Sport
Gallery | Mooroopna Golf sneaks home in tight tussle with Merrigum as weekend pennant action returns
After a long and gloomy winter, weekend pennant bowls made its much-anticipated return to the Goulburn Valley Playing Area on Saturday.
Greeted by perfect conditions, division five bowlers were the only ones that opened their campaign at the weekend due to the league’s staggered start to the season.
But there was still plenty of drama that unfolded across the greens, with four of the five scheduled matches going ahead.
A tense clash between Merrigum and Mooroopna Golf served as the headline act of the round one proceedings.
In what was a bizarre match of bowls, Merrigum won three of the four rinks, but was still unable to come away with the victory ‒ as the final score read 12-75 to 6-68.
This was due to the herculean effort of Noel Halden and his rink two squad, which produced a stunning 35-8 victory.
Giving Golf a 27-shot buffer, Merrigum was unable to peg back the lead, with winning margins of 12, six and two in the remaining rinks leaving it seven shots short.
Elsewhere, Dookie prevailed in a tough contest against Seymour VRI 16-75 to 2-64.
A tight tussle across the green, Jason Mulkeen (22-15), Gary Lowe (21-15) and Des Thorp (17-15) would provide the necessary victories for Dookie to get over the line.
VRI would salvage some points courtesy of the efforts of Mario Furletti, who orchestrated a 19-15 triumph in rink three.
Wrapping up the weekend’s winners, Alexandra was far too strong for Tatura-Hill Top, coming away with a powerful 18-94 to 0-60 victory.
While Colbinabbin opened its campaign in stunning style, obliterating East Shepparton 16-102 to 2-51.
The final match of the round between Eildon and Murchison didn’t go ahead, with Eildon taking the points due to a forfeit.