CENTRAL Wendouree will be out to prove it belongs in the premier division right from the outset when the Ballarat District Bowls Division weekend pennant gets under way on Saturday.
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Having won last year’s division one title in a thrilling grand final against City Oval, the Bears were relegated from the top tier two seasons ago and will be keen to stay on top for the 2014-2015 season.
Central Wendouree clashes with Victoria, which just missed out on the finals last year.
In other premier division matches, the grand final rematch between Queenscliff and Geelong will be the highlight of the opening round, with the Cliffers looking to start their back-to-back campaign in the best possible fashion.
Ocean Grove takes on Avenue, Sebastopol hosts Bareena and Lara will be welcomed back to the top tier with a road trip to Webbcona’s home turf.
Congratulations to the Blackburn family from Webbcona Bowling Club, with Greg and his two sons Matt and Todd all set to line up in this week’s premier division.
Division one also looks set for another competitive year with last year’s runner-up City Oval taking on a strong relegated premier side Ballarat East in the opening week.
Creswick will be looking to open its account early against Daylesford after winning division two.
BMS versus Learmonth should be a tightly-contested game and last year’s minor premier Ballarat will keep teams on their toes, starting with Smeaton this week.
Buninyong and Mt Xavier will battle it out at Buninyong’s new clubhouse.
ROUND ONE WEEKEND PENNANT DRAW
DIVISION ONE: Creswick v Daylesford, Ballarat East v City Oval, Buninyong v Mt Xavier, BMS v Learmonth, Smeaton v Ballarat
DIVISION TWO: City Oval v Webbcona, Waubra v Cent Wend, Clunes v Linton, Midlands Golf v Sebastopol, Victoria v B.M.S
DIVISION THREE: Avenue v Victoria, Beaufort v Creswick, Ballarat Nth v Sebastopol, Learmonth v Cent Wend, Webbcona v Ballan
DIVISION FOUR: Daylesford v City Oval, Mt Xavier v Smeaton, Sebastopol v Ballarat East, Ballarat v Buninyong, Victoria v Midlands Golf
DIVISION FIVE: Invermay v Webbcona, Sebastopol v Avenue, Cent Wend v Mt Xavier, B.M.S v Linton, Midlands Golf v Victoria
DIVISION SIX: Beaufort v City Oval, Ballarat East v Ballarat Nth, Buninyong v Sebastopol, Victoria v Clunes, Webbcona v B.M.S
DIVISION SEVEN: Smeaton v Cent Wend, Linton v Midlands Golf, Learmonth v Waubra, Ballarat v Sebastopol, Creswick v Bungaree
DIVISION EIGHT: Avenue v Webbcona, Sebastopol v Invermay, B.M.S v Midlands Golf, Daylesford v Buninyong, City Oval v Bungaree
DIVISION NINE: Victoria v Ballarat East, Invermay v Beaufort, Ballan v Learmonth, City Oval v Ballarat Nth
Meanwhile, the midweek pennant season started with the right weather on Monday, giving all bowlers something to smile about no matter the results of the first week.
All eyes were on division one’s grand final replay between defending champion Smeaton and Central Wendouree.
Central Wendouree proved too strong for Smeaton, getting the Bears off to the start they were looking for.
City Oval showed no nerves in its first game in the top division in defeating Daylesford, while Webbcona won away from home by a single shot over Sebastopol.
Midlands and Creswick also had strong starts, with all rinks winning.
LADDER:
DIVISION ONE: Midlands 16, Central Wendouree 16, Creswick 16, City Oval 14, Webbcona 14, Sebastopol 2, Daylesford 2, Mt Xavier, Smeaton, Avenue.
DIVISION TWO: Creswick 16, Beaufort 16, BMS 14, Clunes 14, Victoria 14, Daylesford 2, Sebastopol 2, Ballarat North 2, Avenue, Central Wendouree.
DIVISION THREE: Linton 16, Central Wendouree 16, City Oval 14, BMS 14, Buninyong 14, Invermay 12, Learmonth 4, Midlands 2, Webbcona 2, Smeaton 2, Sebastopol, Daylesford.
DIVISION FOUR: City Oval 16, Mt Xavier 16, Cent Wend 14, Ballarat 14, Invermay 14, Clunes 14, Victoria 2, Creswick 2, Midlands 2, Sebastopol 2, Smeaton.
Draw for over-60s men’s singles on Thursay
Linton draw, players required at 9.30am: D Flintoff v B Gallagher.
At 12.30pm, winner of morning game to play R Crawley, J Glenton v B McKeegan, C Gibson v P Widgery, P Orr v L Vincent, H Johannsen v J Nunn, J Ryan v J McGrath. Manager for the day is Kevin Lafranchi, first-named players to provide markers.
Ballarat North draw, players required at 9.30am: W Burge v R Densley, C Bolte v E Harwood, C Baker v G Seymour, G Lucas v B Watson, R Oonk v N Verlinden, G Allen v S Walters, W Roberts v B Nunn, R Haddrick v S Stupavski, N Constable v S Wereszczuk.
Players required at noon: I. Robinson, T. Lee, R. Jones, R. Storey, T. O’Farrell, T. Bowtell, B. Hickman, P. Townsend, R. Adams and W. Silbereisen.
Manager for the day is Scott Plater, first-named players to provide markers.