The Gippsland Bowls Region (GBR) midweek pennant competition will reach its crescendo on Tuesday with the playing of the grand finals at the Maffra Bowling Club.
Lakes Entrance has made its way through to the Superleague grand final, where it will tackle Bairnsdale, by defeating Stratford at the Sale Bowls Club in a thrilling preliminary final match 69-59.
Lakes won two of the three rinks, with the effort of Maurice Carroll, Eric Spence, Jim Northe and Bill Rowley to win 27-14, pivotal in the final outcome.
Bairnsdale will go into the match full of confidence having defeated Lakes by an incredible 42 shots when the combatants did battle in round five.
The division two, three and four grand finals, will see the winners of the Eastern zone conference grand finals, tackle the victors from the northern division, to establish who is the best team in GBR in each division.
All teams will go in high on confidence and energy, having tasted ultimate glory in their latest assignment, making for a high class spectacle in all divisions.
In division two, Lakes Entrance won through the East zone by humbling Paynesville by 36 shots, 72-36.
Dulcie James, Stan Short, Mark Campbell, Rob Norder (23-16), Max Towan, Bill Gilbert, Peter Howie, Heather Todd (22-12), Dawn Irwin, Jacinta Wilson, Peter Taylor and Sam Berlingeri (27-8) all in great form.
Sale caused an upset in the north, knocking off the highly fancied Maffra and Heyfield in consecutive matches, to win the pennant from third.
The finale was a ripper, coming down to the final end, with Sale prevailing over Heyfield 59-58.
Winners for Sale were Robyn Jones, Joan Camm, Keith Pritchard, Leon Woods (23-21), Roslyn Brown, Janelle Abraham, Bruce Hughes and Neal Taylor (19-14).
Heyfield took the other rink 23-17, off the back of the good form shown by 2023/24 GBR mens singles champion, Shane Holmes, Pauline Cartwright, Lee Wojcinski and Jill Anderson.
Division three saw Lindenow and Maffra 2 advance through to the finale.
Lindenow defeated a gallant Lakes by just four shots, 46-42, with the rinks split.
The six-shot win by the Cockies, Peter Baylis, Michael Murphy, Kathy Richards and Stephen Nash was enough to see him through to the last two.
In the north, very little separated Heyfield and Maffra 2 all season, but it was Maffra by 14 shots in the one that mattered, 49-35.
Peter Harris, Joy Waddell, Brian Wain and Geoffrey Kay the difference with their 29-15 win.
In division four, Lakes Entrance 5 progressed after defeating Bairnsdale by 15 shots, with the winners being James Owen, Margaret Short, Robert Gersbach, Christine Piatek (22-10), Dianne Scott, Susanne Light, Margaret Simpson and John Kimberley (22-19).
While in the north, Sale proved too good for West Sale winning by six shots, 43-37, with the winners being Peter Walsh, Cheryl French, Stewart Batchelor, Alby Hallas (22-18), Emmy Van Berkel, Jody Corrigan, James Waddell-Stewart and Frank Stake (21-19).
DRAW
GBR Grand Finals at the Maffra Bowling Club
Division one: Bairnsdale v Lakes Entrance.
Division two: Sale v Lakes Entrance.
Division three: Maffra 2 v Lindenow.
Division four: Sale v Lakes Entrance 5.
