Bowls Victoria’s Region Sides Championships are fast approaching and the Goulburn Murray contingent is set to launch.
Goulburn Murray Bowls Region has named its final squads for the men’s and women’s divisions, putting final touches in place ahead of a trip to Ballarat for next month’s championships.
The three-day event, running from January 10-12 with finals on the Sunday morning, represents the first big step on the annual bowls calendar with local competitions kicking off again the following week after festive breaks.
It’s a solid group of names lined up on paper to represent Goulburn Murray as well.
GMBR Region State Championships men’s side
Rink 1: Josh Cartwright (Wunghnu), Guy Madigan (Tallygaroopna), Martin Fong (Mooropna), David Daws (Tallygaroopna)
Rink 2: Charlie Boswood (Kyabram), Nick Boyd (Tatura), Kris Ferguson (Shepparton Golf), Mark Ryan (Tallygaroopna)
Rink 3: Scott Adams (Hill Top), Dane Gade (Numurkah Golf), Brent Reiner (Shepparton Golf), David Cartwright (Wunghnu)
Manager: James McLeod (Shepparton Golf)
The teams were revealed Saturday night following a long whittling process that saw an even balance retained between Murray and Goulburn Valley women, while the men’s side was largely skewed towards Allan Matheson Shield names.
GMBR secretary Stephen McGregor expressed his confidence in the stars selected.
“It’s always difficult for the selectors, as they had quite a few names to cut down,” McGregor said.
“We’ve gone through the process, first with the GVPA-Murray playoff and then again after the O&M, and some might say it’s not the best side, but it comes down to players who are available.
“We’re confident we’ve selected the best side possible for us and we’ll back the players all the way to have a good weekend.
“It’s a big challenge, but we’ll wait and see what happens.”
With names like Tallygaroopna’s Mitch Sidebottom off the list, it’s only natural some eyebrows might raise.
Such is the cut-throat nature of representative participation, however, and those who qualified have more to go on with after the men came as close as possible in 2024 without claiming gold.
GMBR Region State Championships women’s side
Rink 1: Kate Bush (Shepparton Golf), Leigh Hansen (Club Tocumwal), Maria Greco (Kyabram), Di Hands (Shepparton Park)
Rink 2: Bree Warren (Mooroopna), Ruth Burnett (Barooga), Jenny O’Connor (Numurkah), Carla Miles (Shepparton Golf)
Rink 3: Katrina Glover (Numurkah Golf), Loris Houlihan (Numurkah Golf), Kris Wright (Shepparton Golf), Lidija Patching (Numurkah Golf)
Manager: Marj McDonald (Cobram)
“Hopefully, we can go one step further with the men,” McGregor said.
“Players had to be available for at least one of the two trial days and Mitch wasn’t available for those dates, so according to policy, he had to miss out.
‘’The women have got an opportunity as well. They lost a couple of games last year by just a few shots.
“We’ve picked a few younger players and given some an opportunity to impress.
“The games are longer this time around, with three games of 21 ends instead of 12, so it’ll be interesting.”