We are five weeks off hosting our annual Ben Hall Pairs Tournament on 15 and 16 August and it's shaping up to be another successful carnival. The greens look great and running magnificently and currently we have a full board of nominations, 38 teams which means three full greens over two days. This tournament is always a popular tournament drawing teams from all over New South Wales and this year is no different. We will be welcoming back the Bankstown Crew on Saturday 1 August when they visit Forbes to attend the Forbes Races. Bankstown have been a great supporter of our club over the last few years and with that they bring 30-plus bowlers for a morning of social bowls on Saturday so any social bowlers that would like to participate in social bowling on Saturday, please put your name down on the nomination sheet at the club. All are welcome. CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS Our club championships keep rolling through which means greens full of the Bushrangers colours playing their hearts out for their chance of being crowned a 2026 Champion. A & B PAIRS Luck was not on Pat O’Neill and Posso Jones’s side on Sunday afternoon as they went down 8-19 against Jax Murphy and Steve Turner. Jax and Steve flew off the starting blocks and led 10-3 on 10. Pat and Posso needed to find their groove and get back in the game for the next 8 ends to be in with a chance. Jax and Pat as leads were having a great battle but it was the Jax and Steve combo that dominated the game until the end. All the big guns were playing on rink 2 in the second A & B Pairs game for the weekend with Cherie Vincent leading for Spro Asimus taking on Sue White and Scott McKellar. Sue and Scott scored a 6 on the second end then Cherie and Spro hit back. Cherie and Spro leading 8-7 on 5, the tables turned again and levelled up 9 a piece on 7. 10 all on 9, 15 all on 13. Both teams were hungry for the win for the run home over the last 5 ends, Cherie and Spro won all five to seal the deal 28-15. MINOR SINGLES Board Member versus Board Member, the battle between Wayne Wright and Clint Hurford. Clint leading 5-4 on 6, this was shaping up to be a close battle. Clint kept his foot on the accelerator and skipped ahead a little 15-3 on 11. Wayne had to dig deep and pull out all his tricks and that’s what he did. Starting his comeback, Wayne trailed by 2, 14-16 on 17. Clint needed to put more distance between them and gaining 6 points on the next two ends certainly did that. 23-16 to Clint on 22, Wayne was not throwing in the towel just yet. Wayne again trailed by 2, 21-23 on 25 ends but it was Clint that won the next two ends and the game 25-21. SOCIAL BOWLS Wednesday: Drama at the ‘Bowlie’ last Wednesday morning as the Telstra outage had only one nomination by 9am which was a concern seeing a lovely outdoor sports morning was on the cards. For the next 30 minutes 24 noms came in quick and fast with most asking on arrival, ‘your not answering the phone, please explain’. That was soon answered. Once on the green with some close and others not so close we had four winners as Irene Reilly and Laurie Crouch played a 19-all draw over 20 ends with Don Craft and Ross Williams courtesy 14-1 on the last eight ends. Don and Ross fell into a heap late after leading 16-3 at the end of eight then 18-5 after 12. The card shows they only scored a single from there in and that was on end 18. Smiles were replaced with ‘the one that got away’. Not so close for the runners-up in a crafty couples, Angela Dent and Peter Mackay with a comfortable 20-5 win over Bill Scott and Gail McKay playing 18 ends. But Bill and Gail did taste the lead, 2-0 after two but then all downhill with only three more singles. Also slightly one -sided had Eddie Gould and Phil Bayley winning 21-12 in 20 over Lyn Simmonds and Colleen Leibich. The ‘boys’ were never headed leading 11-3 at 11 but did lose the last three ends, 5-0. Sue Smith and Billy Cowell had a close game with Neil Reilly and Noel Jolliffe winning 22-18 in 20. But they had to do it late down 5-11 after 10 to score more freely late in the innings highlighted by a couple of fours. Richard Green is showing he will soon skip leading superbly for Lyall Strudwick to share 17-all honours with equally talented Ann Mackay and Victorian visitor Des Mambrough. Richard and Lyall did lead 8-0 after seven before our visitor got the pace of the green which was highlighted by a 10-0 win over the last four ends. Another one that got away, next week. In the last Wayne Wright and Paul Doust won 21-12 in 19(?) over Lesley Dunstan and John Gorton. They jumped in front and were never headed leading 17-2 after 10 but another to run out of gas losing the last three ends, 5-0. In-club winners, Angela Dent and Ross Williams. Thursday: Following some rather cold mornings, 20 bowlers soaked up the warm sunshine for an afternoon in the sun. There were a few upsets across the rinks with some very large margins being played and the largest margin of day of 24 went to Wayne Burton and Laurie Crouch victors over Noel Hocking and Al Hilder 33-9. Wayne and Laurie hit the ground running, stamping their position early and never looked back. Leading 16-7 on 10, they went onto win seven of the last eight ends to secure the win. Just shy of a 24-point margin with a 22 point margin was rink 3 which saw Sue White and Al Phillips proving to good against Paul Doust and Billy Cowell. Billy may be looking for a tin of turps for the ‘paint brushes’ after failing to get to double digits in their 7-29 loss. Sue and Al had 18 points on their opposition on 11 which added an additional 9 points over the last 6 to claim victory. Rounding out the third highest margin game of the day with a 20-point margin was John Linley a new bowler to Forbes teaming with Christian West to conquer rink 5, 30-10. Their opposition, Posso Jones and a newcomer to Forbes and brand new bowler, Jade Nolan. The game started close and was 8 all on 10, judging by the card, John and Christian scoring multiple 3’s and multiple 4’s for the run home. Wayne Wright and Scott McKellar had a much closer game against Tara Shaw and Glen Kearney, with Wayne and Scott claiming victory 22-17. What looked like a one-sided card in the first half, Wayne and Scott leading 13-2 on 9, Tara and Glen started the fight back. Gaining a 6 on the 10th helped with closing the gap for Tara and Glen but Wayne and Scott were not done yet. 2 points the difference with Wayne and Scott still in the lead on 15, the sprinted across the finish line holding the winner’s flag. Dick Sharkey and John Kennedy gave it their all when they drew Nathan Suttie and Tim Everest. 4 all on 7, 5 all on 9, it was still all smiles on the green. Nathan and Tim started to pull away on the 11 and won the next four to add 6 points to their score and lead 14-6 on 14. Dick and John were able to win the last three ends but it wasn’t enough for the win. Final score 14-10. Winning Rink: Sue White and Al Phillips, Losing Rink: Dick Sharkey and Joh Kennedy. Jackpot winner: Glen Kearney. Sunday: With three club championship games scheduled to play at 12, 20 bowlers still took to the greens on Sunday morning welcoming two visitors, Gary and Chris Slade from Victoria. Winning card of the day was awarded to Joyce Gray and Phil Hocking who just scrapped in with a 13-12 win over Gill Taylor and Peter Tisdell. Phil and Joyce had a handy lead at halftime 9-3 but needed to keep their momentum going. Gill and Peter regrouped and came out guns blazing. 11 all on 13, three ends to go, Phil and Joyce were able to win 2 of the last 3 to win the game. The losing card of the day was won by Juss Scifleet and Al Phillips who also were unlucky but only went down by 1 point, 13-14 against George Falvey and Billy Cowell. Going into the half time break it was 7 a piece, who wanted it more would determine the final score. George and Billy just got in front on the 11th and headed for home to secure the victory. The triples game was won by Trish Todd, Dick Sharkey and Al Hilder verse Peter Greenhalgh, John Simmonds and Sharka Staines. Al led his team to a 17-5-point victory after leading all the way. 8-2 at oranges, 15-3 on 11, Shark added an extra two points in the last three, but the gap was out of reach. Chris Simmonds and John Cutler had a close game against Gary Slade our visitor who led for Lyall Strudwick. Gary and Lyall just in front on 8, 5-4 but halftime can make all the difference. Chris and John started strong after half time and the leader board changed 8-6. Gary and Lyall levelled on 12, 8 a piece and then again 10 all on 15. Going into the last end luck was on Chris and Johns side adding a 3 to win the game 13-10. The last game of the morning was Chris Slade teaming with Pooch Dukes against Tara Shaw and Bert Bayley. Chris and Pooch gelled well together from the start and led 4-1 on 5. Tara and Bert finally found their groove and hit the lead before the break 5-4. 3 points added to Tara and Bert’s board following the break to increase their lead, but they needed to continue to stay infront. 9 all on 12, both teams digging deep but it was Tara and Bert that claimed 3 of the last 4 to claim victory 14-11. Winning rink: Joyce Gray and Phil Hocking. Losing rink: Juss Scifleet and Al Phillips. Resting touchers: George Falvey and Gill Taylor. Raspberries: Al Phillips and Chris Simmonds. Jackpot winner of the day: Sharka Staines. Chicken raffle winners: George Andrews (Scooter) x 2, Pooch x 3, Steve Turner, Gill Tyalor, Kelly Stringer, Peter Greenhalgh.
