HIGHTON’S WILD RIDE ROLLS ON
HIGHTON’S white-knuckle ride to Geelong’s Premier lawn bowls title has it primed for this weekend’s state pennant champions tournament in Moama.
Elder statesman Ray Wilkinson says this Highton outfit is the most close-knit he has played with, and is itching for a crack at Victoria’s other pennant winners.
Representing Geelong, Highton will play five preliminary matches in a bid to make the final and vie for the title of Victorian champion.
The clubs it will come up against are: Wodonga (representing Ovens and Murray);
Shepparton Golf (Central Goulburn Murray); Bairnsdale (Gippsland); Swan Hill (Murray Mallee); and South Bendigo (Bendigo Campaspe).
“We had two really close finals (to win the Geelong pennant) ... we won the semi by one shot and the final (against Eastern Park) was all square before we won the final end by two shots,” Wilkinson said.
“That will help us going into this weekend, and if we can continue our good form we’ll be hard to beat.”
Wilkinson, 73, is a journeyman of Geelong’s bowls scene. In a career spanning 30 years, he has played for Geelong West, RSL and Torquay, always answering to his nickname, Spider.
He is in his second stint at Highton, where he won a Premier division pennant in 2005-06, and a Division 1 title the following year.
But retirement, of sorts, looms.
“I thought during the year when it looked like we were going OK that this might be a good time to give pennant away and give the younger kids a go,” he said.
“I’ll stay a member of the club and still pay my subs, but its probably time for me to spend a bit more time with the wife and go on a few more holidays.”
He said last month’s win stood above his other successes in the sport.
“I reckon this is pretty much the closest group I’ve ever bowled with,” Wilkinson said.
“The coach (Dan Priddle) and recruiting committee have done a great job bringing in and developing a bunch of young kids, and the club has gone ahead in leaps and bounds these past few years.
His nickname was bestowed on him in his cricket days as a teenager almost 60 years ago because of his long, skinny arms and legs and has stuck with him since.
Coincidentally, one of his teammates back then, Yanek Olsen, remains a teammate
today, and will be an emergency on Highton’s team this weekend.
“We went to school together, played in cricket premiership back when we were 15 or 16, have played in a few pairs events over the years and were in the same rink (for the win over Eastern Park), so we’ve had some good times,” Wilkinson said.