Lara can prove it’s real deal

THE temperature won’t be the only thing heating up at Bareena tomorrow when the top-of-the-table Badgers host an in-form Lara outfit.

With the mercury rising throughout the afternoon, the atmosphere will at times reflect a football match, with plenty of noise and high fives.

Bareena will be keen to rebound from last week’s loss to Sebastopol, while for Lara the allure of winning five in a row will be the team’s focus.

The competition’s in-form team finds itself only three points behind fourth-placed Sebastopol, and bowls co-ordinator Mick Kelly attributes the turnaround to a stable side with four even rinks and players gaining the belief they can compete against the better teams.

“We got a hiding back in Round 3 from Ocean Grove, we played around with some combinations looking for the right mix and since then something has clicked,” he said.

Ironically for Lara, its biggest issues on the day may lie in two former stars that both left the club to join Bareena this year.

Brandon Anderson and John O’Donnell both sit in the competition’s top five skippers and will provide the Kelly gang a huge obstacle to overcome.

“We can’t worry about the cards and how they fall, they are the top side for a reason, and they recruited well with four quality skippers leading the way,” Kelly said.

“We are the underdogs and we are happy with that.”

The competition is set for an exciting few weeks with six teams, possibly seven, still a chance to feature in finals.

One match up that will provide plenty of interest will be at Queenscliff when the third-placed team hosts fourth-placed Sebastopol.

Ocean Grove takes on Eastern Park at home, BMS faces Victoria, and City of Geelong may register its first win of the season against Webbcona in Ballarat.