Tanner heroics win the day for Howrah
A report for The Mercury by Peter Kirby
Four of the five matches in Round 9 of Bowls South’s Women’s Thursday Pennant resulted in all-rinks wins for the visitors, with only ladder leaders, Howrah, missing out. Howrah’s overall win at Brighton, 71-58, was due entirely to the heroics of Denise Tanner’s rink, defeating Brighton’s Noelene Fehlberg by 18 shots, 31-13, to obliterate the advantage gained by Brighton’s winning skips.
Noelene Fehlberg started well for Brighton, leading Tanner, 11-3, at lunch but the overall experience of Tanner’s rink saw them finish the gruelling day with a convincing win, 31-13. It seems the lunch break can have a significant effect on the afternoon’s outcomes!
While Tanner was a runaway winner in her match, the other two games were very close, with just a few shots difference in each. Tayla Munro had a good start against Howrah’s Charon Foster, 14-4 at lunch.
Foster improved after the break, but Munro held off the challenge to win a closely fought battle, 22-19. First year player, Mel Dolliver, who normally plays in Division 4, was recruited to help fill in for an absent player and showed great maturity in the lead position for Munro.
A feature of another very close contest between Brighton’s Lyn Triffitt and Rosie Geeves’ rink was the good performance of Triffitt’s lead, first year Division 1 player, Jo Leslie, who handled the conditions very well. In a good overall team performance, Triffitt triumphed over Geeves for a second rink victory to Brighton, 23-21.
In a thrilling match at the Claremont Bowls Club on Thursday, Claremont showcased their dominance against Glenorchy City. Despite facing challenging weather conditions, Claremont emerged victorious on all three rinks, by a massive 73 shots, 100-27.
The standout performance of the day came from Maree Morgan’s rink, who held their opponents scoreless until the fifth end scoring, 21 shots up. Their dominance continued throughout the game, eventually winning by a staggering 26 shots against Ingrid Makowski, 36-10.
Not to be outdone, Jan MacPherson and her team displayed their skill and determination against City’s Margaret Poulter, winning convincingly by 27 shots, 34-7. Meanwhile, Meekie Salter’s rink finished strongly in their game with City’s Leonie Hyland, adding 9 shots to their score over the final 2 ends, ultimately winning by 20 shots, 30-10.
This match clearly demonstrated the early form and adaptability of Claremont’s ladies, who skilfully adjusted their weight to counter the blustery conditions.
Glenorchy Rodman’s prospects of a top four finish received a boost after their comprehensive all-rinks, 48 shot win at home to Sorell, 73-25. Despite the margin, Sorell put up a good fight on all rinks.
In a dominant display, in sometimes difficult, windy conditions, Rodman’s Joy Voss and her rink dominated Beth Connell, to win by 26 shots, 30-4.
After being 10-8 up after 14 ends, a beautiful weighted shot by Rodman’s Peta Barnett resulted in a 5 to break the game apart against Vicki Philp. Barnett then went on to win 5 of the last 6 ends to defeat a gallant Philp, 22-10.
Crystal Brooks outclassed Sorell’s Cheryl Holland to complete the clean sweep for Glenorchy Rodman, winning by 10 shots, 21-11.
At Rosny Park, third-placed Sandy Bay was too strong for bottom side, Rosny, winning on all rinks, by 39 shots, 76-37. After heavy rain from thunderstorms the night before the green was slow and together with the fluctuating wind, conditions were difficult for both teams.
Winning 15 of the ends played, the Bay’s Peri Buckley overpowered Judy Sherrin to win by 15 shots, 26-11. After the ninth end, Jac Phillips led Rosny’s Gaylene Ridgeway, 22-0. Ridgeway dug deep over the next 12 ends, picking up 13 shots to 6, but it was not enough to stop Phillips winning by 15 shots, 28-13.
Sandy Bay’s Robyn Leggett and Rosny’s Carolyn Monks all but shared the rink wins, winning 11 and 10 ends respectively, but 4 shot gains to Leggett on the 7th and 21st ends were enough to ensure her a win by 9 shots, 22-13, and a third rink win to the visitors.
Buckingham’s visit to the Kingborough Indoor Bowls Centre ended in an all-rinks, 27 shot loss to a resurgent, and now settled Kingborough side, 47-74. Maddie Johnston’s rink led well all day against Bucks’ Lynette Hall, with precision bowling by Johnston and a valuable contribution from Sally Bowes, to win by 19 shots, 29-10.
With consistent good support from her team, Kingborough’s Kerrie Lane did very well to achieve her first win as a skip for the club, withstanding a late comeback from Bucks’ Christine Thompson for a 5 shot victory, 24-19.
Leonie Price’s rink got off to a great start for an early 12-0 lead, but Buckingham’s Jeanette Lane rallied to slowly reduce Price’s lead. With 3 ends remaining, Price held a slim 2 shot advantage, and absorbing the pressure applied by Lane, won each of the final 2 ends to succeed by 3 shots, 21-18, to complete the Borough’s clean sweep.