By Matt Flapper
Ocean Grove pennant teams will be faced with the opportunity to capitalise on a terrific home and away season in the coming weeks, which will commence today with midweek divisions one, six and eight all competing in semi-finals.
Division one finished second on the ladder and went head to head with Queenscliff in the match to advance to the grand final at Geelong Cement, while the sixers also completed the 18 rounds in second place and met with St Leonards in the first play off at Torquay.
Although suffering a last round loss to Drysdale in found 18, the division eight side got an early taste of their finals opposition as they held onto fourth position which set up an elimination final against the same side.
The Grove eights met Drysdale again today at Torquay to decide which side is the best to fight another week.
Disappointment was felt for the division three side. Finishing the season with 10 wins and two draws one agonising point short of fourth placed Anglesea, while a similar situation was felt in the fives just one game shy of fourth spot.
In what has been so far a successful home and away campaign for the Saturday pennant teams, there are several opportunities for multiple divisions to have a crack at the finals series.
With three rounds to go the Premier division side has lifted into contention with back-to-back wins against fourth placed Sebastopol and top placed Bareena.
Sebastopol on the road was the spirited performance the Grover’s needed to find their mark in this competition.
The match held the status of winner takes all and loser may take the fall was in the balance until the final bowl.
The Grovers stood tall and finished strong and in round seventeen went into the match underdogs but were able to back it up against the current top side Bareena.
Tom Warren, Owen Clark, Michael Allen and Skipper Mick West brilliant in the team’s 35 shot overall margin.
The final round will see last year’s grand finalist go head to head at Queenscliff to determine the team that wins the double chance ahead of the finals series.
Our division one side just keep getting the job done as they continue to slide under the radar in the competition.
Several changes to the line-up in past weeks have not deterred the side from the achieving a top two position ahead of the round eighteen clash with fourth placed Highton 2.
A thriller against Drysdale resulted in a win by three in a tough hard fought contest on the Drysdale surface.
Finals bound are divisions four, six, seven and 10.
Four and seven currently sit in first place with one round to play, while six has the opportunity in the final round to seal the double chance.
The 10s come off a forfeit from Bannockburn and a win in the final match will also secure a finals position.
Congratulations to Kevin Beardsley (4) and Doug Gorwell (6) who both celebrated their 200 games for Ocean Grove on Saturday with wins by one single shot overall, while Val Cook reached the games number of 600 last week, which was a remarkable achievement.
Meanwhile, Kira Bourke will contest the final of the Victorian under-25 singles championship after successfully advancing through three rounds on Sunday at Burwood BC.
Olivia Cartwright from Kyabram was the first victim whilst Mildura’s Emma Simmons fell to Bourke in game two.
The semi-final against Kristen Day from Yarra Glen resulted in a 25-14 win, which will see her now take on defending state singles champion Kylie Whitehead from Wodonga.
The final of the event will be played during State Champions week in Bendigo in April.
