BOWLS Rounding out the last week of winter and almost to the finals of our club championships, the bowling greens are about to be jam packed. Not only does the warmer weather bring out more bowlers for social bowls, we are about to kick off our Johny Woods Painting sponsored bowls tournament, kick off our club championship finals and host our annual “The Legends Bowls Day” in October. On top of our local competitions happening at our club, we have representatives of the Mighty Bushrangers participating in the Mid Western over 40’s competition on Parkes on 12 September and Mid Western Rookie Pairs will be travelling to Cowra at the end of September. It all happening. Johny Woods Painting sponsored bowls tournament will kick off on Saturday 12 September and will be played across three consecutive Saturday afternoons. Scores will be based on wins and margins of all three games. Starting at 1pm in the afternoon, all welcome. Nomination sheets are up on the bowls board at the club. CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS Two games of our Minor Singles were played and to say they were close battles is an understatement. Scotty McKellar had the come back of the century during his game against Dale Scott. Dale kept Scott scoreless until the 6th end but did not take his foot off the accelerator. Dale leading 21-5 on the 13th, Dale only needed another 4 points to win the game. Scott kicked it into another gear and started his come back. Trailing 16-21 on 17, Scott needed to keep his momentum going. Dale scored a 2 on the next end to put more distance between him and Scott 23-16. Scott won the next three in a row to trail by 3, 20-23 but it was Dale who secured his spot in the next round winning the next two ends and the game 26-20. A Friday afternoon game, John Cutler had to play Jeff Nicholson. Nicho started strong and had a 8-3 lead on the 6th. John started to find his groove and get in the game to level the score 8 all on 8. Nicho just skipping ahead again, he held onto the leaders position for the next 8 ends 17-15 on 16 until John gained a 3 to switch places. First player to 25 for the win, on the 26th end it was dead locked 23 a piece. John was the lucky player to gain 4 points on the last two ends to secure his win 27-23. SOCIAL BOWLS Wednesday – Was it royalty or a nuisance at morning bowls last week with the appearance of the popular and highly likeable John ‘Harro’ Harrison? According to his mate, John ‘Slippery’ Ward it was a bit of both in the club and on the green where they were opposites with Slippery offering tips on how the game was played which in the end must have worked. ‘Harro’ led for Paul Doust to be runners-up with a 17-12 win over ‘Slippery’ and his skip Phil Hocking in 20 ends. Rinks on both sides of their game were treated to plenty of one liners and humour where a tight game eventuated at 5-all after eight, 9-all at the end of 13 and 10-all after 15. ‘Harro’ came good for 7-2 in the last five ends and a memorable victory. Winners on the day were Colleen Liebich and Lyall Strudwick 19-14 in 20 over Neil Riley and Wayne Wright. Again, nothing between the pairs early 10-9 at half time with Colleen and Lyall best on the run home 9-6 in an entertaining game. The three remaining games were not quite as close with the better being the win by Eddie Gould and Phil Bayley 19-11, also in 20 over Therese Davis and Scott McKellar. A 4-0 lead after four set the pattern for the day blowing out to 10-4 after 10 then highlighted by a five on end 18. Another 20 end game had Geoff West and Jeff Nicholson winning 28-19 over Irene Riley and Peter Barnes having to dig deep after it was only 14-10 at 10 ends. The game changed in the next three ends, 12-0 to the winners highlighted by a six on end 13. It was a case of two games in the last where Sue Smith and John Kennedy won 21-14 in 22 ends over Don Craft and Barry Shine who led 11-3 after nine before they folded like a busted balloon to only win three more singles on the run home. Former state indoor bowls champ Sue was at her brilliant best before the finishing touches were contributed by skip John. In-club winners ‘Slippery’ Ward and Geoff West. Thursday – We welcomed three visitors to the club for an afternoon in the son, Dave Muir from Warners Bay who has frequently visited our club for tournaments and was passing through as well as Greg Robb and Kim Nielsen. Richard Green and Glen Kearney were a well oiled machine in their 27-14 win over Wayne Wright and Dave Muir. Richard and Glen sprinted from the starting blocks gaining 4 points twice in the first 6 ends which gave them a handy lead of 15-1 on 6. Wayne and Dave scored a 4 on the 11th but the gap was to far ahead to catch. The closest game of the day was played by Mick Merritt and Greg Robb just pipping Maynard and Laurie Crouch at the post in their 20-19 win. Maynard and Laurie were leading by 7 on the 11th 14-7 until Mick and Greg had a lucky run and the scoreboard changed to 16 all on 18. Mick and Greg won the next end to claim victory. Kim Nielsen was paired with Viv Russell when they played Al Hilder and Phil Hocking. Kim and Viv were ahead by 4 half way through the game 13-9. Al and Phil were not throwing in the towel just yet. They were able to add an additional 4 points to their side of the board but it was no match for Kim and Viv’s two’s and three’s which stormed them home to victory 25-13. Three points the difference on Rink 5 with Bobby Grant and Lyall Strudwick winning the game 17-14 against Eddie Gould and John Kennedy. It was a one sided card for the first 13 ends with Eddie and John leading 11-7, the tables turned in the back 7, Bobby and Lyall winning5 of the last 6 ends to seal their fate as winners. It wasn’t Ange Dwyer and Wayne Burton's day when they were defeated 7-24 by Paul Doust and Al Phillips. Ange and Wayne were unlucky to only add singles to their score board which was a task against Paul and Al’s multiple 3’s and even a 5. Paul and Al did not let their opponents reach double figures. The last game of the day was played by Posso Jones and Tara Shaw verse Noel Hocking and Cherie Vincent. Posso playing on fire holding a 15-4 lead on 10, Noel and Cherie had to dig deep. Gaining more runs on the board but the horse had already bolted with Tara and Posso taking the win 20-11. Winning Rink: Bobby Grant and Lyall Strudwick. Losing Rink: Cherie Vincent and Noel Hocking. Jackpot winner of the day: Viv Russell for the second week in a row. Sunday - 26 bowlers turned out for a glorious warm morning of social bowls with five pairs games and a triples rink. Tim Everest and Phil Hocking only just scrapped in a win 16-14 against Mick Merritt and Al Hilder. Tim and Phil having a handy lead 13-4 at oranges, Mick and Al scored a 4 on the 9th to start their come back. Closing the gap to trail by 3 points on the 13th, they just couldn’t quite close it fast enough. One dedicated player, Gill Taylor who played with a broken arm, led for Pat O’Neil against Ross Williams and Pooch. Ross and Pooch bringing out the big guns and taking no prisoners along the way, floored it from start finish winning the game 23-8. Chris Simmonds and Posso Jones trailed for the first 13 ends against Richard Green and John Kennedy until the score was 10 all on 14. Richard and John picked up a two and a five to secure their win 17-10. The biggest margin of the day was the triples games with Joyce Gray, Tara Shaw and Bert Bayley proving too good in their 27-6 victory against Ron Thurlow, Trish Todd and Lyall Strudwick. Leading 17-1 at half time, Team Bayley did not back off in the second half, Team Strudwick won 4 of the last 6 ends but the finish line was too far away to catch. Juss Scifleet and Cherie Vincent had an 18-10 win over Noel Hocking and Al Phillips. Juss and Cherie were behind in the first half by 5 points and refueled during the break for their comeback. What ever Juss and Cherie did at the break worked winning 7 of the back 8 and the game. On our last rink, Ange and Viv had a close game but came out with a victory against Jacko Jackson and Peter Tisdell. Ange and Viv were only 1 point in front on 8 but won the next three ends to put Jacko in Peter in the rearview mirror. Gaining a 5 on the second last end secured their win 18-11. Resting touchers: Mick Merritt, Peter Tisdell. Raspberries: Gill Taylor and Ange Dwyer. Winning rink: Tim Everst and Phil Hocking. Losing Rink: Noel Hocking and Al Phillips. Jackpot winner of the day: Phil Hocking. Chicken raffle winners: Dick Sharkey, Jacko, Pooch, Richard Green, Woodsy, Joyce Gray, Posso Jones, Alfie Andrews x 2.
