The Triples had one of the round one games played.

A Singles semi-final one: This was marked by Kevin Miller. Susie Simmons defeated Ray Fitzalan 31-24. Ray led 10-3 at the ninth end, having dropped only two ends. Susie then came back over the next 12 ends to draw level on 17-all. From there it was a tussle for the lead; still all-square on 23-all in the 30th end. A single for Ray put him in front but four successive twos gave Susie the win.

A Singles semi-final two: This was was marked by Brian Burke. Alby Homer defeated Mick Sewell 31-26. While Alby scored first, Mick had a good lead, 13-7 in the 11th end. Alby then won four of the next five ends to equalise the score at 16-all in the 18th end. Mick maintained the lead until the 28^th end when Alby scored a three, but Mick took it back with a four. The last three ends went to Alby with seven shots to claim victory.

B Singles semi-final two: This was marked by Ian Shaw. Mark Withers defeated Arch Ledger 31-27. It was close in the early stages with equal scores on 4-all and 6-all. Mark then scored well to lead 15-8 then 23-12 after 23 ends. Arch won the following six ends and 10 shots to be only one shot down with the score 23-22 in the 29th end. The closing stages had Mark winning five of the last eight ends for the required eight shots.

B Singles final: This was marked by Ian Shaw. Mark Withers defeated Paul Rodenhuis 31-17. Paul scored first but Mark soon equalised then passed Paul to lead 19-6 in the 16th end. Paul then put seven ends together to be only three shots down, 19-16 in the 24th end. From there, as Paul's endurance flagged, Mark took control and closed out the game after 32 ends.

A Pairs round one: Ray Fitzalan and Luke Dobbie defeated Bob Lindsay and Anthony Morrissey 27-19. After the teams scored two each, Ray and Luke added another 12 shots In the next five ends. Bob and Anthony came back with five shots but Ray and Luke held the lead so that the score was 20-8 in the 13th end. A six, followed by a two and a single had Bob and Anthony only three-down with the score 20-17. Each side then won alternate ends with Ray and Luke scoring seven shots to two.

A Pairs round two: Phil Gray and John Archer defeated Susie and Mick Simmons 33-15. Susie and Mick were leading 7-2 after five ends but a six for Phil and John put them into a strong position. A two for team Simmons was their last scoring for seven ends while Phil and John added 19 shots. Three ends added five shots to the Simmons' score but a four in the 20th end was the end of the game.

Club triples round one: Garry Hotham, Chris Stafford and Anthony Morrissey beating Joe Young, John McDonagh and James Nau 20-16. This was a close game with the lead changing frequently. Scores were level on 5-all, 12-all, 14-all, 15-all, 16-all. The last four ends saw Garry's team win four singles to win the game.

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Wednesday, March 9

Game one, rink eight: Ray Noonan and Paul Rodenhuis (WE, LHS of card) defeated Alby Homer and Ron Cambey (THEM, RHS of card) 20-17. THEY were leading 5-4 after five but then WE took the lead 10-9. THEY equalised at 10-all then led 16-11. WE won seven shots in three ends to lead THEM by 18-16. A single for THEM was their last while WE took the last two ends with singles.

Game two, rink 10: Jim Grives, John McDonagh and Brucie Rich beat Bob Lindsay, Joe Young and John Martin 20-17. Bob and his team were well in front by the eighth end, having won six ends with the score on 12-4. Jim's crew came back to equalise at 14-all, then 15-all. Three singles for Jim's side put them in front, 18-15 on the 18th end. Two shots each ended the game.

Game three, rink 11: A drawn game was the result between Trevor Kellock, Jeff Larsen and Barry McPherson against Denis Oxley, Bob Foster and James Nau. Trevor's team racked up shots including a six to take the lead 12-6 after eight ends. Denis's team got their act together with 11 shots over the next seven ends to take the lead 24-15 after 18 ends. It was then Trevor's team's turn to fire, adding four,one,four in the last three ends to end on 24-all.

Game four, rink 12: A remarkable 31-shot margin resulted when Norm Hayes, John Fulton and Pam Warren belted Ian Cunningham, Phil Murray and Robert Keady. Norm's team had 10 shots on the board after four ends, starting with a five. Ian's team managed to add four shots, but another strong scoring run had Norm John and Pam add another 19 shots in seven ends. The game finished with the score standing at 43-12.

Saturday, March 12

Game 11, rink eight: Bryan Bromfield and Ian Schofield won over Ray Noonan and Bruce Rich with a score of 22-15. Bryan and Scoey won the first four ends and seven shots. Shorty and Bruce scored four but this was countered by five for Bryan and Scoey. At the 14th end, while leading 21-7, Shorty and Bruce won the next six ends and eight shots, but not enough to close the gap.

Game two, rink nine: Norm Hayes and John Fulton teamed up again, with swinger Jim Grives against Alex Birkens, Phil Murray and Jim Grives. Alex's team opened strongly so that by the 10th end, the score was 12-4. In quite a turnaround, Norm's team hit the front after a three,four,four thus leading 15-12 in the 13th end. They conceded a single and went on to score another 10 shots, including a five to lead 25-13. A four for Alex's team ended their scoring; a couple of singles for Norm's team had the final score on 27-17.

Game three, rink 10: A close win by one shot went to Denis Oxley, Barry McPherson and Pam Warren in their game against Bob Lindsay, Arch Ledger and new member Daniel Prasad. After scores of 3-all then 7-all, Denis' team scored four shots. Bob's team then won the next six ends, including a six to give them 13 shots and the lead on 19-11. That ended their scoring run as Denis, Barry and Pam added nine shots in the last four ends to win, 20-19. The one-shot margin won them the jackpot though, around $300!

Game four, rink 11: We welcomed back Hans Hummelshoj after a long period of illness, for a game with Kevin Miller and Grant Brunton. They played against Ron Cambey, Trevor Kellock and Bob Foster.

Unfortunately, Hans wasn't able to complete the game, retiring a couple of ends from the finish. Kev's team were leading 12-5 after the eighth end; Ron's team then added three. Kev's side then added seven thus leading 19-8 after fourteen ends. That margin was reduced to seven as the ends won were equal. The final score was 22-15.

Tuesday, March 15

St Patrick's Day mixed mufti day

Game one, rink 17: Shorty Noonan and Rhonda Henry defeated Garry Hotham and Julie Martello 26-10. After nine ends, Shorty and Rhonda were in the lead with the score on 9-3. Garry and Julie won the next four ends and six shots. After that, they scored a single shot in the 17th end while Shorty and Rhonda went on to finish on 26-10 having won six of seven ends.

Game two, rink 18: Paul and Judy Rodenhuis beat Barry and Annette McPherson 14-12. Paul and Judy got away well by winning seven shots in the first five ends. This lead helped the win as Barry and Annette then won more ends in the second half as conditions changed.

Game three, rink 19: Norm and Lorna Hayes defeated Kevin and Margaret Miller 21-18. Norm and Lorna also started well with a lead of 8-1 after seven ends, then 21-8 after 14. Marg and Kevin won the last four ends and 10 shots to fall short of a win by four.

Game four, rink 20: Ron Cambey and Maureen Josh won the game against Jim Grives and Elaine Carter, 28-8. Ron and Maureen led 10-2 after seven, then 11-6 after 11 ends. The last seven ends saw Jim and Elaine win a solitary two while Ron and Maureen added 17 shots to their score.

Game five, rink 21: Ian Schofield, Joe Young and rapidly improving swinger James Nau played against Trevor Kellock, Annette Myers and James Nau. Scoey's team were leading 9-4 at the sixth when Trevor's side picked up a six to take the lead by one. A four, then a one for Scoey put them in front, a lead which they held to the end with the game ending on 21-18.

Bathurst Real Estate Juniors

Harry and Charlie Morrissey and Flynn Armstrong were joined by some Bathurst High School students, Oscar and Lachie Simeonidis and Oscar Dehnert.

They were getting some practice in before trying out for the Western Schools Sports Association Triples to be held at Orange on March 25. While they have expressed interest in playing, their experience was rudimentary, so they were taught the basics of grip, stance and delivery. It was great to see the improvement.

By The Bowling Shark

This week at the Majellan Bowling Club there were no bowls on Tuesday (March 8) due to the weather.

This coming weekend will see the Women's Pennants team finally head to Forster for the State playoffs. This is how the week rolled:

Wednesday, March 9

Rink nine: Marg Nyland, Robyn Stenhouse and Ron McGarry were taught a lesson against Marg Hayes, Sue Murray and Tim Pickstone who were ahead 15-0 by the 8th . Team Pickstone offered the mercy rule by the 17th to win 26-5.

Rink 10: Robyn Adams, Merle Stephens and Leonie McGarry were in a battle against Liz Draper, Merle Stephens and Peggy McIntosh. Throughout the match the scores were tied four times and Team McGarry surged ahead in the latter parts of the match to win 21-19.

Rink 11: Val Zylstra and Alan Clark were in the box seat against Maureen Taylor and Mel Parker. With level scores on the 6th (5-all) Team Clark opened the scoring gates to win the match 17-9.

Rink 12: Peter Zylstra and Pauline Clark fought for every point against Betsy Thornberry and Des Sanders who were 16-4 ahead by the 11th . The match was locked in for Team Sanders to win, but Team Clark scored on the last end to snatch victory to win 20-19.

Saturday, March 12

Rink two: Kerry Connors, Trevor (I don't listen) Sharpham and Hugh Brennan were set for a win against Dick Graham, Jeff Adams and Dave Josh with a 11-3 lead by the 9th.

But it all fell apart for Team Brennan in the tail end of the match when someone (Trevor) had several too many end drinks to go down to Team Josh 19-18.

Rink three, A Pairs Championship final: John Crocker and Laci Koszta were in a battle against stalwarts Peter Naylor and Mick McDonald. The match drew level on the 10th (8-all) and from there Team McDonald proved experience counts to win the title for 2022, 23-18.

Rink four: Peter Phegan, Michael Nobes and Ron McGarry were out of the gates for the first 13 ends to be 17-8 up against Phillipe Legall, Terry James and Noel Witney. Team Witney tried to fight back, but fell short in the end 22-19.

Rink five: Peter Mathis, Des Sanders and Ron Hogan had to play catch up against Dennis Harvey, Terry Clark and Peter Zylstra until the 12th end where scores were level (7-all).

From here Team Hogan rolled to victory, winning 16-14.

Rink six: Andrew Moffit, Ray Minogue and Terry Burke were up 17-6 by the 11th against John Bosson, Colin Pickstone and Ted Parker.

Team Burke continued the scoring momentum to win the match 29-14.

Rink 10, mixed pairs championship: Mel Parker and Craig Bush were in a tight tussle against Pauline Clark and Alan Clark. With scores tight on the 8th (5-all) and again on the 18th (13-all). The match came down to the wire with Team Bush taking a 15-14 win.

Sunday, March 13

Both the men's (6's) and the women's pennant teams had a trial match to hone the skills ready for the state playoffs. With 16 players this is how they fared:

Rink 10: Peter Drew, Hugh Brennan, Ron McGarry and Noel Witney were in the box seat against Kerry Lucas, Robyn Adams, Leonie McGarry and Peggy McIntosh. However, Team McIntosh fought back on the 7th to score for the next five ends to be 10-6 in front. Team Witney fought back to take the win 21-14.

Rink 11: Pauline Clark, Mel Parker, Sue Murray and Merle Stephens were up 158 against Kerry Connors, Dave Josh, Jeff Adams and Alan Clark. With Team Clark trying to fight back, they called the match too early for Team Stephens to take the win 18-10. The women win 30-29.

This wraps up another week at the Majellan Bowling Club. The entire club wish the Women's Pennants Team good luck in Forster and here's hoping for the big win.

See you on the green and stay frosty.