The “Three Amigos” Mick Houstein, Wayne Carthew & Joe Bond.
Championship Open Triples – 4th February
The first round of the Championship Open Triples kicked off on Tuesday in a sizzling heatwave, with the “Three Amigos” Mick Houstein, Wayne Carthew and Joe Bond, too good for Happy Bourke, Jann Brooke & Judy Moore winning 30 shots to 11.
Mick, Wayne and Joe began the first end strongly scoring 4 shots, but Happy, Jann & Judy quickly scored 3 shots to 1 behind after 3 ends. 6 shots scored over the next 2 ends saw the Houstein trio jump ahead on the scoreboard, while Sheik Happy and his harem of Jann and Judy whipped their camels into a frenzy and were hot in pursuit.
By end number 10, with 7 added they were sitting 1 shot behind their opponents. Unfortunately, they did not give the camels enough water and the dromedaries came to a screeching halt as Mick, Wayne & Joe hit the afterburners and raced to a 12-shot lead (22 – 10) by end number 15. Happy produced a magnificent shot with his final bowl on the 16th end but was only able to add 1 to his team’s score. Houstein’s trio added 8 more shots moving to 30 on the scoreboard, causing Happy, Jann and Judy to hoist the white flag with 3 ends remaining.
Championship Open Triples – 5th February
Last year’s Triples championship winning team consisting of Eric Weston, Tom French and Bob Smart maintained their form with a comprehensive 26 shots to 19 victory over Helen Pearce, Joan Dunn and Bronwyn Naughton on Wednesday afternoon.
The Pearce skipped trio were off the mark with 3 shots, while Weston’s side drew level on the 4th end. During the next 6 ends the match remained closely contested as both teams scored 4 shots each and were still level on the scoreboard at 8-all.
The match then took a wild turn on the 11th end as Eric’s trio scored 6 shots and for the next 3 ends added 5 more to their total to catapult to a 19 – 8 lead. A single shot on the 15th end would be the last time that Helen, Joan and Bronwyn would score, as Eric, Tom & Bob compiled 7 more shots to wrap up the match.
Championship Open Triples – 6th February
Graeme Tickner, Pete Gailey & newcomer to championship bowls Tom Wright performed like a well-oiled machine with a thorough 18-shot (29 – 11) victory over Di Brennan, Peter Hilton and Wendy Nicholson on Thursday evening.
Graeme’s trio leapt out of the blocks, leading 9-nil after 4 ends. Di’s team won the 5th end with a single shot, but Tickner’s trio continued to pile on, notching up 7 more shots to take a commanding 15 shot lead after 9 ends. Brennan, Hilton and Nicholson found a sudden burst of inspiration with 1 shot on the 10th end and picked up a staggering 5 shots on the next end to move their total to 7. Surviving the skirmish Graeme, Pete and Tom complied 4 shots to maintain scoreboard pressure, while Brennan’s team continued to gain ground with 4 added and moving into double figures. How-ever, they were dealt a punishing blow as Graeme, Pete and Tom racked up 9 shots to move 18 ahead on the score-board.
While mathematically possible to score 18 shots over the final 3 ends, the Brennan skipped trio saw the writing on the wall and called it quits allowing Graeme, Pete and Tom to progress to the next round.
Championship Open Triples – 8th February
Mick Houstein, Wayne Carthew & Joe Bond progress to the semi-finals with a hard-fought, by the skin of their teeth win over Sharon Armstrong, Neil Sheather and Neil Armstrong on Saturday morning, winning by 4 shots (22 – 18). After 3 ends Mick, Wayne and Joe were leading by the narrowest of margins but found their groove over the next 4 ends adding 8 shots and were leading 12 – 3.
Sharon’s team was able to shrug this off and quickly bounce back scoring 9 shots over 4 ends to draw level with their opponents on the 11th end at 12-all. By end number 14 both sides scored 2 shots each and were still level at 14-all.
Sharon’s trio then hit the lead on the next end with 1 added, but that lead disappeared faster than a toddler can make a mess in a tidy room as Mick, Wayne and Joe picked up 6 shots on the 16th end to move 5 in front. For Sharon’s trio the deficit was not insurmountable and set about recapturing the lead. For the next 3 ends they progressed in singles to move 2 shots behind (20 – 18).
Mick, Wayne and Joe were able to give themselves a little breathing space as they won the 20th end with 1 shot scored. This now meant that Sharon and the two Neil’s required 3 to draw or 4 to win. As the situation unfolded Sharon with her final bowl needed to trail the jack cleanly to get the shots required for victory, unfortunately, it was a glancing blow and the jack moved to an opposition bowl allowing Mick, Wayne and Joe to move into the semis.
Championship Open Triples – 8th February
Eric Weston, Tom French and Bob Smart have booked their spot in the semi-finals when they emerged victorious 22 shots to 13, from their encounter with Gail Rowland, Helen Lott and Cecily Luff on Saturday afternoon. Both teams were on level pegging for the first 5 ends with Eric, Tom and Bob just in the lead at 4 – 3. Then Christmas came early on the 6th end for the three men as they registered a whopping 7 shots, putting a nice buffer between themselves and the Rowland skipped trio.
With 3 shots added Gail, Helen and Cecily closed the gap to 5 shots, but misfortune was to strike again as Eric, Tom and Bob compiled 4 shots on the 9th end, widening the gap once again between the two teams. For the next 8 ends the match became a real arm-wrestle, with sev-eral back-and-forth exchanges, but by end number 17, Eric, Tom and Bob were 8 shots in front (19 – 11).
With 8 shots to make over 4 ends and draw level, it was not impossible for Gail’s team to achieve this. Any chance of victory for Gail, Helen and Cecily were quickly dashed however, as Eric, Tom and Bob won ends 18 and 19 with 3 added (22 – 11), meaning the Rowland skipped side now had 2 ends to score 11 shots. They won the last 2 ends of the match but were only able to progress their score by 2, making Eric, Tom and Bob the clear winners.
RMBA Zone 8 Southern Highlands Open Pennants Rd 1 Gundagai 7’s vs Gundagai 6’s – 9th February
It was a local showdown for Round 1 of the Southern Highlands Open Pennants Competition on Sunday with the Gundagai 7’s three teams of four squaring off against the Gundagai 6’s three teams of four for not only competition points but bragging rights as well. It was a great day weather-wise with plenty of great bowls played and new bowlers playing Pennants for the first time handled themselves with aplomb. But ultimately, both the competition points and bragging rights went to the Gundagai 6’s winning the shot aggregate 84 – 46, and all three rinks, resulting in accruing the maximum number of competition points which was 10.
The Bowls Committee would like to thank the Services Club and bar staff, the Greens staff, those that provided morning tea and salads for lunch and finally to Geoff Scanes and Murray Naughton for cooking the barbecue.
Round 2 of the Pennants will be on Sunday 16th February, with the Gundagai 7’s taking on the Tum-barumba 6’s at Gundagai, while the Gundagai 6’s has the bye. The teams for Sunday 16th are as follows:
Team 1: Lead, Murray Naughton; Second, Peter Anthony Smith; Third, Sharon Gaha; Skip, Gail Rowland.
Team 2: Andrew Wright, Pam Watling, Jess Wright, James Bourke.
Team 3: Neil Armstrong, Gary Cotterill, Peter Gailey, Graeme Tickner.
All players are to be at the Sports Club at 9:30 am for a 10 am start, if you are unavailable, please notify your team Skip as soon as possible. Tuesday Social – 4th February Di Brennan, Joan Dunn & Cecily Luff (1 bowl) defeated Helen Lott, Jess Wright & Cecily Luff (1 bowl) 24 – 20. Thursday Social – 6th February Joe Bond, Col Harris & Pat Caffery (2 bowls) defeated Henry Crowe, Mark Maynard & Pat Caffery Thursday Twilight Barefoot Bowls – 6th February Sharon Armstrong, Jess Wright & Matt Armstrong defeated Neil Armstrong, Wes Wright & Patrick Murphy 29 – 6. Saturday Social – 8th February Grant Duncan, Jess Wright & Matt Armstrong (2 bowls) defeated Gary Cotterill, Patrick Murphy & Matt Armstrong (2 bowls) 19-13.
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