Sport
Allan Matheson Shield | Mitch Sidebottom the toast of Tally after grand final fightback
There is no name more synonymous with Tallygaroopna than Sidebottom.
Whether it is Steele running around the MCG for Collingwood or Ryan plying his trade in English country cricket, the Sidebottoms certainly are not afraid of a big moment on the sporting field.
So when Tallygaroopna needed somebody to stand up in the final 30 ends of Sunday’s tense Allan Matheson Shield grand final, is was Mitch Sidebottom who answered the call.
Skipping a rink four squad that featured club stalwart Joey Lia, Mick Hanna and Tyson Mehmet, early signs were not good for the Redlegs star, as the scoreboard read 13-5 in Golf’s John Stokes favour at the break.
With 13 ends remaining, Sidebottom and his squad came out in the second half determined to turn the tide.
“None of us started very well in our rink, especially me,” Sidebottom said.
“But after four or five ends we really knuckled down and fought back into the game which is really one of the keys to our rink, we have four real fighters that don’t like getting beaten.
“We focused up, got bowls in the head and I found my range in the second half there.”
Playing in front of a large group of Tallygaroopna suppporters, he said the final ends were a surreal experience as he fed off the energy of the crowd and his fellow teammates.
“It was absolutely crazy and we loved it so much,” he said.
“I tried to get as many mates as I could down here and they were sitting behind me making so much noise,’’ he said.
“Lucky we didn’t play under the cover because they would have blown the roof off.
“Playing with guys like Joey (Lia), who is the heart and soul of the Tallygaroopna Bowls Club, has created something at this club that is so special and makes it somewhere people want to come and play — it is so much fun on and off the green and today was a great example of that.”
Having spent so much time playing bowls at Tallygaroopna and forming bonds with everyone at the club, he said playing in its first division one premiership was a highlight of his sporting career.
“It is so special to me because its where I grew up and started my bowls,” he said.
“The bowls club was in a lot of trouble about 20 years ago, in debt and struggling for players, so from where it was then to where it is now it means the world to be part of something like this.”