Sport
17 January, 2026
Bowlers start their run to finals
INGLEWOOD has a tough road home in Bendigo Division 1 bowls, facing three of the top four sides in the remaining four rounds as play resumes after the Christmas break.
INGLEWOOD has a tough road home in Bendigo Division 1 bowls, facing three of the top four sides in the remaining four rounds as play resumes after the Christmas break.
The weekend pennant team is second last on the ladder, 25 points ahead of Golden Square, which it faces in the final week.
Also waiting are Kangaroo Flat (second), Bendigo East (fourth), and runaway leaders Castlemaine.
The Woodies will be hoping the last-round clash against Golden Square isn’t a relegation play-off.
In Division 2, Serpentine is second last and also battling against relegation.
Second-placed South Bendigo is this week’s opponent, but then Serp faces three teams outside of the top four, so survival in the division is in the team’s own hands.
Calivil sits comfortably at the top of the pile in Division 4, with winnable matches to come against Marong (eighth and last), Harcourt (fifth), Kangaroo Flat (second) and Dingee (sixth).
Dingee has a remote chance of making the finals, while Marong looks destined for relegation.
Division 5 sees Bridgewater on top and Inglewood sitting sixth on the ladder.
Bridgey plays second-placed Kangaroo Flat on Saturday, and victory would be a major confidence boost with finals looming.
Seventh-placed Golden Square and Bendigo (third) follow, along with Inglewood.
The Woodies have bottom side South Bendigo, Bendigo, Bridgewater and Golden Square to play in the last four rounds.
In Goldfields weekend pennant Division 2, Bridgewater has an uphill battle to rise from its current sixth place.
It meets fifth-placed Talbot this weekend, followed by MHS White (2), which is third, MHS Black (1), which heads the ladder, and fourth-placed Maryborough Golf in the final round.
ST ARNAUD Country Club and Wedderburn face a season-defining clash when North Central bowls returns on Saturday.
The weekend pennant Division 1 teams are third and fourth on the ladder respectively, with four consecutive defeats seeing Wedderburn tumble from unbeaten in top spot to the cusp of dropping out of the top four.
Only four rounds remain before the finals, so the pressure in on both sides.
Midweek pennant resumed on Tuesday.
ST ARNAUD 54-1 lost to WEDDERBURN 64-2. J. Prendegast, M. McRae, P. Micallef, T. McSwain (s) lost to L. Don, S. Standfield, R. Hall, A. Roberts (s) 11-21. P. Duncan, D. Ostarcevic, M. Hufer, P. McRae (s) d R. Ashley, H. Stephenson, L. Standfield, S. Steel (s) 26-22. H. Stevenson, M. McIntyre, S. McIntyre, J. Matthews (s) lost to R. Little, J. Murnane, L. Goodwin, J. Grant (s) 17-21.
DONALD GOLF 75-2 d BOORT 72-1.
C. Stopps, J. Hollis, L. Kelly, G. Rigby (s) d P. Gould, S. Polack, D. Gibson, J. Gibson (s) 27-20.
W. Livingston, S. Donnellon, B. Dixon, P. Hibberd (s) d T. Noles, G. Tweddle, J. Earl, W. Keenan (s) 30-15.
M. Frank, T. Boyd, R. Reseigh, S. O’Shea (s) lost to L. Newsome, Y. Cashen, P. Baker, T. Moresi (s) 18-37.