By Jack Rollings
The weather was summery temperature at last but there was also a strong gusty breeze that made draw bowling tricky.
Monbulk 1 played at home against Ferntree Gully 2. Monbulk was well above on the ladder so this should have been a gimme. But it turned out to be a close match all day and the overall scoreboard was the centre of attention.
Brian Smith’s team won twelve ends including a 3 and two 4s. They did have a lapse in the middle of the game where they gave away two clangers, a 4 and a 5, which let Ferntree Gully back into the game. But all the other losses were singles. And in the run home Monbulk was the more consistent team. Monbulk won the rink 24 shots to 16.
Karen Rice’s team struggled at the start and was down 8 shots going into the fifth end. Then they picked up four ends in a row to briefly take over the lead. Then followed five horrific ends where Monbulk dropped 14 shots to trail by 12 shots. The Monbulk bowlers then started getting some bowls in the head but the Ferntree Gully skip, with his mechanical arm and heavy bowls, was able to make some precise conversions. Incidentally, the Ferntree Gully skip, Les Lucas, now retired, used to be a farrier for some of the top racehorses. Monbulk was stronger in the final third and was able to reduce the margin which was an important contribution to the overall score. But they lost the rink 21 shots to 28. So, it’s fair to say that this Monbulk team was beaten by Manikato’s farrier.
Jim Bras’ team had the close match. Scores were level five times and the lead changed several times. The Monbulk team didn’t win as many ends but they were able to keep most of the losses to singles, with just one 3 shot clanger. Their wins included two 3s and a 4 and a few doubles. With just three ends to go, scores were locked at 14 shots all. And that’s when Monbulk was able to play their best and come away with the win 18 shots to 16.
Eric Markham’s team dropped the first two ends but then came back strongly and took the lead by the fifth end. After that, Monbulk dropped only five ends, all for minor scores while their wins included six ends in a row, and they kept increasing their lead with some good multiples. Monbulk won the rink 27 shots to 10.
Overall Monbulk won 90 shots to 70 with three rinks up. Monbulk is now back on top of the ladder. But the top four sides all have a win:loss ratio of 6:3, so it is very crowded. There are only five rounds remaining after the Xmas break, starting with an away match against Boronia 1 on 14th January. They are just two ladder points below Monbulk. There might be some nervousness in this round.
Monbulk 2 played away against Narre Warren, under their roof. The wind wasn’t as strong or gusty as it was at Monbulk. With just eight ladder points separating the sides going into this match, and Pakenham way out ahead, this round was always going to be a battle for second spot.
Peter Lee’s team struggled against a strong Narre Warren combination. The Monbulk team was able to win eight ends but all for minor scores, while the losses included five 3s and a 4. Monbulk lost the rink 12 shots to 26.
Alan Hamilton’s team won nine ends but the losses included a 3 and a 4 and that’s most of the final margin. Towards the end of the day Monbulk rallied and won five of the last six ends and was able to reduce the margin but they couldn’t avoid the loss 11 shots to 19.
Graeme Seymour’s team trailed throughout the front half but was able to draw level at the halfway mark. Then Monbulk won a few ends in a row and led by 8 shots going into the seventeenth end. Narre Warren then picked up 7 shots over the next three ends to trail by just a single shot with two ends to go. Then Monbulk picked up a double and led by 3 shots going into the last end. And that’s when Monbulk dropped a 3 shot clanger to bring up a draw on the rink 19 shots all.
Mike Harris’ team led all day and a couple of times had the margin out to 13 shots. They won eleven ends to ten and both sides won a 3 shotter and a 5 shotter. But Monbulk also picked up a 6 shotter and that proved to be the winning margin at the end of the day. Monbulk won the rink 25 shots to 19.
Overall Monbulk lost 67 shots to 83. They are still third on the ladder. Narre Warren are still second. First game back after the Xmas break, Monbulk will play host to top-of-the-table Pakenham. Pakenham have won all their matches so far this season, but, to give Monbulk some hope, the Pakenham score difference isn’t so far away from Monbulk’s and, even though Monbulk has dropped more shots, they have also scored more shots overall than Pakenham this season. This should be a ripper match.
Cockatoo/Monbulk had a bye this week. They are third on the ladder, but even so, their score percentage is the highest of all the sides in this competition at 134.84%. They have a good chance of playing in the finals. After the break they will play at Cockatoo against Yarra Junction 1.
