The News’ complete season preview of the 2024-25 Allan Matheson Shield

No new entrants or omissions mean a repeat cast of last season.

However, positions could sway drastically from 2023-24 based on what has happened since a bowl was last rolled in the shield.

Perennial power Kyabram has witnessed an exodus of sorts, but still harbours competitive ambitions, while Mooroopna’s off-season wheeling and dealing has the Cats keen to cause upsets in 2024-25.

Shepparton Golf and reigning premier Tallygaroopna have big targets on their backs and the Redlegs could be even stronger than before, now back on home greens.

Others such as Shepparton Park and Tatura-Hill Top will again gun for a spot in the four, while Euroa and East Shepparton seek incremental improvements on past performances.

There’s plenty to learn ahead of the first set of ends, so The News has you covered with an in-depth season preview with everything you need to know.

East Shepparton

2023-24 finish: Eighth

Club comment – Ash Williamson (selector)

“We’ve picked up a couple of new players — my dad Greg Williamson has come across from Shepp Park with Ray Saville and Rob Thorne,” he said.

“(They’re) three players that haven’t had a lot of division one experience, but with where we’re at, it just gives us a bit of flexibility.

“Losing Daniel Nichols as coach to Numurkah Golf, we’ve picked up three players to cover him, which is good.

“Obviously finishing on the bottom last year, we lacked a bit of depth, so that was a big focus.

“We were pretty aggressive and active in the off-season trying to recruit big names and improve our playing stocks, but finishing bottom of the ladder, it is a hard sell at the moment.

“We need to show that we can improve this season and show that East is on the upwards trend.”

Prediction: Eighth

A fast start is key to East making a splash.

Williamson and company aren’t intending to reinvent the wheel over the summer, but with a few savvy inclusions, they’re hoping to chalk up wins and make 2 Zurcas Lane a true destination once again.

After a myriad of defeats with margins of 12 shots or less last season, converting slim losses to narrow wins could be crucial.

And with an opening block of games arriving that East should be competitive in, it’s all about building confidence in the preliminary rounds.

Euroa

2023-24 finish: Sixth

Club comment - Ken Sutcliffe (selector)

“Winning the premiership will be very difficult,” he said.

“I would imagine we will be in the bottom half, we will be competitive, but the other teams will be too strong for us across the board.

“We lost a good player in Andy Houston who has gone to (Shepparton) Golf, but we picked up a pretty handy player in Jeremy Boruch who was at Benalla.

“We will push some sides, but to finish top four would be a miracle I think.

“There was a 100-1 winner that won the Melbourne Cup a few years ago, so you never know.”

Prediction: Seventh

After finishing sixth last season it is hard to see Euroa making a genuine charge up the ladder.

Sutcliffe was pragmatic in his approach to the club’s chances this season, knowing how hard it is to match it with teams such as Tally and Golf.

However, where there is a will, there is a way and Euroa is known for its fighting spirit.

Should a couple of results swing their way early, Sutcliffe and his charges could make a run to the finals.

Kyabram

2023-24 finish: Third

Club comment - coach Mal Williams:

“We’ve had probably seven or eight of last year’s division one team go somewhere else, but it gives others a chance to find out how good they are,” he said.

“We’ll still be competitive with most sides. To stagger into the top four in fourth spot is probably as good as we would do.

“I’d think that’s a pretty good result given the people we’ve lost.

“We’re not chasing people to come to the club. If anyone wants to, they can, but we’ve always grown from within the club and we want to grow organically.”

Prediction: Sixth

It goes without saying that a massive off-season exodus has left the Bombers in a hole, with the likes of 2023-24 coach Brent Reiner seeking other opportunities and the Cartwright clan reducing its presence.

With that said, despite the heavy talent losses from its pennant roster and the club electing to drop out of division two as well, there should remain enough quality personnel to at least get thereabouts as far as the finals race is concerned.

Mooroopna

2023-24 finish: Seventh

Club comment - Darren Kelly (weekend pennant manager)

“We’ve had some good recruiting over the winter, we’ve signed a few new players, so we’re looking forward to it,” he said.

“We’ve brought in Justin Spedding from Tat-Hill Top, Rob Ponton from Stanhope, Dave Townsend and Kelvin Hubble from Kyabram, Bree Warren from Shepparton Park, Scotty Donaldson has come back to bowls after having a year off.

“We’ve found a new coach, Martin Fong from Griffith, who has played in the Commonwealth Games for Fiji.

“We’re striving for finals; top four is the goal to start with and then we’ll take it from there.

“We just worry about ourselves – we think we’re good enough with the additions we’ve got.”

Prediction: Fourth

Expect Mooroopna to make a major shake this season.

With a cut, buffed and pumped roster, the Cats are poised to vault up the ladder after a miserly seventh-placed finish in 2023-24 campaign.

The Cats’ strategy of recruiting from fellow Goulburn Valley outfits to weaken the opposition while strengthening themselves is wise.

Adding a high-calibre coach in Martin Fong, who has shacked up a stone’s throw from the Mooroopna greens, also makes the Fruit Salad City tenants an appetising option for finals.

Shepparton Golf

2023-24 finish: Runner-up

Club comment - Kris Ferguson (coach)

“The playing roster is much the same,” he said.

“Every club has ins and outs and obviously ‘Orry’ is a big loss, but we’ll keep going.

“Bringing in a few of the blokes from the twos who were playing quite well means everyone gets an opportunity.

“Tally is obviously still the benchmark, though, and they deserved to win the final.

“You always take on any challenge you’re given and it puts more pressure on us to play better bowls.”

Prediction: Second

There is little to suggest that the Shepparton Golf-Tallygaroopna duopoly is likely to break hold with Kyabram’s wealth of experience departing.

Not having access to Brad Orr due to metro commitments would sting any side, but he’s still every chance of making appearances when permissible, as is former Kyabram boss Brent Reiner after allying himself with the blue and gold under home club rules.

Golf looks unlikely to fall too far behind the reigning premiers and should still be well clear of the chasing pack.

Shepparton Park

2023-24 finish: Third

Club comment - Graeme Myers (director)

“We have recruited well,” he said.

“We have a couple of skippers from the Murray league that have come into our side and we picked up a few others that will give us a fair bit of depth.

“We lost Bree Warren who was in our div one team, she has gone to Mooroopna, but we brought in Ray Hill from Wunghnu and Ross Higgins from Numurkah.

“We still probably won’t match the likes of (Shepparton) Golf and Tallygaroopna and all that, but we will be able to give them more of a challenge, I think.

“Hoping to make the four so we can play finals and will see how far we can go from there.

“The club is looking very good, our midweek side will be stronger as well, we have 12-14 new members this season.”

Prediction: Third

Last season, Shepparton Park finished as the best of the rest after defeating Kyabram in the semis.

This summer, it appears that Park will be on a similar trajectory.

The question is whether the club’s dozen or so new members can help raise the standard at Shepparton Park, to the point where it can challenge for the division one title.

For the fans' sake, let's hope Park can challenge the contenders and keep the competition even to set up a thrilling title fight.

Tallygaroopna

2023-24 finish: Premier

Club comment - David Daws (coach)

“There are no notable changes from us. We’ve got a few new bowlers, which is good, but our big talking point is that we’ve got our green back,” he said.

“It’s a credit to all that we’ve gone through across the past couple of years and it’s great to be home and see so many smiles on faces.

“We never fancy ourselves as favourites because bowls is a game where anyone can win on the day, but we’ll go in with confidence knowing what we’ve done across the past few years and give it our best crack.

“Over all the clubs, I think it’s anyone’s game and I don’t know who the genuine favourites are this year.”

Prediction: First

Observers far and wide will be looking to this club, on home soil once more, to supply the standard of bowls that propelled the Tally train to a storming pennant premiership last season.

With no significant shake-up within the roster, there may be little sitting between Daws’ side and a title-winning repeat given the remarkable quality on show for much of the 2023-24 campaign.

Expect this side to figure heavily into finals, with a berth in the decider likely a minimum expectation.

Tatura-Hill Top

2023-24 finish: Fifth

Club comment – Scott Adams (coach)

“We’ve had Justin Spedding go to Mooroopna, Peter Le Sueur go to Shepp Golf and that’s really about it out of our division one side,” he said.

“We’ve picked up Jarryd Tinning from Tongala and Ash McDonald, he didn’t play the last year or so. He won the novice singles there two or three years ago – he’s a very handy player, he’s come back to join us.

“The Wakenshaws from the bowls shop (from Mooroopna Golf), we’ve picked the four of them up which is very handy for our lower divisions – that’s a rink in themselves. Like playing together.

“We’re looking to make finals, I think we’re all gelling really well, we’ve trained hard over the off-season.

“We were very disappointed last year, it was a couple of games mid-season that we should’ve won that we lost by a few shots and it wrecked our whole season.”

Prediction: Fifth

Following the heartbreak of missing out on finals by three points, Tatura-Hill Top is out to right the wrongs of last season.

Scott Adams’ troupe is buzzing with anticipation for the new campaign and Jarryd Tinning’s signature is a surefire statement the combine isn’t making up numbers in 2024-25.

Speaking of numbers, the full greens at Tatura-Hill Top means Adams has established a ‘train or don’t play’ policy, throwing some healthy in-house competition into the mix throughout the higher divisions.

Could the combine feature in March next year? Let’s wait and find out.