After the washout of Gippsland Bowls Region midweek pennant last week, players were delighted to be able to return to the greens on Saturday for round five of weekend pennant action.
With ladder leader Bairnsdale unable to use the home advantage against a persistent Lindenow, the unbeaten Sale returned to the top of the table with an emphatic win over current seventh-placed side, Maffra.
Big wins for Sale came from Keith Pritchard, Nathan Stewart, Rod Morris, Stephen Chalmer (26-11) and Peter Nikitin, Neal Taylor, Dennis Young and Andrew Bell (33-9), who claimed nine of the last 11 ends.
The other rink was shared (18-18) between Sale’s Michael Dowd, Wally Hudson, Shane Dove, Jason Wholohan and the consistent Maffra combination of Julie Orchard, Geoff Landy, Brett Hodgins and Ronnie Orchard.
Lindenow’s second victory (54-42) of the year moved them to fifth, while Bairnsdale disappointingly dropped to third.
The match was set up by the victory of Stephen Brill, Lloyd Hammond, Donald Banks and Kathy Richards (22-12), well supported by David Tong, Martin Van Elst, Brian Peacock and Raymond Barry (17-15), who won six of the last seven ends in their victory.
The other rink was all tied up at 15 each, Bairnsdale’s Geoff Woodward, Trevor Melotte, Danny Prazza and Stephen Sroczynski getting out of jail by winning the final two ends in their clash with Dick Johnston, Jeff Watts, Allan Dawson and Nigel Plunkett.
Lakes Entrance moved back to second on the table, accounting for Stratford on a road trip, but only just, 63-59.
Bradley Lancaster, Jim Northe, Kevin Brown and Stephen Smith found some form, victorious 28-12, well supported by Joanne Martin, Margaret Brandhoj, Eric Spence and Darren Martin who were strong late, 22-17 victors.
The dominant performance of Stratford’s Carmel Boyd, Ross Morton, Wayne Marsden and Ian Johns (30-13) was almost enough to see the fourth-placed side home.
In the remaining match reigning premier Paynesville finally broke through for its first win of the season, narrowly overcoming (60-58) Metung in an away fixture, with the rinks shared.
The biggest margin on the rinks (21-16) was achieved by Paynesville’s Gary Stewart, Sylah Coull-Barnes, Phillip Shallies and John Budge, but they lost the last three ends, which narrowed the overall picture.
Metung’s Chris Wain, Kieran Casey, David Roberts and Ronald McDonald were 22-19 rink winners, snaring three on the final end to claim victory.
The other rink was all tied up (20-20) between Metung’s Rhonda Sadovsky, Jim Beale, Richard Dooley, Jack Sharman and Paynesville’s Lee-Anne Atkinson, Joe Cilauro, Jenny Easton and Margery Nathan.
Despite the victory, Paynesville still sits at the bottom of the table, but they have won the same number of matches as Metung and Maffra.
THIS WEEK
WEEKEND PENNANT
Round 6, Saturday November 22
Premier: Sale v Stratford; Lakes Entrance v Bairnsdale; Lindenow v Metung; Maffra v Paynesville.
Division one east: Bairnsdale 3 v Lakes Entrance 2; Orbost v Howitt Park; Lakes Entrance 3 v Bairnsdale 2.
Division one north: Maffra v West Sale; Stratford v Sale 2; Sale 3 v Heyfield.
Division two east: Paynesville v Bairnsdale Golf; Bruthen v Lakes Entrance 5; Howitt Park v Lindenow; Bairnsdale v Lakes Entrance 4.
Division two north: Sale 5 v Stratford; Sale 4 v Maffra; Heyfield v Yarram; West Sale bye.
Division three east: Lindenow v Bairnsdale Golf; Paynesville v Howitt Park; Bairnsdale 6 v Metung; Bairnsdale 5 v Lakes Entrance.
Division three north: Rosedale v Heyfield; Stratford v Sale 7: Sale 6 v Maffra; Loch Sport v Yarram.
Division four east: Orbost v Bairnsdale Golf; Bairnsdale 8 v Bairnsdale 7; Bruthen v Paynesville; Tambo Valley bye.
NEXT WEEK
MIDWEEK PENNANT
Round 7, Tuesday, November 25
Division one: Maffra v Stratford; Lakes Entrance v Lindenow; Metung v Bairnsdale; Sale bye.
Division two east: Orbost v Lakes Entrance 2; Bairnsdale Golf v Bairnsdale 2; Lakes Entrance 3 v Paynesville; Bairnsdale 3 v Howitt Park.
Division two north: Yarram v Heyfield; Sale 3 v Maffra; West Sale v Stratford; Sale 2 bye.
Division three east: Bairnsdale 4 v Howitt Park; Bairnsdale Golf v Bairnsdale 5; Paynesville 3 v Paynesville 2; Lakes Entrance 4 v Lakes Entrance 5.
Division three north: Yarram v Heyfield; Stratford v Maffra 4; Maffra 3 v Sale 4; Sale 5 bye.
