Former Goulburn Valley Playing Area lawn bowls Champion of Champions Tim Hancock has been knocked out of the Stanhope Bowls Club championship in the first round.
Hancock won the 2022-23 GV State Champion of Champions event, beating Shepparton Golf’s Kris Ferguson 25-18 in the final.
He was beaten in the first round of the championships by first year division one pennant bowler Jorge Maxwell, who has been touted as a player to watch in the future.
Maxwell will have plenty of competition as he moves through the draw, with reigning Shepparton Golf club champion Ben Fletcher and reigning Stanhope champion John Patterson also in the draw.
Patterson has division one lead bowler Glen Smith in round one, while Ben Fletcher faces division five lead Gary Rout.
Maxwell will now face the winner of the round one match between Geoff Crilly and Barry Fletcher, while in-form division one skip Greg Fitzpatrick has Tom Young in round one.
Another Maxwell, Austin, had a first round bye and will face recently promoted division one lead Graeme Nurse in round two. Nurse and Peter Myers, who plays third to Fitzpatrick, also had round one byes.
The Maxwells, if they can move through the rounds, could meet in a mouth watering semi-final, but there is a lot of water to go under the bridge before then.
The first round of matches in both the men’s and women’s championships must be played by November 30.
– Kyabram division one skips Greg Shilling and Rob George both had round one byes in the Kyabram Bowls Club singles championship.
George will now play division one teammate Ken Risstrom, while Shilling has an appointment with the winner of the Greg O’Connell and Darryl Gade match.
Shilling is Kyabram’s highest seeded division one player so far this year, 14th on the player ladder, while O’Connell is a second at division three level.
Charlie Boswood faces Joe Greco in the opening round and could face his father Darren in a round three match if the pair can overcome the likes of Wayne Chambers, Paul McInnes and Graeme King.
Henry Boswood has a tough opening round draw, facing division one skip Noel Reddrop in the opening round, while Bob Mason and Rob Anset both had round one byes and will face off in round two.
The pair play in the same rink, skipped by George, so it makes for an interesting contest.
– At Tongala two Tinnings remain in the hunt for the title which has been in the hands of the family on several occasions over the years.
Peter Tinning beat Bill Hatzie in the first round of the Bulls club championship and Barry Tinning will meet Matt Liveron in a quarter final match.
Phil Cooper will now face Steve Hammond in another quarter final, while Peter Tinning awaits the winner of the Mark Golds and Jack Hammond match. All quarter finals must be played before Sunday, December 8
New recruit Connor Trewren and Steve Usher face-off in the remaining match.