The Lower South East Bowls Association Pennants competitions made a welcome return to greens across the region last weekend. In Division 1 Mount Gambier RSL Red hosted Kalangadoo and fired on all rinks.
Close encounters on all rinks saw Michael Fox victorious with his chargers with a 20/18 shot win. Deane Wilkinson’s group was in fine form and had the best winning margin of the day with a 25/19 victory.
The momentum continued on Strawb Masters’ rink after it emerged victorious by just three shots after a narrow battle. Despite taking out all three rinks, RSL Red only won by 11 shots, but continues to emulate last year’s pennant winning form to stay on top of the ladder already securing a finals berth.
Mount Gambier RSL Blue did not fare as well going down to cross-town rival Mount Gambier. Mount Gambier utilised its home conditions with a convincing 91-43 victory. No points were gained after all three rinks went down.
Mount Gambier RSL’s Division 2 outfit travelled to Naracoorte which is always a tricky game. But some controlled bowling and good tactical play pushed the visitors to a hard-fought 67-61 triumph.
Wins for Wayne Legutko (26/16) and Graeme Smith (26/17) could not be matched by Ian Moulden’s rink who went down by 12 shots, but hung in to contribute towards the overall victory.
The side has now secured a finals spot with two rounds to go sitting third on the ladder. A top-of-the-table between Mount Gambier RSL and Port MacDonnell was the highlight of Division 3.
Despite completing the road trip to the seaside venue, Mount Gambier RSL was able to inflict defeat on its opponents by a creditable 79-55 shots margin. All three rinks skippered by Noel Miller (26/15), Ably McIntyre (27/23) and David O’Donnell (26/17) were victorious.
The win shot the side to the top of the ladder for the first time this season. Mount Gambier RSL’s Division 4 side played host to Mount Gambier Red. Although the visitors came with a strong side the RSL players were excellent to record a win to the tune of 80 shots to 57.
At one stage Tony Freeman’s rink was 12 shots down, but rallied to a 26-23 win. Holding a two-shot margin on the last end, they found themselves two shots down.
However, the skipper delivered with the last bowl to claim the overall win. Garry Burke’s rink continued its winning streak, while Ron Cook led a comfortable 27-15 victory.
The RSL side remains in third position on the ladder, but moved within four points of second and has secured finals bowls.
