Big day at home for the Big V

VICTORIA were victorious in their Ballarat-Highlands Bowls Region Saturday Pennant Division 4 battle with Daylesford, with the home side taking out a comfortable all rinks up win on the weekend.

“It was a close contest in three of the rinks but the decisive game win by Barry Huebner’s rink assured us the win” said Victoria Bowling Club manager Mick Walsh.

The win sees Victoria in sixth position ahead of Daylesford with both clubs having two wins and three losses.

Division 4 is led by Mt Xavier with five completed wins, City Oval and Sebastopol are following – both have each had the single loss and four wins – and they play other at City Oval next week.

In dropping all rinks, the visitors to the Big V’s home greens last Saturday, Daylesford, found the surface a challenge.

“Bowlers found Victoria’s synthetic green slick and were a second or two faster than our grass greens at home at the present and change in pace of the green caught us out,” said Daylesford’s Ted Goodwin.

Yet Goodwin also predicted that as the season progress the club’s greens pace will speed up which will help their bowlers adjust to the faster greens and might get the Division 4 side progressing up the ladder and challenging for a top four position and a chance to play finals.

“We remain pretty confident at Daylesford,” said Goodwin, with the club’s Division 2 side sitting in second place behind the undefeated Clunes team, and hoping to further progress next Saturday when they host BMS.

“We have a few younger bowlers join the ranks this year and this goes all well for the future and also our Division 8 bowlers are having good games”.

On the social front the club’s volunteers constructed a barbecue alongside the bottom green to promote more social activities and the Friday night social gatherings which include two members draws and a raffle are great activities out at Daylesford.

Back on Victoria Street, it was a great day for playing bowls and the Big V presented their greens well for the games.

On the home front Victoria’s Walsh said this season has seen a resurgence of interest in bowls following the COVID lockdown with entries in club games were noticeably up and these games are progressing well at this stage prior to Christmas.

There is also a strong interest by all members in Victoria’s Christmas function to be held after next Saturday’s pennant, the last match before a short recess for the Christmas and New Year break.

 

-BY ANTHONY McCABE