By Peter Brennan
The best-laid plans are all very well, but everything can come unstuck with the weather. The Yarra Junction midweek pennant team continued their march to the finals with a strong win over Lilydale in beautiful conditions last Tuesday, but by the time the weekend rolled around, it was a different story. After a heavy deluge on Friday night, the Saturday six-a-side team arrived for their morning home game to find the green underwater, with no play possible.
The Saturday Pennant team was under no illusions as to the size of the task before them, with a trip to Yarra Glen and a place in the finals to the winner. There is a definite home-ground advantage in bowls. Yarra Junction has a fast synthetic green that other clubs can struggle on. Conversely, Yarra Junction can struggle on the slower heavier grass greens, such as at Yarra Glen. Ideally, we wanted a warm sunny day to speed it up. What we got was heavy overnight rain and a saturated surface, and steady drizzle throughout the day that kept it that way. In short, we struggled. Yarra Glen is a fine club, and they fielded a strong team, and not to put too fine a point on it, they thumped us, winning comprehensively.
So ends our finals dream, which was fun while it lasted, and we wish all the best to those remaining teams vying for the Pennant.
However, as we move into winter mode there is plenty of social bowls to be had for those who are interested. Yarra Junction Bowling Club is a friendly club and welcomes all who are tempted to have a go, regardless of talent or ability. So why not wander down to the club one day, down by the river, and try this enjoyable sport for yourself
