By Oliver Lees
After a year of delays, Club Sunbury is finally on the cusp of competing in the Bowls Premier League in front of a national audience.
Sunbury will debut its decorated triples side under the banner of Melbourne Extreme for the 14th iteration of the BPL, which will be held in Moama from February 21 to 25.
Club Sunbury bowls director Marc Bullows said they’d approached Bowls Australia to join the competition, and were ultimately selected to compete when the Melbourne Roys withdrew.
“Bowls Australia wants quality, sustainable clubs in the competition,” he said.
The entry into the competition caps off an exciting past few months for the club.
In December 2021, Club Sunbury was announced as the Club of the Year at Bowls Australia’s annual awards night.
At the award ceremony hosted by Bowls Australia. Sunbury was showered with praise for the implementation of its masterplan, which included the development of a new roofed facility.
Sunbury was also named the best refurbished club by Community Clubs Victoria.
Headlining the team in Moama will be local legend and club ambassador Carla Krizanic, who has recently returned to the green after having a child.
As well as being a Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Krizanic has also taken out world championship medals and represented Australia in more than 200 matches.
She’ll be joined by experienced heads Ali Forsyth and Matt Flapper.
Flapper won a bronze medal at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, while Forsyth was part of the New Zealand Blackjacks, who won BPL3.
The team will be coached by Kelvin Kerkow. Originally from Queensland, Kurkow has bowled for Australia and previously worked as a selector for the national side.
Krizanic said she was looking forward to the tournament.
“It’s a really fun event, the alternative format, added fast paced fun, short sets and tie breakers at one end,” she said.
Club co-ordinator Lloyd Iaccarino said he was looking forward to seeing Sunbury squaring off against the best.
With its shortened format, he likened the BPL to the T20 Big Bash cricket competition, as a model of the game designed to appeal to a younger demographic and a television audience.
Each side will play each other twice, before a final series including four teams will decide a champion.
“It’s the biggest [bowls competition] in Australia for bowls fans. The best players, the highest standard of bowls that we see, you don’t see anything like it in the world,” Iaccarino said.
“It is only going to get bigger, it’s a good time to be involved. BPL14 to BPL20 will probably be the peak time for BPL.”
In an effort to get as many people as possible supporting Melbourne Extreme at the tournament, Club Sunbury is offering a day trip experience to Moama on Thrusday, February 24.
At $40 per person, anyone signing up will get a trip to Moama and back and a venue voucher to use on the day.
The club is also offering Melbourne Extreme memberships and merchandise.
Details: www.sunbowl.com.au
