The Gippsland Bowls Region has been well represented over the past 10 days, with action culminating in the State Championships at Bendigo and the Champions of State Pennant tournament at Moama Bowling Club.
Lakes Entrance Bowling Club returned two wins from five matches in the Champions of State Pennant (weekend) tournament, finishing third on the ladder in their group behind unbeaten powerhouse Moonee Valley, who went on to claim the state final with a 50–33 win over Ocean Grove.
Lakes began their campaign against fellow Gippsland champions Traralgon, who proved too strong in a 58–35 result. The only winning rink came from Eric Spence, Margaret Brandhoj, Darren Martin and Joanne Martin, who produced a standout 21–9 victory.
Round two brought a far more competitive effort against Tallygaroopna, although Lakes went down 41–32. Stephen Smith, Jim Northe, Kevin Brown and Bradley Lancaster impressed with a solid 15–7 rink win.
Lakes secured their first overall victory after lunch on Saturday, defeating Colac 51–43. Spence, Brandhoj and the Martins again led the way with a dominant 21–12 performance, including a decisive five-shot haul on the 11th end. Smith, Northe, Brown and Lancaster controlled their rink early before being reeled in late, finishing in a 14–14 draw.
Moonee Valley maintained their dominant run with a 50–27 win over Lakes, although Spence, Brandhoj and the Martins remained competitive, narrowly going down 16–13 after a strong finish that included a five-shot final end.
Lakes finished the weekend strongly with one of their best performances, defeating Karingal 48–35. Smith, Northe, Brown and Lancaster won 18–8, while Spence, Brandhoj and the Martins secured a tight 20–18 victory.
Meanwhile, Bairnsdale is currently competing in the Champions of State Pennant (midweek) tournament, sitting fourth after day one with two wins and one loss — the same record as the three sides above them, Ocean Grove, Portland Memorial and Newborough.
Bairnsdale opened in strong fashion with a tight 43–38 win over Newborough. Colleen Smith, Carla Proud, Stephen Smith and Stewart Pyers clinched their rink 12–11 after picking up four shots on the second-last end, while Timothy Kennedy, Peter Baylis, Adam Easton and Christopher Mackintosh secured an 18–11 victory.
Round two proved a heavy setback, with Ocean Grove dominant in a 61–20 result. However, Bairnsdale responded strongly in round three, defeating Portland Memorial 43–33. Baylis, Easton and Mackintosh were the only winning rink, 17–7, with the other two rinks halved.
At last week’s Bendigo finals, Colleen Smith was defeated in the quarter finals of the women’s Champion of Champions singles, going down 26–11 to Tooleybuc’s Danielle Adams, who progressed to the final.
In the men’s pairs, Lancaster, Pyers, Michael Better and Jack Sharman were also eliminated in the quarter finals by Metro West combination Anthony Donohue, Brandon Anderson, Brenton Coad and Chris Ball. Donohue, originally from Heyfield, has become a key contributor at Deer Park in recent seasons.
