Sport
‘It was nice to silence the doubters’: Shepparton Golf’s John Gribble recounts incredible grand final turnaround
Heading into Saturday’s Goulburn Valley Playing Area Allan Matheson Shield grand final accomplished Shepparton Golf skip John Gribble was, by his own admission, in a slump.
In the four matches leading into the grand final his rink had triumphed on just one occasion and in the semi-final a fortnight ago he was handsomely beaten by Kyabram’s Brent Reiner.
Coming up against the same opposition on the big day, there was one thing Gribble had to do.
Lift.
In the two week build-up to the decider, Gribble went searching for answers in a bid to recapture his best form.
But in the end it was the advice of one of his biggest supporters that helped him find his mojo and deliver his best performance of the season.
“To be honest, I got a bit of coaching off Dad and that turned things around for me,” Gribble said.
“Dad is a pretty decent coach and I rang him up and said ‘I’ve got a few issues with my delivery can you give me a hand?’.
“So we went out to the green and he fixed me within the first two ends and I absolutely reaped the benefits of that today.”
But it is one thing to fix a problem on the practice green and another to deliver in the heat of battle on grand final day.
And when he walked onto the Stanhope green you could see a much more confident and positive player, as he lit the rink up from his first bowl.
Turning the tables on Reiner, Gribble’s squad got away to a fast start and did not relinquish control to walk away a dominant 30-16 victor.
A 24-shot turnaround from his last outing against that uber-talented Kyabram rink, Gribble explained his mindset as the match unfolded.
“It was nice to silence the doubters after everyone expected he was going to beat me by 10 shots,” he said.
“That made me more determined to ensure the roles were reversed and to get up by 14 shots was brilliant.
“I knew I hadn’t performed the past few weeks, but thought that today was the day to do it, and to get off to that fast start and help the other guys out in the way I did. It is a wonderful feeling.”
For Gribble, this performance capped a wonderful return to his home club.
After playing a key role in Golf’s dynastic run of six straight premierships, he spent last season at East Shepparton, before his close bond with the tight-knit Golf side quickly brought him back.
And, while he has bathed in the glory of grand final success on many on occasion, he said the win on Saturday stood head and shoulders above any experience he had had on a bowls green.
“This one is probably the best to be honest,” he said
“To have had the year away and then come back with all the boys it has been really special.
“And to contribute in the way I did today, it could not have been any better to be honest.”