Another outstanding pennant bowls season from Greg Shilling has helped Kyabram reach the finals.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Greg Shilling is showing no signs of slowing down and has almost single-handedly dragged Kyabram’s division one Goulburn Valley Playing Area team into the 2024-25 finals series.
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He won his 10th game of the season on Saturday with the support of Peter Lomas, Robert Sceney and Brad McIntosh, snatching the last spot in the Allan Matheson Shield playoffs from the grasp of Tatura-Hill Top.
Before the weekend’s final round of home and away matches the Bulldogs occupied fourth spot, but the two-shot Kyabram win (81-79, 15-3) was enough to see the Bombers snatch back the elimination semi-final place and they will confront Shepparton Park at Shepparton Golf Bowling Club on Saturday.
The effort is even more impressive given the club lost the services of several high profile players at the start of the season and, despite winning the first two rounds, lost four games in a row immediately after the hot start.
Shilling is not only the fifth-ranked player in the division one competition this season, but also the second-ranked skip. He, Rob Sceney (sixth seed) and Graeme King (18th ) are the only Kyabram division one players in the top 30.
Kyabram finished with seven wins and six defeats, but is 1-1 against Shepparton Park this season. After losing by nine shots in round three the Bombers beat the same team by three in round 10, the second meeting unsurprisingly influenced by a 12-shot Shilling victory.
Just last month Shilling won his 14th singles club championship at Kyabram, equalling a record set by another club legend Des Nuttall.
Murray Boswood has led the division seven team to the top rung of the Goulburn Valley Playing Area ladder.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
- Kyabram will be favoured to extend its division five season when it tackles Seymour in the elimination semi-final on Saturday.
Its six-shot win against second-ranked Mooroopna on Saturday locked it into third spot on the ladder, equal on points with Seymour and one point ahead of fifth-placed Violet Town. Anything less than Kyabram’s 14-2 result would have seen it miss the finals as Violet Town won 16-nil and Seymour repeated that scoreline in its final home and away game.
The winner of the Kyabram and Seymour game at Shepparton Park on Saturday will face the loser of the Mooroopa and Tatura-Hill Top match. Seymour beat Kyabram by 11 shots in round four, but in the return game Kyabram was a 28-shot winner.
Garry Solomons is the top-ranked bowler in the division this season, with an 8-2 record, but Brian Lindsay is the only remaining top 10 player. Don Cook is the team’s only top 10 skip this season.
- Kyabram punctuated its domination of the division seven competition with a 12th win for the season, against previously second-ranked Rushworth.
The loss dropped Rushworth to third on the ladder and Kyabram will now face Eildon at Euroa Bowls Club on Saturday for a place in the grand final. Kyabram beat Eildon by 36 shots in round three on the back of a 39-8 Ray Harrison rink win, but in round 10 only managed a one-shot win.
Murray Boswood has been the team’s most outstanding bowler this season, with a 10-1 win/loss record and is the top ranked bowler in the division. Geoff Hocking, William Hindson, John Macfadyen and Ian George are the other top 10 bowlers.
William Hindson’s 9-1 record is the best of any lead bowler this season, while Boswood is the top skip in the division.
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