History makers break 29 year drought

South Eastern men’s team secure State title in nail biting finish to country carnival

It took 29 years but the drought has been broken with the South Eastern bowls team, representing Region 1 at the South Australian Men’s Country Round Robin, taking the title in a tense final round victory. The history making team won five of their seven outings – an identical win-loss record to both North Eastern and the wildly favoured Yorke Peninsula but the South Eastern score differential saw them finish atop the standings.

It all came down to the final round and sixth placed Eyre Peninsula’s shock win over Yorke Peninsula, combined with South Eastern’s huge win over the bottom ranked Fleurieu & Kangaroo Island saw South Eastern end almost three decades in the title wilderness.

South Eastern also had eight players ranked in the top 20 of the week long tournament – Brad Errock, the best of the bunch, ranked fifth, with Dean Burgoyne, Ian Williams, Glenn Wright, Chris Waugh and Patrick Lynch also part of the top 10, while Ron Garton and Eric Pitt were also ranked inside the best 20 players in country SA. All eight of those players finished the week with a 6-1 record as they helped guide South Eastern to the title.

The South Eastern side started the tournament with a bang – defeating Eyre Peninsula 119 shots to 80. Team 1 won 19-13; Team 2 went down narrowly by four; Team 3 easily took the win 27-11; Team 4 also took the win 30-17 and Team 5 won by eight shots.

In round two, South Eastern narrowly lost to the tournament favourites Yorke Peninsula by 15 shots, with Team 1 and Team 5 going down narrowly, Team 2 finishing level pegging and Team 3 winning by five shots and Team 4 by two.

It was a 15 shot win for South Eastern in round three when they took on Upper Northern – Team 1 narrowly lost by one; Team 2 won by four shots; Team 3 taking the win 21-15; Team 4 winning 25-16 and Team 5 going down by three.

Round four saw a narrow seven shot loss to eventual runner up North Eastern with Team 1 losing by five shots; Team 2 getting the win by two; Team 2 by nine; Team 4 securing a 19-17 win and Team 5 suffering a 7-22 loss.

Round five was another tough outing with South Eastern just getting the better of Eastern with a 102-94 win to remain in contention. Team 1 took their rink 22-20; Team 2 suffered a six shot loss; Team 3 dominated their rink with an eight shot win; Team 4 went down by nine shots and Team 5 dominated with a 27-14 win.

South Eastern’s round six victory over Lower North certainly ensured it remained well in the hunt for the title, taking down their opponent 135 shots to 83. Team 1 won by 12 shots; Team 2 by 21 shots; Team 3 went down by eight; Team 4 won their rink by 25 shots and Team 5 had a nail biting two shot win.

The final round saw the South Eastern team power to the title with a 94-78 victory over Fleurieu & Kangaroo Island. Team 1 (10 shots); Team 2 (five shots); Team 3 (seven shots) and Team 4 (six shots) all won their rinks, while Team 5 suffered a 10 shot defeat but in the end it was enough to finish top and bring the trophy back to the South East.

The South Eastern women’s team finished sixth with two wins and five losses.