Many bowlers from the South East went off to Adelaide last week for the annual Country Carnival Championships. Undoubtably the highlight was the effort of Mount Gambier RSL pair Strawb Masters and Glenn Wright. The duo went on to win the men’s pairs competition.
It was a fantastic achievement for Masters and Wright, who represented the Mount Gambier region and the Lower South East Bowling Association with pride. The club was also well supported in the recent Ladies Round Robin event in Adelaide.
Fleur Roachock, Keisha Pearson, Jane Crowder, Jenny Bowering, Fiona Pearson and Joy Bilney all performed and were able to come back with the runner-up position after some exhilarating bowling over the week-long event.
Last week the Mount Gambier RSL Bowls Club held the Ladies Veterans Singles Competition with a small, but strong contingent entering the competition. The format was the first to 21 and Veronica Opie defeated Merna Whitehead in the first Semi Final. Edna Eldridge defeated Grace Plew to set up an interesting final.
The experience of Opie shone through in the decider and although a gallant effort was put up by Eldridge, she was unable to stop Opie from being victorious and seal her second title of the season.
The club also held its Men’s Veterans Singles competition with 10 good bowlers taking to the greens to be the first to 21 shots. After some competitive games, Robert Corner took on Rick Chirgwin and won by 17 shots.
In the other semi-final Ron Edlington took on Noel Miller. The pair played at a very high standard with the eventual winner being Edlington, who overcame his opponent by 12 shots.
The final did not live up to the close encounter which was expected with last year’s champion Corner showing some good controlled bowling to become the eventual winner with a 21-5 shot victory.
Last Thursday’s Men’s Aggregate competition attracted 24 players and in the 2-4-2 format. After both games the winning pair was John Spehr and Al Pfeiler. On Saturday 12 bowlers contested in a three bowl Triples event with one game of 14 ends the format.
This time Al Pfeiler, Alan Hill and David Burge were the victors. The Mount Gambier RSL Red Division 1 team travelled to Port MacDonnell and was stretched on all rinks, but came back with a narrow 69-62 shots victory.
The hard-fought win added another 12 points to retain their top position on the ladder.
Skipper Deane Wilkinson’s rink were the top performers with a 10-shot win which enabled the RSL to get the winning points as both Straw Masters (23/25) and Michael Fox (20/21) went down to the determined Bay side.
A win this weekend to second placed Naracoorte at home will secure top position going into the finals. The Division 1 Mount Gambier RSL Blue side had the reverse after wining two rinks, but still going down at home to the consistent Robe side by seven shots.
Skippers Chris Waugh (23/15) and Rex Heins (23/18) were the winning rinks. The team remains fourth on the ladder, but faces a sudden-death battle for finals with Millicent this weekend. Mount Gambier RSL travelled to Kingston in Division 2 and registered a good 72-62 shots victory.
Graeme Smith’s rink was outstanding with a 35/8 win, while Wayne Legutko’s group had a narrow oneshot escape and Ian Moulden struggled. Division 3 hosted second-placed Lucindale and held onto an overall 84 to 75 shot victory.
An outstanding display of controlled bowling from the in-form Noel Miller’s rink set up the win despite the other two rinks not emulating the former. Mount Gambier RSL Division 4 was home to Millicent and encountered another tricky game against a team battling to get into finals.
The hosts were able to get the victory they deserved with an 84-59 win which solidified their third position going into finals. Ron Cook’s rink were the highflyers registering a 35-12 win which was backed up by Garry Burke’s 28-23 victory.
The Division 4 side can still get the double chance if they win this week and second placed Beachport Red lose. Night Owls got off to a fantastic start on Tuesday evening with a total of 104 bowlers taking to the greens in mild conditions.
The Nuns won the night with Trevor’s Our Hero coming second.
Anyone interested in joining the RSL Bowling Club call 8725 9515.
