Sure shot takes game

Dean rink goes from trailing to triumphant

GERRY Dean produced a masterstroke with the final bowl of the match as City of Geelong clinched a nailbiting win away to Ocean Grove.

In a heavyweight battle packed with pressure and drama, Dean clutched victory from the jaws of defeat with a delivery that turned a threeshot deficit into a one-shot rink win.

The pressure was on from the start, with a well-prepared green at Ocean Grove running at a nice 14 seconds.

City of Geelong made a tactical move before the start of play, naming Kerry Gooley to lead and promoting Rod Day to the mat as skip in a bold move that paid dividends as the match progressed.

The teams were playing bowl for bowl as the 75 ends drew near completion.

It was here the drama reached its climax, with only one rink left to finish and CoG holding a narrow advantage.

Dean was left to battle it out with Ocean Grove maestro Matt Flapper, who left the mat with one bowl of Dean’s left to play.

Silence surrounded the green as Dean went to the mat.

With his near-perfect final bowl, he took the shot and went from being three down to winning the end by one and claiming a thrilling two-shot win overall for the visitors.

Queenscliff fell from glory, losing for the first time, as Highton recorded a clean sweep in an 18-shot win.

The season-commanding Henry Dahler rink took its first loss by seven shots to the Jeremy Fitzgerald-led rink.

This has now seen Leopold’s Nicole Shortis move into the lead on the skipper’s ladder following the Lions’ 16shot win over Lara.

The Shortis rink was in control throughout and recorded a fine 34-15 win over the Eileen Gillett rink from Lara.

She has now skippered her rink to six wins and a draw in the seven rounds and leads the table by one point from Dahler and Flapper.

In other Division 1 matches, Torquay recorded a 53-shot win over Portarlington to maintain its presence in the top four, while Ocean Grove (2) scraped home against Geelong Cement by a single shot.

In Division 2, St Leonards proved its capabilities with a 40-shot win over fourthplaced Geelong.

Bannockburn also showed little mercy against Geelong RSL, winning all three rinks and taking a plus 24-shot win in the process.

Belmont consolidated its position in the top four with a 24-shot win over Highton.