Rising Tweed star hopes to represent Australia in lawn bowls

TWEED bowling sensation Lilly Vardy has her sights set on representing Australia and competing at the Commonwealth Games as she continues to make a name for herself in the sport.

The 17-year-old has won back-to-back singles titles at Queensland’s under-18 level and has just represented the state in open competition for the first time at the Australian Sides Championships in Tasmania.

It comes after she won silver medals in pairs and fours with the Queensland state junior team.

She was one of 12 players in the Queensland open team which featured Australian Jackaroos veteran Kelsey Cottrell.

“It was a great experience. I enjoy being around high-level bowlers and seeing how they play the game,” Lilly said.

“My main goal is to play for Australia and get to the Commonwealth Games.

“They have development programs for juniors to work their way up to the Jackaroos and I just want to be around that and learn as much as I can.”

Lilly had a keen interest in lawn bowls from when she first played the game during school sport when she was 10.

Her grandfather had played the game, and she soon found her way to Club Tweed where she has

been under the guidance of coach Max Jaffray.

She won her first Tweed junior singles title at the club in 2022 and has been one of its top stars over the past three years.

Her family has helped take her to tournaments around the country while training three times a week.

She hopes to win a third straight Queensland under-18 title next year, which would be a rare achievement at junior level.

“It’s great to look back and see what I’ve done in a pretty short amount of time,” Lilly said.

“Club Tweed is so supportive and the members there are always interested in how I’m going.

“I’m actually really lucky to have that support and I just want to put everything I can into it.”