General News
22 December, 2021
Cobden facing relegation battle
COBDEN is preparing itself for one of its biggest fights in recent seasons, with the club hoping to move clear of Corangamite bowls’ relegation zone.
COBDEN is preparing itself for one of its biggest fights in recent seasons, with the club hoping to move clear of Corangamite bowls’ relegation zone.
The Cockatoos suffered a fifth straight defeat, this time to Camperdown Golf on Saturday and will enter the Christmas break in ninth position on the ladder.
Only Colac (2) sits below them, with Cobden to hold a four point buffer when the final rounds resume on January 15.
Skipper Nick Kemp conceded the Cockatoos had work to do in a bid to resurrect its season.
“It’s a terrible situation to be in,” he said.
“We’re further down the ladder than we would have liked and even expected.
“We’re just not putting together 100 ends.
“We’re playing 75 per cent of the games instead of the full 100 and it just hasn’t been enough to get us a win since round one.”
Not playing the full 100 ends out proved costly against Golf, with the Cockatoos falling 87-80 at home.
Kemp said his side was in the contest for the majority of the day but could not capitalise when required.
He said concentration and inexperience was impacting its results, especially as the club aims to fast-track the development of its next brigade of players.
“We’re a fairly young side and we’re trying to get games into the younger guys to set us up for the next few years to have sustained success,” Kemp said.
“But the focus (over the break) will be on getting everyone together and putting plenty of bowls down over the next three weeks.
“We want to hit the ground running when we get back into it.”
Despite the disappointment from a team perspective, Kemp said several players were impressing in the top grade.
Russell Lacy and newcomers Tyler Newcombe and Geoff Work have all enjoyed strong campaigns to date, which has been positive for the club.
“Russell Lacy has started off the year well,” Kemp said.
“Tyler Newcombe, I think he’s only a 15 year-old, but he’s really stood up to the challenge which has been pleasing.
“And our president Geoff Work in his first year of division one had his best game of the year on the weekend.”