Ocean Grove is celebrating bowls premierships in the two highest Geelong Bowls Region divisions, continuing its dominance of the sport in the area.
Ocean Grove won the GBR Saturday Pennant and the Midweek Division 1 competitions and picked up a further two flags in Divisions 5 and 6.
The Grovers defeated arch rivals Highton in the Saturday Pennant (played on Sunday March 19) and City of Geelong in the midweek comp.
It was the second time in a row that Ocean Grove defeated Highton in the decider.
Bowls coordinator Tyson Cromie, who played in the Saturday Pennant triumph, said the “buzz on Sunday night was pretty special”.
“Back to back (premierships) for a lot of the players in the side and a couple of fresh faces, which created a bit of excitement,” he said.
“We have a lot of respect for Highton, but there’s a bit of a rivalry there with both sides playing off last year as well.
“They got a hold of us on our home deck earlier in the season and we clinched top spot and going into that first final that last game really lifted us to give us a lot of confidence. We are both two high quality sides.”
Cromie, who took up the role of bowls coordinator and moved from Yarrawonga this season, said it wasn’t until the final bowl of the match that he could relax, knowing that he had just played in his first premiership at the age of 20.
“If it’s mathematically possible you never really know,” he said.
“They could have drawn heading into the last end.
“Peter Loe’s rink got a five on the last to get a draw. Matt’s (Flapper) rink was neck and neck all day he played a lot of great shots.
“Brad’s (Pavey) rink, we jumped out of the blocks early and held them at that 10 shots for most of the game.”
Cromie said the depth of talent at the club was outstanding and even though Ocean Grove’s second side finished bottom in Saturday Pennant and will be relegated to Division 1, they were more than competitive all season.
“They got relegated, but they had seven games by under 10 shots,” he said.
“If you convert those into wins, they make finals.”
Ocean Grove had seven sides in grand finals over the two competitions for four wins and nine teams made finals.
“It’s a fantastic result for our club and a successful year to have the teams we did reach the finals stage and to convert that into four flags,” club coach Matt Flapper said.
“The buzz around the place is fantastic.”
See page 30 for match reports and more pictures.
