Sport
31 January, 2026
Leaders find form on slick greens
BRIDGEWATER’S Division 5 side travelled to Golden Square on slick greens and adjusted quickly, holding a strong lead at the bell.
The momentum continued in the second half, with all rinks maintaining their form to secure an impressive 51-shot victory overall in the Bendigo bowls playing area encounter.
The standout rink was the quartet of Curtis Mangan, Rae Broadbent, Graeme Thomas and Barbara Catto, dominating from start to finish to post a 41–7 win.
Glenn Mangan also bowled superbly as skip, steering his rink through the closing ends to salvage a 17-all draw.
In Goldfields action, Bridgewater hosted finals-bound Maryborough Highlands White, going down by 28 shots overall. Chris Brooshoft’s rink, despite an eight-shot loss, finished as the home side’s best performed rink on the day.
Meanwhile, top of the ladder Division 4 side Calivil continued its strong run towards the finals with a good win over Harcourt.
Inglewood
Inglewood’s weekend Division 1 bowlers bounced back in impressive fashion on Saturday, securing a hard-fought four-shot win, while Division 5 produced another determined effort before going down by 13 shots.
Matches were played in the morning to avoid high temperatures Saturday afternoon.
Division 5 collected two rink wins to secure four valuable points in an increasingly tight ladder race.
With the Bul-a-bul Cup to be played at Inglewood this Saturday against top side Bridgewater, every point is proving crucial.
Best rink: Ben Scoble, D. Shay, Pam Kelly and Brian Oughtred, who claimed a six-shot victory.
Division 1 again found themselves in a nail-biting finish, this time against Bendigo East, with the result decided on the final end.
Inglewood led by three shots overall with two rinks still to finish. Craig Kelly’s team, five shots down when the skipper stepped onto the mat, produced two superb draw shots to give the final rink a five-shot buffer.
More pressure followed when skipper Ian Chamberlain also faced a five-shot deficit on his last end. His steady draw into the head secured second shot.
When the Bendigo East skipper was unable to alter the outcome with his final bowl, Inglewood sealed a much-needed win.
Final scores: Inglewood 80 shots (12 pts) d Bendigo East 76 shots (6 pts).
Best rink: Merilyn Chamberlain, Robert Stranger, Bruce McClymont and Geoff Wilson (skip) with an 11-shot win.