01 February, 2023
Midweek Results Twelfth Round
Round 12 in the Midweek Pennant brought mixed results to Rosanna. We had two sides down, one by the slimmest of margins, and one side victorious in a nail-biter.
Commencing with the Third side who were playing at home, we came up against a strong top of the table, Ivanhoe team. It was a hard slog for Joan Webber, Gae Messina, Marj Martyn and Terrye Meade, however, they battled it out as best they could in scoring 7 against 31. Russell Hyde, Bob Graham, Tony Bassett and Ken Barr also battled hard and scored 17 shots to Ivanhoe’s 25. Realative newcomer to skipping, Paul Bassett, with his team of John Mydlar, Heather Manton and Noel Broadhurst, were the winners of the day and scored 26, to the opposition’s 17, in a fine victory for the Go-annas, earning us two points.
Rosanna 50, Ivanhoe 73. 23 shots down.
The Third side are in 5th position on the ladder with two games to play. We are 20 points behind fourth placed Box Hill RSL whom we play in the last round, at Box Hill. Next week we play 7th placed MCC, at home. Wins will be important, and while there is life, there is hope.
The Second side went to Epping and were very unlucky indeed to lose the match by one shot. Leo Bosso, Kay Plain, Paul Gregory and Jack Dunbar went down by two shots in a close game that could have gone either way. Unfortunately for Rosanna, it went Epping’s. Glenn Lyons, Ed Sheean, Kevin Meade and Kevin Nelson couldn’t work out with their opponents who should win, so they called it a tie. James Inifer, Peter Bell, Rob Barclay and Alaan Phillips had a chance to get a second shot on the last end to tie the match up overall, but the Finance Director snagged his final delivery leaving the side with one shot, and one shot short overall.
Rosanna 54, Epping 55. One shot down.
The Second side is in seventh spot on the ladder with two to play, however, maximum points in both games would still be insufficient to lift us into the four.
The First side hosted Lalor in a tense, close game that saw the two sides separated by only three shots at day’s end. Don Casey, Jeff Cook, Chris Ball and Gwenda Bail, got away to a good start, then were pegged back and headed after lunch. The last two ends were very tense, however, Rosanna stuck to the task and came back to tie the game. Warren Williams, John Head, Colin Watson and Robin Doherty were being well beaten early in their game, however, once again the resiliance of Rosanna came to the fore, and the rink triumphed by four shots in a stunning comeback, which had the overall scores tied with one end to be played by Jim Gregory’s rink. Even though Jim, John Aldridge, Graeme Bravo and Ian Crawford went down by the barest of margins, their last end was brilliant. Leads and seconds had bowls around the head with Epping holding two, resting on the jack after their third put down his first bowl. John Aldridge stepped up to deliver his first bowl, which agonisingly swung away from the jack as it finalised its trajectory, and missed everything. Audible groans were heard around the green. The Epping third put his second bowl down which turned out to be ineffectual. John Aldridge stepped onto the mat again, to intense silence. He eyed the head, and released his bowl with a smooth, flowing motion, a hundred eyes watching every centimetre of that bowl’s progress on Rosanna’s beautiful, free-running eastern green. As it traversed the length of rink 10, the audible sounds of encouragement intensified into a resounding roar of approval, as Jon’s bowl made centimetre perfect contact with the resters, immediately dislodging them from the contest, and replacing them with a three shot advantage to Rosanna. A sensational piece of bowling prowess. The crowd held its collective breath as the skippers stepped up to deliver their bowls, however, they made no impression and Rosanna held the day.
Rosanna 57, Lalor 54. Three shots up.
The win sees the First side in fifth place, 19 points behind Ivanhoe (4th). The last two games are against lower sides in Craigieburn (7th) away, and Strathmore (8th) at home. It is a great opportunity for reaching the finals by winning both games well.
The best winning rink this week went to Paul Bassett, John Mydlar, Heather Manton and Noel Broadhurst with 9 shots up. Congratulations, and well done.
No Milestones were brought to my attention .
Well, that’s it for the moment. Only two weeks to go – can we stretch that by making the finals? Only time will tell. And remember – I saw this sign in my Gynecologist’s office, “Dr. Jones, at your cervix.”
Keep smilin’ and bowl well.
The Tout.
