Wodonga booked its place in the Ovens and Murray A1 pennant grand final with a convincing 37-shot victory against minor premiers Benalla at Corowa Civic on Saturday.
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The Bulldogs claimed three of the four rinks in the 106-69 result.
Josh Rudd stunned Victorian Open triples champion Matt Robertson, 31-13, while Ashley Bates’ rink was impressive with a 31-11 defeat of Shawn McMahon.
Kylie Whitehead continued her strong form with a 33-19 triumph over Brian Hogg, while Benalla’s only rink win came via a 26-11 salute for Chris Cooney against Paul Davies.
Bates was delighted with the performance.
“We got out to a lead of probably 20 shots after 25 ends,” he said.
“We really played well across all rinks, even the rink that got beaten.
“Josh Rudd put on an exhibition against Matt Robertson, he really seemed to have the wood on him.
“Chris Bird was in for Ray Moon and played solidly up front and Mark Westwick played well.”
Bates doesn’t believe Wodonga’s momentum will be affected as they enjoy a week off ahead of yet another decider.
“Everybody is playing a lot of bowls and I’m playing in a big tournament in Yarrawonga this week,” Bates said.
“It will be good to have the week off and we'll have a bit of practice on Saturday morning.”
Benalla gets a second chance in next Saturday’s preliminary final against YMGCR.
After losing their final two matches of the season, YMGCR responded in style with an impressive 109-76 win in the elimination final against local rivals Yarrawonga at Club Mulwala.
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YMGCR won all four rinks, led by Ray Irvine’s 33-18 victory against Kevin Evans.
Leslie Spencer saw off Tyson Cromie, 29-21, Garry Sanders edged out Ian Woods, 21-17, while James Lefevre was a 26-20 winner against Tim Cromie.
Irvine admitted everyone played their part.
“Jimmy Lefevre bowled magnificent against Tim Cromie,” he added.
“That was probably the danger rink because Tim is such a good bowler, but Jimmy bowled really well.
“Because it was two local clubs, there was a few people there and the atmosphere was good.”
Irvine added they’ll take plenty of belief into the Benalla clash.
“They’ve beaten us both times, but there’s only been half-a-dozen shots in it,” Irvine said.
“Even down at Benalla, I think there was only six or seven shots in it.
“If you have a rink that doesn’t go down badly, you’ve got a chance.”
Corowa RSL progressed to the A2 grand final and will await the winner of Mansfield and Rutherglen.
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Beau Greenway
I like to tell the stories of great people in our communities. Email: beau.greenway@austcommunitymedia.com.au
I like to tell the stories of great people in our communities. Email: beau.greenway@austcommunitymedia.com.au
