Club News

Seymour VRI Bowls Report 23rd January 2021

SEYMOUR VRI BOWLS REPORT
Saturday 23ʳᵈ January 2021

With very warm weather over the weekend we were fortunate enough to get through our Pennant matches although we were forced to postpone our Annual 2 Bowl Triples Tournament due to the extreme heat forecast for last Sunday.

With 4 rounds remaining until the finals and all sides still very much in contention having recorded some very important successes of late, we can look forward to the end of the season with some certainty. Unfortunately, the same certainty cannot be said for the selectors who must now look at ensuring we have sufficient players qualified to represent the club in their respective finals should they make them. This may involve moving players around from side to side ensuring options are available come the finals. Players will need to look at the big picture over the coming weeks if they are selected in a different team or position over the next few weeks. Selecting is a tough gig but “that’s why they get paid the big bikkies”.

CBD MIDWEEK 19ᵗʰ January
Seymour 49 (4) lost to SEYMOUR VRI 65 (12)
Seymour VRI Midweek Pennant continued their winning ways with a solid 16 shot win away against highly ranked Seymour on Tuesday. Despite narrow losses by 2 and 3 shots on 2 rinks it was a big 21 shot win on the other they recorded their second win in a row against top 4 sides which has enabled them to stay well within reach of a top four spot and possible finals contention. They are now just 6 points behind 4ᵗʰ placed Wallan.

With Greg Jones unavailable Ian Cashill moved over to skip Greg’s rink of Geoff Dixon, Paul Rolfe and Jane Wilson who were matched up against Wendy Hutton’s rink. The loss of Greg seemed not to affect the rink at all with them picking up 6 shots on the first 4 ends before dropping a single on the 5ᵗʰ end. Getting wins on the next 4 ends Ian’s rink moved out to a handy 10-1 lead at the completion of the 9ᵗʰ end before finding themselves with a handy 9 shot lead at the 14ᵗʰ end break. Resuming after the break Ian’s rink dominated the remainder of the match allowing Wendy’s rink to score a further 3 shots on 2 end wins whilst adding a further 15 shots themselves from their 9 end wins. At the completion of the match, it was Ian’s rink recording a big 19 shot win 28 to 7 which would prove to be pivotal to the overall result.

Mario Furletti’s rink of Jim Tuckwell, Bill Dawe and Moreno Puppa after scoring a single on the first end found themselves trailing Robert “Biggles” Brown’s rink by 4 shots after 5 ends 1 to 5. Winning 6 of the next nine ends and adding 10 shots whilst holding Biggle’s rink to just 5 shots on their 3 end wins it was to be Ian’s rink holding a narrow 1 shot lead 11 to 10 at the 14ᵗʰ end break. The final 11 ends saw scores level on 3 occasions as scoring became difficult and with 2 ends to play it was anyone’s game at 18 all. “Biggle’s” rink managed a 3 on the penultimate lead and although Mario’s rink won the final end a single was not to be enough to close the gap as Mario’s rink again fell short by 2 shots, going down 19 to 21.

Joe Purcell’s rink of Kevin Cain, Garry Bester and Peter Delzotto were pitted against Dale Selleck’s rink which saw a neck-to-neck tussle over the first .14 ends with Joe’s rink winning 8 of those ends which allowed them to go into the break with a narrow 2 shot lead, 12 to 10. Following the break, Joe’s rink extended that lead to 3 shots at the 17ᵗʰ end but dropping the next 4 ends and Dale’s rink scoring 8 shots it was Joe’s rink trailing by 5 shots at the completion of the 21ˢᵗ end 14 to 19. Adding 2 shots on the next end reduced the margin to 3 shots but Dale’s rink added a further 2 shots on the next end to extend the lead back to that 5 shot margin. Whilst Joe’s rink won the remaining 2 ends, they only scored singles with the final result being a narrow 3 shot loss for Joe’s rink 18 to 21.

CBD DIVISION 1
Seymour VRI 64 (4) lost to KILMORE 71 (12)
Seymour VRI at home were leading on 2 rinks by 6 shots at the 42-end break but with the other rink down by 10 shots found themselves trailing overall by just 4 shots. Eventually rink results remained the same and VRI failed to get over top side Kilmore by a narrow 7 shots. This result left them holding 3ʳᵈ place on the CBD Division One ladder with a 9-point margin to 4ᵗʰ placed Wallan.

Mick Szczykulski’s rink of Moreno Puppa, Geoff Neal and Helen Flint were involved in a neck and neck battle all day against the wily Phil Skehan’s rink. With both rinks winning 7 ends each it was Mick’s rink with the narrowest of leads 1 shot at the 14ᵗʰ end break 11 to 10. Resuming after the break it was Phil’s rink courtesy of a 6 on the 17ᵗʰ end who broke the tight scoring to move out to a 5 shot lead after 17 ends. Mick’s rink then won the next 5 ends including their own 6 on the 21ˢᵗ end to break away to a 7 shot lead 25 to 18 with just 2 ends to play. Whilst splitting those 2 ends it was Mick’s rink extending the final winning margin to 8 shots for a 27 to 19 score line.

Greg Jones rink of Phil Challis, Bill Dawe and Wayne Noonan started brightly with a 4 on the first end against Trevor Young’s rink but a 2 and a 3 to Trevor found Greg trailing 4 to 5 after 3 ends. In a seesawing match scores were level 9 all at the completion of the 9ᵗʰ end. Greg’s rink won 4 of the next 5 ends and found themselves with a handy 5 shot lead at the 14-end break 16 to 11. Following the break and in winning only 4 of the remaining 11 ends and finding themselves trailing by 2 shots 20 to 22 with just 2 ends to play it was Greg’s rink who made the
decisive move in scoring a5 on the penultimate end to move out to a 3 shot lead with 1 end remaining. Trevor’s rink scored 2 shots on that last end which allowed Greg’s rink to run out winners by the narrowest of margins 1 single shot, 25 to 24.

Joe Purcell’s rink of Kevin Cain, Ian Cashill and Brad Anderson began poorly in dropping the first 4 ends to trail John Reimann’s rink 1 to 6 at the completion of the 5ᵗʰ end. Things did not improve over the next 9 ends as Reiman’s rink extended their lead to 10 shots at the 14-end break 4 to 14. Hopes of a comeback following the break by Joe’s rink were on the cards as they reduced the margin to just 7 shots at the 21ˢᵗ end 12 to 19 but that was to be the end of the comeback. Reiman’s rink won the final 5 ends adding 9 more shots to his score card as Joe’s rink suffered a disappointing 16 shot loss 12 to 28.

CBD DIVISION 2
Kilmore 54 (0) lost to SEYMOUR VRI 67 (16)

Away to 2ⁿᵈ ranked Kilmore it was another must win game for VRI against a higher ranked side. The 42- end break saw VRI holding a 12-shot lead with all rinks up. With all rinks playing steady bowls following the break they all went on to record solid wins and eventually recording a 13-shot win and 3ʳᵈ place on the CBD Ladder.

Peter Delzotto’s reshaped rink of Terry Dowell, Brendan Challis and Jeff Rhue were matched against David Taffe’s rink and in what was to be a tit-for-tat beginning found themselves level on 4 occasions over the first 13 ends with a 3 on the 14ᵗʰ end allowing them to go to the break with a 3shot lead. Peter’s rink started well after the break winning 3 ends in a row and increasing their lead to 9 shots 19 to 10 after 17 ends. Over the remaining 8 ends Peter’s rink only won 3 ends adding 5 shots whilst David’s rink scored only 7 shots from their 5 end wins thus giving Peter’s rink a hard fought 6 shot win 24 to 18.

Wayne Flint again returned to the skipping role and with Jim Tuckwell, Anthony Nachtigal and Jim Furletti were slow out of the blocks to trail 1 to 5 after just 5 ends against Mark Hodgson’s rink. Winning 3 of the next 5 ends allowed Wayne’s rink to trail by just 2 shots after 10 ends but a 6 on the next end gave them a 4-shot lead which they managed to increase to 5 shots at the 14ᵗʰ end break 14 to 9. Although only able to win 5 of the remaining 11 ends they were able to have maintain that 5 shot lead from the break for the majority of the game and eventually saw it reduced by just a single shot at the completion of the 25ᵗʰ end for a comfortable 4 shot win 20 to 16.

Mario Furletti’s reshuffled rink of Mark Brett, Paul Rolfe, and Geoff Dixon appeared to draw the short straw up against the experienced Warren Coyle’s rink with Matthew McMaster as his third, however following on from a great start winning 8 of the 14 ends at the break Mario’s rink were able to forge a 4 shot lead 14 to 10. Following the break Mario’s rink won a further 5 of the 11 ends securing a further 9 shots whilst Warren’s rink won a further 6 ends end wins for an additional 10 shots. Scores were level at 20 all following the 23ʳᵈ end and with 2 ends remaining the game was up for grabs, however it was Mario’s rink with a 2 and a 1 on those critical ends that managed to come away with a 3 shot win 23 to 20.

GVBD DIVISION 6
Rushworth 25 (0) lost to SEYMOUR VRI 70 (14)
An away win against Rushworth would allow Seymour VRI to retain top spot on the ladder for another week. With both rinks up by a total of 15 shots at the 28ᵗʰ end break it was VRI’s match to lose. Over the remaining 22 ends the margin was increased dramatically as VRI dominated the remaining ends. With a final result of big wins for both rinks it was eventually a 45 shot overall win to Seymour VRI and retention of top of the Division 6 ladder for another week.

Garry Bester’s rink of Alan Walton, Darren Greive and Josh Austin after dropping a single on the first end against Geoff Cruz’s rink lit the flame winning 9 of the following 13 ends to establish a 10 shot lead 15 to 5 at the the 14ᵗʰ end break. Following the break that 10-end margin was rapidly increased to a 26 shot margin as Garry’s rink won 5 ends straight adding a further 16 shots. Things were much quieter over the remaining 6 end which were split 3 ends a piece with both sides adding a further 6 shots each which allowed Garry’s rink to run out very comfortable 26 shot winners, 37 to 11.

Jane Wilson’s rink returned to that of Jeanette, Terry Flynn and Carol Harrop who were matched against Karen Cruz’s rink. They scored 5 shots on the first 3 ends to establish a 5 shot margin which they maintained all the way through to the 14ᵗʰ end break 14 to 9. After the break Jane’s rink lost just 2 of the ensuing 11 ends allowing Karen’s to add a further 5 shots whilst with Jane’s rink winning the remaining 9 ends and adding a further 19 shots to their total moved forward comfortably to record a generous 19 shot win 33 to 14.

Next Week’s Matches
With the Australia Day holiday Midweek will be at home to 3ʳᵈ placed Eildon with a win needed to keep a top four finish a reality. Saturday Pennant on the 23ʳᵈ will see CBD Division One with the opportunity to move into 2ⁿᵈ place with a god win over current 2ⁿᵈ placed Broadford but at Broadford this could be a difficult assignment. CBD Division Two will be at home against 4ᵗʰ placed Broadford with a win opening up a safety margin towards retain 3ʳᵈ place for another week and a possible assault on 2ⁿᵈ and the double chance. GVBD Division Six will be  looking to extend their reign atop their ladder away against the 3ʳᵈ placed Tatura Hilltop combine who remain just 16 points behind VRI.