By Jack Rollings
The last pennant side standing. Cockatoo/Monbulk, aka Cocky Monbulk, aka Squawkn’ Hawks, in division 7 played in the divisional semifinal on Saturday at Burden Park against Port Melbourne. The Burden Park grass greens were running well. The weather was warm, slight breeze, and no jackets were needed. Port Melbourne had two sides playing at the same venue. Their other side, divvy 2, was playing on the adjacent green. They all arrived in a big bus/coach with a lot of supporters. It meant that wherever you looked, there were Port Melbourne shirts.
The game progressed nervously at first, with both sides getting the feel of the green. A few ends in, and the big board showed scores level at 35 shots each. Once again, the midway break wasn’t taken. It seemed to work last week, and it certainly worked this week. Halfway in, two rinks were close, one had a good lead, and the other was behind by up to 14 shots. And, as the afternoon continued, it was the Cocky Monbulk side that controlled the pressure situation better. Mark Coulter’s team remained ruthless all day. Mark Blythman’s team took some big wins towards the end of the day to take the lead with a healthy margin. Anthony Young’s team went from level pegging to a big win. And Ken Earle’s team was able to turn the tables in the back half and reduce the margin. It was a strong emphatic finish and it certainly brought a hush over the Port Melbourne crowd.
Mark Coulter’s team won 30 shots to 4.
Mark Blythman‘s team won 23 shots to 16.
Anthony Young’s team won 31 shots to 15.
Ken Earle’s team lost 17 shots to 24.
Overall Cockatoo/Monbulk won the semifinal 101 shots to 59.
On Sunday, the divisional grand final was played at Glen Waverley. The divisional grand final is a match between the top two sides out of all the 64 sides in metropolitan division 7. Each side has 16 players, making the division total at least 1024 bowlers – more when you consider the substitutes throughout the season. Out of that total, the 16 bowlers, some from Cockatoo and some from Monbulk, stepped onto the green and prepared to give their very best against Berwick 6. There were medals and a huge flag up for grabs. Many bowlers go through their whole careers without making it to a section grand final, let alone a divisional grand final. This was big.
The weather was hot and windy. Blowy enough to take off hats. The Glen Waverley grass green was in great shape, the top of the season. Berwick supporters were there in noisy strength. Cockatoo and Monbulk supporters just kept looking to the big board.
Like on Saturday, both sides started nervously. It was all about the big board – the combined overall score. If one rink was down, the others had to cover the loss. One rink showed us having a good early lead. Two rinks were close. One rink was struggling. The break was taken at halftime, and even that was a worry – ignoring the break had seemed like a successful tactic in the last two matches.
After the break, the pattern of scores was further entrenched – the two middle rinks cancelled each other out. One end rink had fired out to a strong lead. The other end rink was trailing by around 10 shots. On the big board, the scores were close. Even though Cocky Monbulk was ahead, a couple of clangers could have closed the gap in a few minutes. But, the closer the game got to the final eighty-four ends, it became more difficult for Berwick to make up the difference. Mark Blythman’s team collected some good points. Anthony Young’s team stayed close. Mark Coulter’s team was able to contain the losses. And Ken Earle’s team played positively when it was needed.
In the end:
Mark Coulter’s team lost 9 shots to 33.
Mark Blythman’s team won 23 shots to 12.
Anthony Young’s team lost 18 shots to 21.
Ken Earle’s team won 34 shots to 7.
It wasn’t until the last end of the last rink that the CockyMonbulk supporters started to smile – when the game was in the bag. Overall Cocky/Monbulk won the grand final 84 shots to 73. And now they have the medals and flag to confirm it.
It had been an experiment—combining the Monbulk 6-a-side with Cockatoo’s reduced membership. They were down to 10 members this season. And Monbulk didn’t have enough players to field a full third Saturday side on their own. The combination meant a full 16-player side could be entered in the division 7 Saturday competition and still keep the two clubs’ individual identities, wearing their own club uniform. The combined side may have been an experiment this season. But the scoreboard doesn’t lie – the experiment was a success.
