BOWLS Only two weeks to go before we reach the semi-finals stages of our 2026 Club Championship competitions and the games are rolling through. MAJOR TRIPLES - Nathan Suttie, Steve Turner and Dan Tisdell have confirmed their spot in one of two semi-finals for Major Triples when they defeated Cherie Vincent, Bobby Grant and Lyall Strudwick 29-7 on the weekend. Team Tisdell made their determination to win known early, leading 15-3 by the 8th end. Jumping ahead to 20-3 on 11, Team Strudwick had to re-group and get back in the game. Team Strudwick were able to add another 4 points to their scoreboard whilst Team Tisdell showed no mercy and sprinted across the finish line. MIXED PAIRS - The scoreboard did not reflect the game and it came down to the wire for Joyce Gray leading for Scott McKellar when they drew Sue Smith leading for Dale Scott in the Mixed Pairs. Joyce and Scott were first point scorers gaining multiples in the first 6 ends to lead 9-5. Sue and Dale answered with a 6 on the 7th end to take the leaders position on the board. Joyce and Scott dug deep and levelled the board 11 all on 9 then gained a 3 to be back in front again. Both teams pulling out all the stops on the back 8 to secure their spot to move onto the next round. Sue and Dale were leading 20-18 on 15, this game could go either way but Sue and Dale floored it across the finish line 23-20. Sue and Dale will now face Lara Shine and Phil Hocking to determine who will be a semi-finalist. MAJOUR FOURS – Jax Murphy, Brian Asimus, Scott Andrews and Mitch Andrews, defended their 2025 Champions title against Wayne Wright, Steve Turner, Tim Everst and Dale Scott in their 28-16 win. Nothing was working for Team Andrews in the first 10 ends as they trailed 2-11. Scoring a 6 and a 3 on the next two ends to level the board 11-all, they were back in the game. Team Scott showed no signs of rolling over and once again led the board 16-12 on 15. Team Andrews took over leadership again on the 17th, 18-16. Keeping their opponents scoreless on the last 5 ends including a dead end, Team Andrews won the game and another chance to defend their last year's title. MINOR SINGLES – Posso Jones was on his game on Sunday afternoon when he defeated Geoff Brown 26-13 over 25 ends. A great battle between the two with only 2-3 points separating the scores throughout the game until the 13th end. Posso leading 11-8, Posso needed to put more distance between them as Geoff was stuck on 8 for 6 ends. Geoff was able to add points to his side of the board but unfortunately couldn’t close the gap fast enough. Posso will now play the winner of Scott McKellar verse Dale Scott being played this week. SOCIAL BOWLS WEDNESDAY BOWLS – It was a case of double wins last week with John F Kennedy first out in the Flint St Butchery raffle then skipping for Colleen Liebich winning over Ross Williams and Billy Cowell in 20 ends. JFK and Colleen trailed 3-6 after five but once they found line and length they were never headed but in saying that they only lead 10-8 at oranges then to be comfortable at 18-11 after 17. Robyn Mattiske who was the second drawn winner of the meat voucher led for Lyall Strudwick to be runners-up with a nail biting 18-17 win in 18 over Irene Reilly and John Gorton. They led 5-0 after four and 18-10 after 14 only to fall asleep losing the last four ends 7-0. Neil Riley and Paul Doust won 21-13 in 20 over Therese Davis and Tim Everest who credits Wednesday morning bowls as the perfect time for him to continue his ever improving status as a player of the future in the sport. Little separated the two, 4-all after five, 8-7 after 11 then 16-13 after 18. 5-0 in the last two ends to the winners blew the score out. Angela Dent and Peter Barnes finished best to down Dean Jeffery and Alf Davies 19-12 in 20 after it was 11-7 after 10 before putting the polish on the win taking the last four ends 8-1. He may be the ‘senior’ bowler at the club but take nothing way from Cliff Nelson on the come-back trail skipping for ‘Sid’ Walker but had no luck going down 8-20 in 20 ends playing Barry Shine and Richard Green. While the winners scored multiples Cliff and ‘Sid’ had to settle for singles which reflected in the score. The last was triples where Don Craft, Geoff West and the in-form Peter Mackay won 21-16 in 16 over Sue Smith, Lesley Dunstan and Phil Bayley. Like a couple other games last week the score up to the last few ends were pretty even, 9-all after eight and 14-10 at the end of 12. The Mackays won the last four ends 11-2 after it was against them 10-14 at 12 ends. THURSDAY BOWLS – the weather was not as great as it has been for Thursday afternoon bowls but that did not deter 14 keen bowlers. The Triples games, played by Phil Bayley, Tara Shaw and Viv Russell verse Paul Doust, Maynard and Posso Jones was a good battle from the start. Kitty being moved multiple times each end adding to the challenge with the wind. 8 all on 10 but it was Team Posso who floored it gaining a 5 along the way to win the game 15-11. Sue White and Glen Kearney were able to claim bragging rights in their 21-15 win over Billy Cowell and Laurie Crouch. Sue and Glen trailed for the first 10 until they picked up a 1 to even the scoreboard 9 all. Sue and Glen smelt victory and never looked back from there. Our last pairs game for the day had Bobby Grant and Al Phillips doing the happy dance when they won 24-13 against Wayne Wright and Cherie Vincent. Unfortunately, Wayne and Cherie were struck by the unlucky number 6 for 6 ends whilst Bobby and Al took full advantage and claimed winners are grinners. Winning rink: Paul Doust, Maynard and Posso Jones. Losing Rink: Wayne and Cherie. Jackpot winner of the day: Viv Russell. Resting Touchers: Maynard, Viv Russell, Billy Cowell. Only Raspberry was awarded to Sue White. SUNDAY BOWLS – Basking in the warmer weather were 24 bowlers for social Sunday morning bowls. Shayne (Shark) Staines and Tara Shaw were a well-oiled machine in their 10 point win against Darryl Burley and Viv Russell. Despite the magnificent win for the Manly Sea Eagles on Saturday night, this was not the case on Sunday morning with Tara and Shark taking the 17-7 win. Terry Murphy and John Kennedy were unlucky in their loss from Peter Greenhalgh and Scott McKellar. Although the scoreboard showed Peter and Scott winning 13-11, Terry and John did not take it easy on them and made them work for every point. 11 points the difference between Maynard and Bert Bayley against Eddie Gould and Lyall Strudwick. Maynard and Bert led 6-3 on 8 then it was 6 all on 10. Eddie and Lyall just couldn’t get off unlucky number 6 for the remainder of the game, Maynard and Bert winning the last 6 ends and the game 17-6. Juss Scifleet and John Cutler could not make the magic work in their 5-20 loss against Lyndy Bokeyar and Paul Doust. 5 all on 7, Lyndy and Paul picked up a 4 to go into the break 4 ahead. Juss and John ran out of tricks and remained scoreless in the second half. Trish Todd and Al Hilder had a lucky win by two points over Dick Sharkey and Al Phillips, 15-13. 6 a piece on 8, Trish and Al kicked off the second half on fire. 14-7 on 13 only adding 1 additional point to their score but it was enough to secure the win. Welcoming back Gill Taylor after a couple of weeks off due to a broken wrist, Gill teamed with George Falvey to take on Kelly Stringer and Peter Tisdell. Gill and George were 5 down at oranges, 5-10 but the tables turned from there. Gill and George took the lead 13-12 on 14, but Kelly and Peter scored a 4 on the last two to seal the deal and win the game 16-14. Winning Rink: Kelly Stringer and Peter Tisdell. Losing Rink: Dick Sharkey and Al Phillips. Jackpot winner: George Falvey. Resting touchers: Tara and Terry Murphy. Chicken raffle winners: John Cutler, Jacko x 2, Al Phillips, Clint Hurford, Terry Murphy, Duncan Williams, Brian Clarke, Mark Higgins.
