Another great week to report for Yarra junction Bowling Club.
Three pennant games, three wins, and yet another fantastic well-supported Friday night of Barefoot Bowls made for a great week at the club.
A win was needed in the Midweek round 10 competition for the Eagles to remain in the top Four.
The team achieved a good win against Donvale, with all rinks getting off to a great start and continuing throughout the day.
The scores were; 37/14, 20/15, 24/16.
Despite the win by 36 shots and gaining all points, Donvale still remains in third position, sitting 12 points above the Eagles.
With four rounds to go in the midweek competition, the Eagles are confident they will remain in the top four and be contenders for the finals.
Next Tuesday’s game may not see much movement on the ladder as predicted weather could result in no games being played and 16 points split between teams.
If the forecast changes and play goes ahead, the Eagles next play Yarra Glen away with a chance to earn more than eight points.
The forecasted temperatures for Saturday prompted an earlier start for many teams over the weekend, with some choosing to play without a break to beat the hot afternoon temperatures, a wise move.
Yarra Junction One played Mooroolbark Five away on two separate grass greens that played differently and proved a challenge for a few of our players, despite a half-hour roll-up time to get adjusted.
The main scoreboard fluctuated with both Mooroolbark and Junction swapping the lead as the game progressed.
At the last three ends, it was close, and all eyes were on the overall board. Marty’s rink had pushed ahead early and stayed on course for a 28/11 (17points) rink win, and a further rink win by 12 points covered the 2 defeated rinks, whose opposition put up a great challenge 24/12 and 25/19.
The end result was an overall win to the Eagles by 11 points, YJ 81 / M 70. and retention of top spot on the ladder for another week before challenging Chirnside Park at the Junction on Saturday.
Yarra Junction 2 played at home against Chirnside Park CC/ Eastwood Golf, also starting earlier. A home game against a team much lower on the ladder proved to be a great, spirited, challenging game, with Junction having to fight hard for their overall win by six points.
With a win 25/12, a draw 18/18 and a 14/21 loss on the rinks the eagles added another 13 points to their quest for a finals spot only six points behind the leader Berwick.
Next Saturday will be an interesting game as the Eagles play Berwick away.
All three teams have had a great season so far and achieving finals is a realistic goal for all three.
