Sunbury didn’t put its best bowling out on the green on Saturday, but it didn’t matter as the side did enough to secure a Bowls Victoria Pennant division 1 section 1 finals spot.
Needing just one more point than Essendon (2) in the final round of the season, Sunbury was confident of making finals playing bottom team Preston-Reservior.
Sunbury, though, won just one rink and split a second for its 90 (13)-85 (5) win.
Werribee did Sunbury a favour by knocking off the more favoured Essendon side 82 (14)-67 (4), which meant Sunbury finished fourth, six points clear of Essendon.
Sunbury’s David Glennon said while it wasn’t the big defeat of Preston-Reservoir they had been hoping for, they were relieved to have made finals.
Sunbury’s top bowler Australian representative Carla Krizanic led the winning rink 26-15. Shane Trewarne was one of the standouts in that rink.
Brad Willoughby’s rink tied 21 a piece; Brad Janner’s rink lost 26-22, and Mark Cowan’s rink lost 23-21.
“In the end, we only needed one more point than Essendon, as we would have got up on them on percentage,” Glennon said.
“Preston-Reservoir had only won one game for the season, so we were expecting to win 16-2, 18-0 win but it wasn’t the case.”
The finals spot comes in Sunbury’s first season back in division 1. Sunbury now plays minor premier Fitzroy Victoria in a knock-out semi-final.
Sunbury enters the finals on the back of two wins, having lost three games before that.
Glennon said making finals this season was a bonus for the side, which includes several players in their first year at the club.
“We couldn’t have imagined making finals at the start of the season,” he said. “We were just looking to consolidate our spot in division 1. We’ve got nothing to lose … anything now is a bonus.”
Last time the two teams met in round 14, Fitzroy Victoria won 99 (18)-65 (0).
“We lost 18-0, but Carla and Brad Willoughby had close losses,” Glennon said. “Hopefully we’ll learn from that … we know what to expect on their synthetic green. We’re not going in cold like we did three to four weeks ago.”
Glennon said there would be a full list of players to choose from for the final.
Four of Sunbury’s other five sides will also feature in finals’ action. The division 4 side and division 7 section 3 team both finished on top of the ladder. Division 5 side division 7 section four teams finished fourth.
The only side to miss finals was the division three side, which finished fifth, four points behind fourth.
Glennon said it was a fantastic achievement for the club to have so many sides playing finals.
