By Justin Flynn
OCEAN GROVE BOWLS
Ocean Grove snatched a thrilling one-shot win against City of Greater Geelong in Premier League bowls action.
The Grovers are undefeated on top of the ladder and are in ominous form.
Craig Hodges and Tony Joel Lugg both skipped their rinks to victories.
Ocean Grove defeated Belmont in Division 1, 105 to 88 and sits third on the ladder. Owen Clark skipped his rink to a nice win while Alan Callow’s rink enjoyed a huge victory.
Grove is the ladder leader in Division 3 despite a 100 to 81 loss to Drysdale.
In Division 4, Ocean Grove is unbeaten after a two-shot win against Geelong Cement. John Izzard and his team of Anne Way, Peter Eberle and Sandra Murphy had a mammoth 29 to 13 win. Steve Bryant, Adele Ryan, Brendan Carroll and skip Brian D’Elton also played well for a 27 to 15 triumph.
Ocean Grove is in fourth spot on the Division 6 ladder with four wins and two losses. A 114 to 80 win against Belmont was highlighted by a 39 to 11 win by the Brett McCalman-led rink of Colin Schwartz, Peter Snell and Jack Anthony.
Ocean Grove holds a slender one-point lead at the top of the Division 7 table from Belmont after the two sides played out a thrilling tie. After a full day’s play, both sides finished on 100 shots. The Sue Gorwell-led rink was on fire with a 36 to 16 victory, but that was the only rink that emerged victorious for Grove.
Ocean Grove defeated St Leonards to grab a spot in the Division 8 top four. A 66 to 58 win was made possible by David Harvey and Robin Brache.
In midweek bowls, Ocean Grove is second on the Division 1 ladder with a 6-2 record. The team had a massive 60-shot win against Geelong Cement last week with Faye Richardson’s rink prevailing by 25 shots.
In Division 3, Ocean Grove has two teams competing with one side third on the ladder. The two sides were due to play each other last week, but the match was washed out.
Grove sits second on the Division 6 ladder after a 52 to 34 win against Portarlington. Peter Eberle’s rink, comprising Barbara Nicol, Elaine Hager and Sandra O’Keefe, had a big win – 32 to 11.
Grove’s Division 7 side clings to fourth spot after a wash-out split the points against Eastern Park.
Division 8 is proving to be a closely fought group with Grove in fourth position. A win against Geelong RSL with Marlene Ross’ rink winning well and Graeme Constable’s rink prevailing by one shot.
