By Garry Lewis
Despite a disappointing finish to the Finals Series for the Warburton Bowls Club, the Burras can be extremely proud of their efforts throughout the Pennant Season. Two out of three sides reached the finals and it was wonderful to see many new players continue to improve and develop their skills.
The Midweek team played Monbulk 1 at home in the knockout First Semi Final on Tuesday determined to get revenge for their loss against the Hawks in the previous game. It was a close tussle for most of the game with the Burras holding on for a wonderful 9 shot victory, 65 to 56.
Rink scores were G. Walsh 25/ 22; S. Lord 23/ 15 and R. McKail 17/ 19.
As a result, they played Lilydale 1 on Thursday in the Preliminary Final at Croydon.
Unfortunately, the Midweek Burras side started slowly overall in the Preliminary Final at Croydon and despite fighting back couldn’t reduce the deficit greatly. Lilydale 1 played a short game and generally controlled the play to win by 12 shots, 61 to 49.
Rink scores were as follows: S. Lord 19/ 16; G. Walsh 12/ 24 and R. McKail 18/ 21. The Burras can be extremely proud of their efforts to reach the finals and finish third on the ladder after a relatively slow start to the season.
Unfortunately, the Weekend Warburton 2 side could not continue their recent good form in a disappointing loss to the top side, Mooroolbark 4, in the Sectional Grand Final on Saturday at Croydon. The scores were 49 shots to 107.
Congratulations to Mooroolbark and all the very best in the Divisional Finals!
Despite the loss, the Burras are enthused by the opportunity to be promoted up to Division 4 next season by finishing in second place. The future looks very promising with several new and younger players coming through.
Rink Scores were P. Summers 12/ 28; G. Lewis 13/ 27; G. Wynd 9/ 26 and S. Darwall 15/ 26.
On Saturday the Weekend Warburton 1 side played their final game for the season against Burwood Districts 1 away. Unfortunately, the finish to a challenging season was not what they envisaged, going down 87 shots to 63.
Rink scores were as follows: C. Neale 22/ 17; T. Appleton 15/ 17; A. Donohue 18/ 27 and P. Caneva 8/ 26.
Being such a relatively small club, the Burras can be very proud of their efforts in being highly competitive in Division 1 over the past few seasons, even winning a Sectional Grand
Final in 2019/ 20 and playing off in a Divisional Semi-Final. They now have the opportunity to regroup in Division 2 next season and to continue to develop and give younger players a chance to improve their skills in a competitive environment.
On Saturday Evening the Club held their ‘Greenlow’ Vote Count for the Pennant Player of the Season. Congratulations to Chris Neale for once again winning the Warburton 1 Most Valuable Player and Club Pennant Player of the Season in a close result by one vote from Runner Up, Adam Donohue.
Congratulations to Graham Wynd for winning the Warburton 2 Most Valuable Player in another close result with young Matt Van Meurs Runner Up.
The Wednesday Night Barefoot Bowls Triples Competition completed the round-robin fixture last week in superb conditions with a double header of 8 ends each.
John ‘Puddles’ Purdie from the Thomos team started the evening well by winning the prize for being the first person to touch the jack.
There were several very close games in the lead-up to the finals this week. The first knockout round in the finals will see the following matchups.
In the top division the games are Moonshiners vs Bolters; Burra Boys vs Bowls to the Walls; Wessie Wonders vs Three Stooges and Pensioners vs Can’t Remember.
In the minor division, the games are Bee Gees vs Bellevue Bowls and Sheep Assist vs April and Co. Thomos and Giddy Gout both have a bye and go through to the semi-final round.
