Defending champion, Lakes Entrance, is in familiar territory, perched on top of the Gippsland Bowls Region midweek pennant ladder after two completed rounds.
Lakes Entrance and Sale are the only unbeaten sides, with Metung and Maffra occupying third and fourth – the only other sides to have tasted success thus far.
Lakes Entrance welcomed first round winner Metung and was victorious 67-44, primarily off the back of a sensational 36-9 rink win by Wallace Mason, Jack Light, Bill Rowley and Kevin Brown, whose haul was highlighted by five shots on the eighth end.
Mike McKay, Jenny Dowie, Jim Northe and Kevin Dowie had a great battle with Metung’s Robert Garbutt, Christine Elliott, Ronald McDonald and Kieran Casey, the rink ending in a 16-16 draw.
The Lakes quartet did well to work back from 15-10 down, getting two shots on the final end to salvage a draw.
Metung’s Leah Cameron, Jeff Elliott, David Roberts and the energetic Jack Sharman pocketed the other rink, 19-15, holding off a late charge.
It was a similar scenario at Lindenow, where Sale was a comfortable winner 66-49, but the rinks were halved.
The victory set up for Sale by Shane Higgins, Raymond Kennedy, Wally Hudson and Dennis Young, brilliant 32-10 winners,.
Sale’s Gail McKenzie, Pamela Carter, Keith Pritchard and Barry Stewart, staged a remarkable comeback to draw 18-all with Lindenow’s Stephen Irish, Charles Woodward, Michael Giddings and Allan Dawson.
The Sale combination won the last five ends, the nine shots gained enough to draw the match.
In the other rink, Lindenow’s Gregory Broughton, Gary Freshwater, Michael Ffrench and Nigel Plunkett had all the answers late, claiming the last four ends to win 21-16.
Maffra won the “Battle of the Maidens”, breaking through for their first victory at home against a gallant Bairnsdale, 58-54.
Grant Smith, Laurence Cameron, Joshua O’Brien and Craig Anderson were standouts for Maffra, decisive winners 24-12.
Maffra’s Peter Harris, Geoff Landy, John Spencer and Annette Anderson were also victorious (19-18), despite winning only two of the last eight ends.
Bairnsdale’s Timothy Kennedy, John Clark, Jeff Watts and Stewart Pyers looked in trouble at 12-5 down, but played some sensational ends on the way home to salvage a rink for the visitors, comfortably winners in the end, 24-15.
NEXT WEEK
Round 4, Wednesday, November 5
Division one: Lindenow v Stratford; Bairnsdale v Lakes Entrance; Sale v Metung; Maffra bye.
Division two east: Bairnsdale 2 v Lakes Entrance 2; Lakes Entrance 3 v Orbost; Howitt Park v Bairnsdale Golf; Paynesville v Bairnsdale 3.
Division two north: Sale 3 v Yarram; Stratford v Sale 2; Maffra v West Sale; Heyfield bye.
Division three east: Bairnsdale 5 v Howitt Park; Paynesville 3 v Bairnsdale 4; Lakes Entrance 5 v Bairnsdale Golf; Paynesville 2 v Lakes Entrance 4.
Division three north: Maffra 4 v Heyfield; Maffra 3 v Yarram; Sale 5 v Stratford; Sale 4 bye.
