Along with Brad Belcher, Bill Hatzie and Wayne Cowley the Tongala team completed a thrilling one-shot win against Echuca after two grand final day rinks were tied and the other ended in a one-shot Tongala win.
The grand final day victory was Tongala’s third win against Echuca in a six-week time frame.
Tongala beat the minor premier in round 11, then again in the semi final and finally at Rochester Bowls Club on grand final day.
It was Tongala’s first division one premiership since 2013-14 and first grand final appearance since 2016-17, but there was no lack of grand final experience in the line-up.
In fact, skipper Greg Lyon and lead Geoff Tinning both pocketed their fifth premiership medallions as a result of the Tongala 2021-22 victory.
The pair’s first win came in the 1983-84 season and almost four decades later they were on the dais again.
Tinning was one of five players bearing the famous surname in the Tongala outfit, with son Barry and grandsons Jarryd and Bradley all playing on the same rink.
The fifth member of the family, Peter Tinning, was leading for Jack Hammond’s rink.
Then there was the father-and-son combination of Sam and Greg Lyon, along with Steve and Jack Hammond.
Jack Hammond’s story will be retold for generations as he went from a non-starter in season 2021-22 to the only skip who managed to win his rink on grand final day.
Hammond beat highly credentialed Echuca skip Dennis Compton by one shot, with his father Steve as third — the man chiefly responsible for him playing lawn bowls this season.
“I picked him in round one despite the fact he told me he wasn’t playing. I told him to help us out this week and then he could make up his mind after that,” Steve Hammond said.
Jack Hammond skipped his father’s rink in that round one match against Mathoura and hasn’t looked back. Now he has a division one lawn bowls premiership at just 24 years of age.
Echuca was certainly no pushover, as the 54-53 scoreline indicates that, the 63 ends of the afternoon resulting in 38-single shot results.
The three rinks ended in a one-shot win for Jack Hammond against Compton, a 20-all draw between Lyon and James Ferrier and a second tie, 17-all, between Bradley Tinning and Ian Page.
It was Page who sent down the final bowl of the grand final. His team was trailing by three shots overall after 62 ends, the referee called to the rink on the second last end to measure for a second Lyon shot.
Page and his rink needed three shots for a tie and four shots for an amazing victory. He collected two shots and the Tongala celebrations started.
All but one of the opening nine ends were single-shot results, Page leading 6-4 until the Tinning foursome secured six successive ends (including four shots on the 10th and another three on the 14th end) to give the Tongala team an eight-shot lead.
Page responded by taking eight shots with wins on three of the next four ends and trailed by just one with two ends to play.
Tinning picked up one on the 20th end and then Page’s 10th end win of the match netted him two shots for the draw.
Lyon’s unlikely draw with Ferrier came after the Tongala skip trailed by 10 shots eight ends into the match.
Ferrier picked up four shots on the fourth end and another five shots on the eighth end to dominate the early stages.
He led by 11 after taking a further three shots on the 11th end before Lyon won all but one of the remaining 10 ends to square the match at 20 apiece.
Jack Hammond’s 10-5 lead after nine ends came via a pair of three-shot hauls.
It was, however, short-lived as Compton won five of the next six ends to reclaim the lead with five shots remaining.
Compton managed wins on two of the final five ends, but four of those resulted in just one-shot results and he fell one shy of his young opponent.
Steve Hammond did not immediately remind his son that it was him who had convinced him to play this year, but it is sure to come up at some stage during the celebrations.
“He has been playing since he was 12, but he had three seasons off. It was great to have a year of sport with him,” the proud father said.
