By Jack Rollings
It was a hot high 20s, and the bowlers weren’t used to it. It was a day for sunblock and sun hats and drinking lots of water.
Monbulk 1 played away against Donvale. Before this round, Donvale had won just one game and was sitting on the bottom of the ladder. Monbulk was on top. The Donvale green is a sand-filled synthetic with a base as hard as concrete. It is not an easy green to play with finesse but the home side played it well and it wasn’t straightforward for Monbulk.
Brian Smith’s team had a close game for most of the day and won ten ends. They led in the first quarter, then dropped three big ends in the second quarter, to trail by 6 shots. They stayed in touch in the third quarter, then came back strongly in the last quarter to level the scores on the sixteenth and eighteenth ends. Unfortunately, the last three ends went Donvale’s way and Monbulk lost the rink 16 shots to 20.
Jim Bras’ team won nine ends in a low-scoring game where no clangers were given by either side. Just before the cuppa break, Donvale snared five ends in a row to take a 7 shot lead at the halfway mark. After the break, Monbulk won more ends but Donvale had managed to grab six doubles to Monbulk’s three doubles and Monbulk couldn’t make up the difference. Monbulk lost the rink 12 shots to 18.
Karen Rice’s team has had a dream run so far this season. But the Donvale team weren’t intimidated by that reputation. In the first third, Monbulk was just 2 shots down. They tried short ends when they won the mat, but Donvale knew their green very well and played competitively at any length. Monbulk won eight ends but the losses included two 3s, two 4s and a nightmare 7-shot clanger on the last end. Monbulk lost the rink 17 shots to 32.
Eric Markham’s team had a close tussle in the front half but drew away in the run home, winning the final four ends. They won twelve ends all together and, in their losses, gave away mainly singles, with just one double. Their wins included five doubles and a couple of 3s. Monbulk won the rink 21 shots to 10.
Overall, Monbulk lost 66 shots to 80 with just one rink up. Monbulk has now slipped off the top position into the second spot. Next week Monbulk plays at home against Ferntree Gully in the final round before the summer break. Monbulk won at their previous meeting at Ferntree Gully so they will be trying hard to repeat the result on their own Monbulk ground.
Monbulk 2 played at home against Willow Lodge 1. The recently deep-washed greens at Monbulk were behaving differently for a couple of weeks, but now the home sides have settled into the refreshed surface and are happy to take the home-ground advantage whenever possible.
Peter Lee’s team had a strong day out. They dropped only seven ends and lost nothing more than 2s. Their wins included three 3s, three 4s and a 5. At the halfway mark they were already 14 shots up, and in the run home, they broke right away, winning the final five ends with 12 shots. Monbulk won the rink 35 shots to 11.
Alan Hamilton’s team struggled in the front half and trailed by 7 shots at the break. But they staged a good comeback after the break to level on the twelfth end. Then Willow Lodge grabbed 10 shots over the next four ends to again leave Monbulk trailing. Then Alan’s team won the final five ends to almost get over the line, but not quite. They lost the rink 23 shots to 24.
Don Barnetson’s team had a close contest all day. The scores were level several times and the lead changed hands several times. With two ends to go, Monbulk was leading by a single shot. Then Willow Lodge managed to grab the final two ends and Monbulk had to settle for a loss on the rink 17 shots to 19.
Graeme Goller’s team continued their strong performances. They won fourteen ends including two 3s and four 4s. At the break, they were already 15 shots up and in the back half and they grew the margin and won the rink 31 shots to 10.
Overall Monbulk won with a good margin of 106 shots to 64, with two rinks up. They are still third on the ladder. Next week they play away under the roof against Narre Warren who is just 8 ladder points above, in second place. Both sides have six wins and two losses, so this will be a battle for the second spot.
Cockatoo/Monbulk played at Cockatoo against Mooroolbark 6.
Anthony Young’s team won 31 shots to 9.
Ken Earle’s team won 24 shots to 13.
Martin Cattanach’s team lost 15 shots to 23.
Mark Blythman’s team lost 21 shots to 23.
Overall Cockatoo/Monbulk won 91 shots to 68 with two rinks up. They are now sitting third on the ladder with a healthy ratio of four wins to three losses. Next week they have the bye so it will be a few weeks off for this side until the rounds resume in January.
