After snatching back second place in the final round of the season, Lakes Entrance has secured a spot in the Gippsland Bowls Region weekend pennant grand final, defeating
Sale in a nail-biting qualifying final at the
Sale Bowling Club.
Scores were tight throughout, with Lakes Entrance emerging 56-51 victors after 63 ends. They will now play the winner of Sale
and Bairnsdale, who face off in the preliminary final this Saturday at the Lakes Entrance Bowling Club.
Bradley Lancaster, Jim Northe, Kevin Brown, and Stephen Smith came from 13-12 down to take the final three ends, winning 17-13. Wallace Mason, Daffy Rawlings, Wayne Jones, and Brendan Addison secured two shots on the last end to break a deadlock, winning 18-16. Eric Spence, Margaret Brandhoj,
Darren and Joanne Martin built an early 21-11 lead, only to drop the final five ends,
going down 22-21.
In division one, the final round and preliminary final were played over the weekend, with Lakes Entrance 2 set to meet Orbost in this week’s eastern conference final at Lakes. The sides met last Saturday at Orbost, with Lakes 2 narrowly prevailing 54-50, the rinks shared. Michael Bratt, Jeffrey Wilson, Johannes Kool, and Barry Roberts were pivotal, winning their rink 23-17, while Mike McKay, Clement Hochkins, Ray Ricca, and Harley Johnson halved theirs 14-14.
Lakes Entrance 3 booked their finals berth with a clean sweep over Bairnsdale 3 at home, 77-52. Winners were Ian Morris, Adrian Culph, Tom Rowe, and Sharon Hall (30-23); Lynton Rathjen, Geoffrey Rawlings, Mark Elliot, and Samuel Berlingeri (21-15); and Charles Lesiw, Frank Ryan, Stanley Short, and Mark Campbell (26-14). They were cut down on Sunday, comprehensively defeated by Orbost 64-48, with only
Lesiw, Ryan, Short, and Campbell on the winners list, 20-16.
Lakes Entrance 4 experienced an emotional rollercoaster in the first week of division two finals, clean swept by Paynesville 62-26 on Saturday before bouncing back with a hard-fought 45-42 preliminary final win against Lindenow at Bairnsdale Bowling Club.
The victory sets up a rematch with
Paynesville in this week’s Eastern Conference grand final.
The sides have met three times this season, with results evenly split: Lakes won by 15 in round two, and the sides drew in round nine. Ryan Dobson, Colin Grassby, Bob Lucas, and Tony Spink were winners for Lakes 4 on Sunday, 30-18.
THIS WEEK
Saturday, February 21
Division one east (conference final):
Lakes Entrance 2 v Orbost at Lakes Entrance Bowling Club.
Division two east (conference final): Paynesville v Lakes Entrance 4 at Lakes Entrance Bowling Club.
