A final round failure hasn’t impacted Tongala Bulls’ search for a fourth successive Campaspe Playing Area division one pennant bowls grand final berth.
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Second from the bottom Deniliquin beat the Bulls 70-58 in the final home and away round, despite Tongala winning two of the three rinks.
The premier of 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons lost in the grand final to Mathoura last year and will start this year’s finals series from second.
Stanhope finished 25 pennant points clear of the Bulls on top of the ladder and the teams will face-off in this Saturday’s qualifying final at Rochester.
In round one Stanhope beat the Bulls by 24 shots, winning all three rinks, but the scheduled round eight game between the teams was a washout.
Brad Tinning had a three-shot win on his rink, winning nine of the opening 13 ends for an 11-shot lead. In a high scoring start there were five three-shot ends secured by the opposing skips.
When the Deniliquin team took five shots on the 14th end and another three on the 16th end the deficit was reduced to just four. Tinning won just one of the final four ends, but still collected his 10th win of the 13-game season 23-20.
Glenn Fields took five shots on the second end of his game and another four on the 12th to lead by 10 shots half way through the game. He added only three shots to his tally in the remaining nine ends and just hung on for victory 20-18.
Steve Hammond’s rink dropped five-shot ends twice before the half way mark of their match and trailed by 16 shots after 13 ends.
Winning three of the final eight ends didn’t change the scoreline too much and they were beaten 15-32, giving Deniliquin the 12-shot overall victory.
Jorja Ponton.
– A late surge by Stanhope secured its 10th win of the 2024-25 division one season after Moama Steamers controlled two of the three rinks at the half way mark.
Greg Fitzpatrick trailed the competition’s number one skip Robert Young by 13 shots after eight ends and Tim Hancock trailed Rod Warner by six shots at the same stage of their game.
Fitzpatrick recovered by winning eight of the next nine ends and Hancock won four of the final six ends of his game.
A 10-shot win by Ben Fletcher, Fitzpatrick’s eventual three-shot defeat and a one-shot win for Hancock was enough for Stanhope to take an eight-shot overall victory (65-57).
The side will now play Tongala for the right to go straight into the grand final on March 1.
All three skips finished inside the top six skips on the player ladder, Fletcher taking the lead on the seventh end of his game and never looking back, while Hancock collected five shots on the 16th end and then - trailing by two with an end to play - collected three shots on the final end for a thrilling win.
Fitzpatrick won one more end than the competition’s number one seeded skip, Robert Young, but lost 18-21.
– Tongala’s division two team has come from bottom place in 2023-24 to qualify for this weekend’s finals.
It will face Deniliquin in an elimination final at Rochester after securing a seventh win of the season against that very team in the final home and away round.
Wayne Cowley, Danny O’Brien and Jorja Ponton all led their rinks to wins in the commanding 13-shot win, 61-48 (16-nil).
After a slow start Ponton secured wins on nine of the opening 14 ends and led by six shots. That margin was cut to two three ends later, but with wins on three of the final four ends she secured a seven shot win, 22-15.
Cowley had experienced lead bowlers in Geoff Tinning and Phil Cooper for support as he secured shot on six of the opening seven ends for a 12-1 lead.
His advantaged remained until the 13th end, before his Deniliquin opposition won five of the final eight ends (including a four-shot haul on the 17th) to eventually lose by just four, 16-20.
O’Brien completed the trifecta of wins by turning an eight-shot deficit (after 13 ends) into a two-shot win. He trailed from the outset and with five ends remaining still faced a five-shot deficit.
He won all five of those ends and secured the rink win 19-17.
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