Club Sunbury had to dig deep to get over Port Melbourne in the opening round of the Bowls Victoria weekend pennant, division 1, section 1 competition.
Sunbury started the season on the road with a few players, including one of its usual skips, Mark Cowan, unavailable.
After trailing for much of the day, Sunbury turned it around to come away with an 86 (14)-68 (4) win.
Lauchlin Davies’ rink had a 30-15 win, while Lee Wesley skipped the other winning rink to a 24-12 shot win.
Sunbury’s David Glennon said it was a good result to start the season.
“It was nice to win, especially on the road,” he said. “They are always pretty strong so it was nice to get a win, two up, two down.
“There were a few changes to the squad with a couple of people unavailable.”
Glennon said Sunbury was down by about 15 to 20 shots at one stage before it came over the top to get the win.
The rink of Des Cann Jnr trailed by 15 shots before only losing by two shots, 22-20.
The other losing rink was Mark Armstrong’s, which went down 19-12.
Glennon said Davies was the standout in the result in what was otherwise a pretty even team performance.
Sunbury has added two key players as it aims to breakthrough after a number of near misses in division 1.
Armstrong, who is from Sunbury, but lives in Queensland will travel down most weeks to play for the club.
Last season he filled in for a couple of matches.
Cann Jnr is also flying down from Queensland to play as Sunbury’s second marquee player to strengthen the squad.
“Mark is a fantastic presence for the club,” he said. “Des as well the pair of them will be really good.”
The inclusion of the pair has seen some reshuffling with Marc Bullows not skipping in round one, which was the first time in a number of years.
It was a mixed day for Sunbury with its second side, which has been promoted this season, losing narrowly while both its division 5 sides had washouts.
Sunbury’s top side will this week face Whittlesea, which has played in the top couple of grades the past few years.
It’s a big week for Club Sunbury, with its Melbourne eXtreme competing in the Bowls Premier League competition.
In the Ballarat Highlands Bowls Region Highlands division 1 competition, at least three matches were able to be completed despite the wet weather.
Woodend had a 68 (14)-58 (2) win against Trentham, while Kyneton beat Lancefield, 69 (14)-45 (2).
Kyneton Golf had a big win against Broadford, winning 70 (16)-42 (0).
Romsey and Gisborne’s match was washed out with the sides sharing the points, while no score for Diggers Rest and Kilmore was available at deadline.
The two Kyneton teams sit top of the table, undefeated after four rounds.
