Sport
13 February, 2026
Top contenders finish strongly
For the St Arnaud club, in Division 1 players travelled to Charlton for the final pre-finals hit-out and produced a decisive win.
THE final round of home-and-away games in the North Central Bowls competition produced plenty of interest.
Division One’s top three – Wycheproof, Donald Golf and Wedderburn – all underlining their premiership credentials with powerful wins.
In Division Two, St Arnaud clung bravely to fourth position despite going down to Charlton. Their effort was helped enormously by a gallant three-player rink that pinched two crucial points, and by strong victories from Country Club over Donald Golf and Wedderburn over Boort.
For the St Arnaud club, in Division 1 players travelled to Charlton for the final pre-finals hit-out and produced a decisive win.
The visitors were slow to adjust to the heavier green, with Charlton holding a five-shot break at both the 5-end and 10-end marks.
Momentum swung sharply across the next ten ends, however, as St Arnaud surged with a dominant 42–8 run, setting up a match-winning advantage.
Terry McSwain, Greg McNally, Maurie Wood and Tony Marland were the standout rink, leading from start to finish against John Headon.
Ashley Dyke, Phil McRae, Col Marchment and Andrea Tyler also found themselves in early trouble at 3–11, but stormed home to win nine of the final 12 ends in a strong comeback victory over Kevin Willey.
Steve Zsigmond, Glendon Hancock, Sandra McIntyre and Anne McNally fought out a thriller. After trailing Wayne Southwell 2–12, they worked into the game, hit the front on the 24th end, and held on to win by a single shot.
In Division 2, Charlton claimed two of the three rinks, but the highlight of the day belonged to St Arnaud’s undermanned trio – Wayne Rourke, Tom Amos and Garry Smith – who produced a magnificent one-shot victory over E. Rosewell despite playing a bowler short.
L. Goodwin, Marie Hufer, Gerald McIntyre and Marg McRae mounted a remarkable recovery from 1–11 to lead 21–17, only to drop six of the last seven ends and fall by a single shot to D. Finlay.
Paul Micallef, Brian Eccles, Di Ostarcevic and Jason Barron also staged a big comeback, turning a 2–11 deficit into a 17–16 lead, before Charlton’s K. North finished strongly, winning seven of the last nine ends.
It was a perfect night for last Thursday’s Twilight Bowls at the St.Arnaud Bowling Club, and it got better as the evening progressed for one player. It was Stephen Greenall’s first twilight game and he was overheard to say during play that he would very much like to win a free pizza
Team mates Greg McNally and Jason Barron helped make Stephen’s fantasy a reality, securing the Country Kitchen pizzas with a big 12 shot win.
Runners-up. seven-shot winners, were Wayne Rourke, Diane Ostarcevic and Chris Batters. The beautiful weather attracted over 30 players, and a couple of them went home winners of Hendy Transport hats.
St Arnaud Country Club hosted Wycheproof in the final midweek pennant match of the 2025-2026 season, enjoying a beautiful morning for bowls.
With hardly a breath of wind, warm sunshine and a green running true, conditions were ideal for quality play — and both sides delivered. The contest was tight early, Wycheproof pushing hard on two rinks, while on the third rink St Arnaud Country Club settled quickly and built a handy lead.
Two rinks finished in draws, while the winner was skippered by Desmond Moulday, securing the home side an overall victory to finish the season on a high.
SEMI FINALS - FEB 14
DIV 1 - AT ST ARNAUD
Wedderburn vs Country Club
Wycheproof vs Donald Golf
DIV 2 - AT CHARLTON
St Arnaud vs Country Club
Wycheproof vs Wedderburn