Garfield regain top spot after midweek battle
It was another good week for Garfield pennant sides.
Division two: Garfield 2/79 lost to Moe 18/110.
The side visited Moe to take on the ladder topping side and all did not go to plan for the side from the west of the division.
The rink of Stuart Gemmill, Colin Mills, Shane Oliver and skip Tom Cleary came up against a much stronger team and went down 15/31.
Ian Warren’s rink, of Alan White, Joe Lenders and Margaret Ratcliffe, started slowly to be down by five shots before they scored. A valiant comeback saw them all square going into the last end, but they just couldn’t carry it home, losing 23/26.
Steve Whyte’s rink, consisting of Gary Payne, Ron Saunders and Steve Bassed, fought out an up-and-down battle all day. They held on at the last to win by the slimmest of margins, 20/19.
Nick Henwood’s rink, consisting of Les Pumphrey, Gary Helmore and Peter Lieshout, did it tough all day, losing 21/34.
This loss has dropped Garfield to fourth on the ladder, with some work to do after the Christmas break.
Division four: Garfield (2) 18/111 defeated Yallourn North 2/71.
Garfield stayed home and played host to the high country side from Yallourn North.
Extracting a modicum of revenge for the loss earlier in the season at their place, Garfield won handsomely.
Bob Lamport’s rink, of Wes Goodman, Peter Smith and Don Knight, gave their opponents the first score, but hardly another all day. They won convincingly 43/10.
The only losing rink on the day was that of Malcolm Newham, Garry Salomons, Ray Biffin and skip Barry Johnson, who were down all day, finally losing 16/26.
The rink consisting of Frank Prins, Cliff Stephens, Graeme Burton and skip Rod James struggled early to be down 8/15 at the break.
However, a strong effort in the second half saw them win 22/18.
Adrian Helmuth, Peter Smith, Helene Newton and skip Gordon Moxey were well in front of their opponents all day, in the end winning 30/17.
This win keeps Garfield in third place on the ladder.
Midweek
Garfield played host to the top-of-the-ladder Morwell side in division three in what turned out to be a fitting fight between the two top teams.
Division three: Garfield 16/55 defeated Morwell (2) 0/47.
Margaret Ratcliffe’s rink, consisting of Bob Lamport, Damian Brick and Jill Rouse, started like a bolt from the blue, leading 7/0 after five ends. Their opposition put up a strong rally to be one shot up with one end to go. With Garfield holding a single game-tying shot, it came to skip Margaret Ratcliffe to make the difference. And make it she did, drawing in one of her last bowls to win the end by two shots and the game by one, with a thrilling 17/16 win.
The rink of Barrie Smith, Jan Johnson, Lex Taylor and skip Maureen Lamport had a seesaw battle all game. They were 13-all with two ends to play, before turning it on with a sixshot penultimate end. This moved them ahead for a 19/15 win.
The third rink, Gillian Harper, Garry Salomons, Isabel Deane and skip Judy Pocklington, also shot out of the gates. Despite a concerted effort by Morwell, they were never headed and won 19/16.
Congratulations to Garfield for regaining the number one spot on the ladder.