The Tuross Head Grade 5 Open Gender Pennant side travelled to Merimbula to play in the Zone 7 playoffs to determine the side to make the State Finals. Unfortunately, they didn’t manage to win the playoff against Merimbula, Mollymook and Worrigee Sports.
The playoffs were a round robin with Tuross drawn to play Merimbula in their first game. Merimbula went into the event as favourite with the extra advantage of playing on their home green – one of the few artificial surfaces on the South Coast. Despite this the Tuross side acquitted themselves very well forcing the match into the final end with the
Score finishing a very close 50 shots to 48 in favour of Merimbula.
Peter Macdonald, Rose Farrington, Allan Etheredge and Bruce Lidbury finished strongly on their rink to record a 19 -14 victory. After 11 ends they trailed by 7 – 12 but then won 8 of the remaining ends to finish in front.
Geoff Lee, Col Fletcher, Marcel Kors and Denise Lidbury also played their best bowls in the second half of the game. After a very slow start they were behind 5 – 19 after 12 ends. To their credit they rallied and had a chance to grab a win when they were just 3 behind with an end to play. Though they won the end they could only score one shot to see them go down 20 -18.
Doreen Monks, Noel Downie, Irene Macdonald and John Monks had the opposite experience on their rink. In a very tight, low scoring tussle they had a slender 11 – 10 lead after 16 ends. However, they fell short on each of the remaining 5 ends to lose 16 – 11!
Their second game, after lunch on Saturday, was against Mollymook. Unfortunately, they could not maintain their good form from the morning session. Both Monks and Bruce Lidbury lost their rinks - 28 – 14 and 21 -13 respectively. Monks struggled to get into the game and was down 17 – 3 after 8 ends. Lidbury started better and was ahead 12 – 3 after 9 ends but only won 1 of the last 12 ends!
Denise Lidbury’s team fared better in a low scoring game. The scores were level at 11 all after 17 ends. They picked up the biggest score of the game, 4 shots, on the next end to give them the advantage. They were able to win the game 17 – 14
Mollymook won the game 63 shots to 44 and their final match with Merimbula would determine who would qualify for the State Final.
Tuross gained some redemption scoring an emphatic victory in their final game against Worrigee. Both Monks and Denise Lidbury had good wins.. Monks won 22 – 10, while Denise Lidbury won 24 – 12. Bruce Lidbury had a tight match before going down 20 – 24.
In this game Tuross won 66 shots to 46. Merimbula confirmed their place in the State finals when they defeated Mollymook 62 – 46.
Congratulations to all of the players who represented the Club so well not only in the Zone finals but also in the sectional play.
