General News
26 February, 2021
Golf eyeing off finals return
CAMPERDOWN Golf is eyeing off a potential Corangamite Bowls Division pennant finals berth after a 12 shot win over Apollo Bay last Saturday.
CAMPERDOWN Golf is eyeing off a potential Corangamite Bowls Division pennant finals berth after a 12 shot win over Apollo Bay last Saturday.
Golf proved too strong for the Wolves in a 94-82 victory at home, walking away from the contest with 14 points.
Selector Craig Skene said the win had all but assured Golf of a spot in the top grade next season while it also pushed them into finals contention.
Golf sit in sixth position on 58 points, just seven behind fourth-placed Lorne, its opponent this week.
“We were pretty happy,” Skene said.
“It was a really crucial game that both sides needed to win.
There was four teams that were battling for relegation and that win has sort of saved our skin and now we’re playing for a spot in the four.
“We’re pretty stoked with it.”
Skene said the key to victory was Golf’s ability to cover its margins, with Gary Body’s 37-13 win offsetting Skene’s 28-13 defeat, while David Bateman’s 24-18 triumph covered Glenn Winsall’s 23-20 loss.
“One rink had a very good win which was Gary Body’s,” he said.
“My rink went down by 13 or 14 shots but Gary’s rink covered us with a few to spare.
“The other rinks saw one lose by a couple and the other win by a couple but again we had shots to spare.
That was good because we were lucky to get out of it if I’m being honest.”
This weekend’s clash with Lorne could determine either side’s finals hopes with only two rounds remaining.
Skene said his side was eager to add to its win tally and expand its chance of playing in the top grade finals for the first time in years.
“They’re on par with us so we’ll be looking for another four points,” he said.
“If you had said at the start of the year we were a chance to finish in the top six I would have been satisfied and now we have a darn good chance to do that but it’s all in our hands now.
“Lorne haven’t lost at home but they haven’t won on the road yet and our green might be a bit quicker for them than they’re used to so we go in confident we can get the win on our turf.
“But we’re also pretty keen to try and get to the finals because its been a few years since we finished that high up in division one.”
Meanwhile Camperdown president Matthew Brewer said his side took plenty of positives out of its seven shot defeat to reigning premier Colac (1).
The Thornton Street-based club was in the contest until the final ends of 93-86 loss after skippers Luke Wright (21-20), Ron Cameron (23-18) and Brewer (27-21) won their contests.
Len Searle was the odd one out, with his rink suffering a 35-15 defeat to the man many consider the division’s best, Dan Donovan.
“It was very positive because we won three rinks but had one go down by 20 shots,” Brewer said.
“If you had cut the deficit in half you’re probably in the game but it was a really good match.
“We were very happy to get the three rinks, it would have been nice to get the win but we’re not far off the mark so we’re pretty happy with that.”
Brewer said his side was not concerned with Searle’s defeat in the aftermath of the loss, conceding they were outbowled by a quality rink.
“They didn’t have the best day but they were outbowled by Danny Donovan and John Nelson and that rink,” he said.
“Lenny had a reasonable day but they probably just got outclassed. If that deficit had have been smaller we would have been a chance but that’s bowls.
“They still had a couple of ends left when I was out there but they dropped a four on the second last end and then dropped one on the last so it was always going to be a bit hard to get a six on the last end (of the match) especially against Colac.
“But we were really happy though, we talked after the game that it showed we could match it with the top sides so we’ll take a lot of confidence out of that.”
Camperdown will now face Cobden in the penultimate round, with a win to all but wrap up a finals berth for the former.
“We probably need to win this one to cement ourselves in the finals pretty much,” Brewer said.
“We’ll head to Cobden early and have a roll and look to try and get a win.
“Cobden’s train of thought will be pretty similar, they’ll be looking for a win.
“After getting over the line last week they could be a sneaky chance of making the finals if they were to win their last two because there isn’t a lot of difference between the bottom half.”
In other news, Camperdown held its pairs final last night, with Len Searle and Barry Atchison taking on Fred Salmon and Harry Van Someren.