Hawks on a high after upset win
A SURPRISE victory from Highton over Eastern Park on Saturday has kept it in the mix for a spot in the top four come season’s end.
The Hawks won two and drew of the four rinks to secure a 15-shot (100-85) advantage against the Parkers and now sit in fifth spot, just nine points away from Bareena in fourth.
Highton’s Graeme Wright said his team would take plenty of confidence from the result as it looks to capitalise on its form ahead of a potential finals berth.
“It was a good win and that bumps us up the ladder a bit,” Wright said.
“It definitely keeps us in the mix and the confidence that would have been gained from that win over a pretty good side will push us for the next few weeks and if we get a few more wins hopefully it will get us into the four.
“Dan Priddle’s rink did really well against Nathan Bush, and Nathan has just come back from a couple of significant individual games of bowls and won an Australian championship but they kept him quiet all day. We took control in the second half of the match and it was us who was pushing the way the game flowed.”
Bareena and Ocean Grove (1) won their matches as expected but there were upsets across the round in other games, as Ocean Grove (2) got up against Drysdale and Lara snuck home against ladder leaders Queenscliff.
The Coutas will now host Highton this week in what shapes as a fascinating contest and Wright said the Hawks would have to wait to see what surface they would play on.
“They were a little shaky on the weekend, so we will go there with a bit of confidence,” he said.
“We’re not sure where they are going to play us, they have been playing some games on the grass down at Queenscliff and playing some games on the carpet.
“They will probably play us on the carpet because (their skip) Steve Sullivan practises at our place at least once a week and he has seen us spending all of our time up on the top grass green.
“But we have played enough on the carpet for it not to be an issue.”