Sport
4 December, 2025
Country rolls into pennant top four
Wycheproof’s solid victory pushed St Arnaud down to fifth place, while Charlton swept all 12 points to move off the bottom of the ladder.
ROUND nine of North Central Division One pennant bowls proved costly for St Arnaud but delivered a major boost for the Country Club, whose strong win over Boort lifted them into the top four for the first time this season.
Wycheproof’s solid victory pushed St Arnaud down to fifth place, while Charlton swept all 12 points to move off the bottom of the ladder.
Wycheproof began strongly, leading St Arnaud 14–9 after five ends and maintaining control throughout.
St Arnaud’s lone bright spot came through the rink of Steve Zsigmond, Glendon Hancock, Greg McNally and Kerryn Dyke, who rallied from 7–15 down after 10 ends to edge ahead 19–18 five ends later before going on to claim the club’s only win.
The quartet of Ashley Dyke, Phil McRae, Col Marchment and Darren Shepherd clawed their way to a two-shot lead after 20 ends, but a late surge from J. Grylls’ rink saw the visitors concede four of the final ends.
Meanwhile, Terry McSwain, Allan Welsh, Maurie Wood and Tony Marland were outplayed from the early stages, trailing 1–7 after five ends and 2–12 after ten as E. Rays’ four powered to a decisive, match-securing win.
In Division Two, Wycheproof retained top spot on the ladder after winning all three rinks against St Arnaud.
This Saturday: Donald Golf v St Arnaud
Country Club v Donald
Wycheproof v Wedderburn
Charlton v Boort.
A perfect evening of bowls last Thursday began with a light-hearted challenge, with players attempting to draw nearest to the ditch on two occasions to win boxes of chocolates generously donated by Brian Eccles.
Peter Duncan and Keith McLennan were among those eager to take on the challenge.
Leanne Pritzl claimed the next prize of the night, earning recognition for delivering the first toucher.
The winning triples team, finishing seven shots up after 12 ends of enjoyable play, was Phil McRae, Jason Barron and Rolf Wacker.
A relative newcomer to the game, it marked Rolf Wacker’s first win of a free Country Kitchen pizza, adding extra excitement to the result.
Runners-up, six shots up, were Maurie Wood, Doug Walker and Michael Bearder.
An honourable mention went to Kell Bibby, Peter Duncan and Brad Chester, who were five-shot winners.
Tomorrow night — Thursday, December 4 — marks the final round of Twilight Bowls before the Christmas break. Competition will resume on Thursday, January 22.
Country does trick
St Arnaud Country Club travelled to Boort for Saturday’s pennant game, facing blustery and testing conditions that made it difficult for bowlers to consistently find their preferred line and track.
At the lunch break the Division 2 contest remained tight, with all rinks close aside from one St Arnaud team holding a handy lead. In Division 1, two St Arnaud rinks were in front while the third sat slightly behind.
After the break the visitors adjusted well to the challenging wind. The Division 1 sides settled quickly, extended their advantage, and finished strongly to secure the overall win in tricky conditions.
St Arnaud Country Club travelled to Wycheproof for the midweek pennant fixture, with bowlers facing ordinary weather and blustery winds that made line and length difficult to master.
Despite the challenging conditions, all three rinks remained close throughout the opening stages, with little separating the sides at the lunch break.
After the restart, Wycheproof adjusted best to the tricky track, gradually edging ahead across the board. St Arnaud worked hard to stay in touch.
But the home side finished stronger to secure the overall win in testing conditions.
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