Norman Cheong is Stanhope's top seeded bowler in division four this season with eight wins.
Tongala, Stanhope and Kyabram pennant bowls teams will be strongly represented in the Campaspe Playing Area and Goulburn Valley Playing area midweek and weekend finals starting this weekend.
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Both the Campaspe and Goulburn Valley midweek competitions had their final round of home and away matches yesterday, while the Campaspe weekend pennant bowls competition has its first round of finals this weekend.
There is one round remaining in the Goulburn Valley weekend pennant competition.
Here is a summary of the teams that have qualified, or were on the cusp of qualifying, depending on yesterday afternoon’s results.
Campaspe weekend pennant
In division one of Campaspe weekend pennant Stanhope and Tongala will play in the qualifying final, to win a spot in the grand final on March 1.
The final four of the division two competition came down to the final round. Before the weekend Tongala was fourth, one point ahead of Stanhope and sixth placed Rich River.
Stanhope lost to top team Moama Steamers, while Tongala beat third-ranked Deniliquin and Rich River lost to bottom team Rochester.
It left Tongala third and it will play Deniliquin for the second successive week, in an elimination final.
A five-shot loss for Stanhope in the final division four round saw it drop from third to fourth. Tongala finished fifth, having required a minor miracle against third-ranked Lockington to qualify for the finals.
The side lost by seven shots, needing a clean sweep to steal fourth spot. Stanhope faced top team Moama Steamers in the final round and lost by five shots.
Jamie Stokes is a top 10 skip in the midweek division one Campaspe Playing Area competition.
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
Campaspe midweek pennant
Stanhope will be the fourth ranked division one team in the finals and will face Mathoura in week one of the playoffs in a knockout game.
In division three fifth-ranked Tongala Red needed a big final round win against Lockington yesterday to steal a spot in the finals from Deniliquin RSL.
The RSL team faced second ranked Elmore in the final round, going into the final home and away round with a six pennant point buffer on Tongala.
In division four third-ranked Stanhope faced second placed Echuca in the final home and away round. They will face Lockington in the first week of the finals in a knockout game.
Goulburn Valley weekend pennant
Kyabram’s 12-shot loss to top team Tallygaroopna saw it drop outside the top four and it will go into this weekend’s final home and away game needing a win against Tatura-Hill Top to play finals.
Tatura-Hill Top drew with Euroa, but it was enough to give it fourth spot, one point ahead of Kyabram. Kyabram and Hill Top’s game will be the match of the round, the winner qualifying to tackle Tallygaroopna, Shepparton Golf and Shepparton Park in the finals.
In division three Kyabram cannot make the finals after losing to top team Mooroopna on Saturday, sitting fifth on the ladder. The Bombers are now 22 pennant points behind fourth ranked Avenel.
Kyabram division five skip Don Cook is his team’s top ranked skip this season.
A final round division five win for Kyabram will guarantee it second spot and a chance to go straight into a grand final. They face bottom team East Shepparton in the final game on Saturday and are almost certain to face top team Colbinabbin in a qualifying final.
Kyabram will enter the division seven finals as the top seed, no matter the result of its match with second-ranked Rushworth in the final home and away game on Saturday.
The teams will play two weeks in a row unless third-ranked Eildon does something unexpected.
Goulburn Valley midweek pennant
Kyabram will finish just outside the division one top four, even if it dominated bottom team East Shepparton in yesterday’s final round.
Sitting sixth on the ladder the two teams above it play one another and it is an impossible scenario for Kyabram to pass both and finish fourth.
Kyabram’s division five team was third going into yesterday’s final round against second-ranked Mooroopna.
With three teams hot on their heels - Euroa, Seymour and Violet Town were all within striking distance - two teams were going to miss finals spots.
