bias. The jackpot is still in tacked at $600 as it was not won. Sunday Bowls 28 bowlers took to the greens for social bowls on Sunday. Seven games of pairs across two greens. Kelly Stringer and John Cutler started slow but when they hit the ground running against Ange Dwyer and Alan Hilder going into half time 9-3. Ange and Alan picked up a four on the 13 closing the gap a little more trailing 9-12. Kelly and John were not giving up and took the next 2 ends to win the game 14-11. Another close game was played by Christian Markwart and Chris Hodge vs Joyce Gray and Cliff Nelson. 8 all going into the break this game was anyone's. Big numbers picked up by both teams in the second half 13 all on 13. Christian and Chris picked up two on the last to win the game 17-14. Terry Murphy lead for Laurie Crouch who were teamed against Juss Scifleet and Cherie Vincent. Terry and Laurie were stamping the position from the start winning six on the first seven ends. At oranges Terry and Laurie lead 10-3. Showing no signs of backing off, Terry and Laurie continued to put runs on the board winning 20-7 on 16. Peter Greenhalgh and Pat O’Neil drew Tara Shaw and Peter Mackay. Tara and Peter were in the lead 7-1 on 5 but going into the break the score board showed Peter and Pat trailing by 1. Peter and Pat definitely refuelled at half time and won 6 of the next 8 to win the game 14-10. Tyler Murphy and Mick Merrit came up against Jamie Dukes and Al Phillips. Jamie and Al took no prisoners from the word go. Leading 8-3 on 7. Tyler and Mick tried their best and only trailed by two on the 15th but Jamie and Al scored a 3 on the last to take home the prize 17-12. Jax Murphy and John Kennedy drew Jason Howell and Shayne Staines. Multiples picked up by both teams showed a one point difference at half time in favour of Jax and John 7-6. Jax and John were certainly giving Jason and Shayne a challenge to chase however Jax and John were the victors on the day 16-10 on 16. Noel Hocking and Peter Tisdell came up against Trish Todd and Lyall Strudwick. Peter and Noel in front on 5 extending their lead on 7 to 7-4. Trish and Lyall gained a three on 9 but Noel and Peter answered back picking up a two and a three to finish the game 18-11. Winning rink was won by Terry Murphy and Laurie Crouch. Losing rink went to Jason Howell and Shayne Staines. Jackpot rink drawn out for a chance of $418 was Rink 5. They needed a 3 and drew a 5 therefore the jackpot increases again next week. Resting touchers were awarded to: Pat O’Neil, Lauri Crouch, Christian Markwart and Shayne Staines. Chicken raffle winners were: Pat O’Neil, Bert Bayley, Paul Doust, Lyall Strudwick, Spro, John Kennedy, Bozza Bolam, Shayne Staines and Mick Merritt.
