by “Davo”

Wunghnu booked its spot in the Murray Bowls division one pennant grand final with a 60 shot victory over Numurkah Golf on Saturday. 

Not to be outdone, the Magpies’ division three side also won its way into the grand final with a 19 shot win over Numurkah Golf. 

It is the first time that Wunghnu has had both of its pennant teams make the grand final in the same season, a great achievement for a club that boasts just 35 members.

The Cobram Bowls Club hosted the preliminary finals for both divisions and had its greens in excellent condition, with a good crowd in attendance.

In division one, the Magpies started well, jumping out to a 10 shot lead overall after 10 ends of play and were never headed. 

By the tea break the lead was 29 shots and it blew out to 60 shots by the end of the day. It was one of the team’s best overall performances this season and the club is hopeful that the side can put in a similar effort against Barooga Sports this weekend.

Russell Smith (s), John McKenzie, Peter Revell and Darryl O’Connor defeated Brian “Chops” Stanger’s rink 23-17. Revell was the standout performer, drawing close bowls for much of the day and playing his best game for the season.

The still undefeated rink comprising Trevor Hosie (s), Ray Hill, Graeme King and Allan Jones got off to a slow start against Joe Luci’s quartet, but hit the lead shortly before the tea break. Hosie and his crew put the foot down after the break, picking up a number of multiple counts and bolting away to win 34-13.

Barry “Cossie” Cosgrove (s), Doug Larkin, Rob Rodda and Lynton “Sticks” Stephens had a great battle against Rob Glover’s rink for much of the day. 

Sticks had a good day at lead, drawing close on most ends and allowing Cosgrove to build the head in favour of the Magpies. Cossie also had a good day, relishing the fast paced green and playing some brilliant conversion shots.

Andrew Henderson (s), Nick Davies, Todd Davies and Wendy Coles had a day to remember, defeating Mark Jones’ rink 35-7. Whilst the whole rink played well, young Todd was the standout, drawing the shot, taking out opposition bowls, or simply providing a voice of encouragement to the entire side.

The win sets up another grand final clash with reigning premier Barooga, which should be a cracking match, considering just one shot separated the two teams in the second semi-final. 

In division three, nothing separated Wunghnu and Numurkah Golf prior to the tea break. However, the Magpies got on a roll after the break and cruised away in the closing ends. 

The win sets up a grand final clash against reigning premier Jerilderie.

Rob “Robbo” Robison (s), Russell Burkitt, Paul Richardson and Jack Rigoni comprised the standout rink, leading from start to finish against Alan Newby’s quartet. The 33-14 victory made it four wins on the trot for Robbo and his charges.

Ivan Newby (s), Mark Shelton, Dean Graham and Jim Brown found themselves down by nine shots after 15 ends, but a spirited comeback after the break saw Newby and his men sneak home 22-21 against Gary Edis’ rink.

It was a tight, low scoring affair for Les Clarke (s), Ian Gray, Damian Hommes and Leo Shannon against Ron Pickersgill’s foursome, with just 33 shots scored over 25 ends. Despite going down 16-17, Clarke and his men kept the damage to the bare minimum, which was crucial to the overall win.

Numurkah Bowls Club will host both the division one and division three grand finals this Saturday and both should be very entertaining affairs. 

In division one, Barooga Sports will be chasing its third premiership in a row, whilst Wunghnu will be chasing its third premiership in five seasons.

 In division three, the Magpies will be hoping to end Jerilderie’s dominance in recent seasons and earn promotion to division two.