Ocean Grove’s Tyson Comie is the new bowls state champion, capping off what has been an incredible 12 months for him and the club.
The Grovers won the Saturday Premier and Division 1 Midweek competitions and fared brilliantly at the State Championships in Bendio earlier this month.
Cromie defeated Moonee Valley’s Nathan Lynch 25 to 17 in the final and said his form was a little “scratchy” in the early rounds.
“I thought my first game was a little bit scratchy and then in my second game, I started off really slow,” he said.
“I was nine down and looked like I could have been in a bit of trouble and then, I don’t know what it was, but something clicked and I sort of clicked into gear and after that I thought I played really well in the rest of that game to win.
“And then the semi-final and the final, I thought I played quite well in both. I was in control for probably 80 percent of the game (the final), got myself that four or five (shots) in front then got out to about 10 at one point. Then he (Lynch) caught his way back and I was lucky enough to hold on.”
Ocean Grove duo Brad Pavey and Peter Loe won the Men’s Pairs competition, defeating Yarraville-Footscray’s Brett Mahoney and Wayne Roberts in the final, 20 to 18.
Craig Rippon, Mick West, Alan Drury and Pavey then combined to finish runner-up in the Men’s Fours, going down by just two shots.
Cromie said the reason why Ocean Grove continues to win titles is its “culture”
“Everyone is so supportive of each other,” he said.
“We just want to see the club do well. So it doesn’t matter if it’s me, Matt (Flapper), someone playing Division Nine, someone playing Division Six.
“I think it’s built around that supportive culture and a pretty good management team that’s supportive of the fact that we are a bowls club first and foremost and they put the time and effort in.”
Meanwhile Ocean Grove Barwon Heads RSL is the Edinburgh Shield Champions 2025 after winning at Echuca.
Not only did they win the section but became the State Champions for 2025.
