Sebastopol Bowling Club shot straight to the top of the Ballarat-Geelong Bowls premier division following its 49-shot win over City of Geelong.
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Premier division player Ian Warner said the side did not know how it would perform in the round one encounter given the lack of preparation it had had following the poor weather.
But a 117 shot to 68 victory resulted and kick-started its campaign.
“We weren’t totally sure how we would go,” Warner said.
“You never really know until you play the game. We were extremely pleased with our first-up performance.”
It now faces a tough opponent in Ocean Grove, a side Warner rates extremely highly.
He felt the match-up would give the club an early indication of where it stands in the competition given he believed Ocean Grove, who beat Queenscliff by 14 shots in round one, would be a contender come seasons end.
“This is another big challenge for us, we play Ocean Grove, which is one of the Geelong powerhouses, they will certainly be in contention for finals – so it’s a good test for us.
“It will be a testing game and a good gauge of where we’re at at this stage of the season.”
The Sebastopol outfit welcomed a number of recruits to the club over the off-season – many of which are young players.
Warner felt the added youth to the premier side would benefit the team with not only their skillset but bringing a great energy to the team.
Often with new recruits comes a period of time where the newcomers jell together. But Sebastopol made a seamless transition, finding great form from the first rink.
This is another big challenge for us, we play Ocean Grove, which is one of the Geelong powerhouses, they will certainly be in contention for finals.
- Sebastopol's Ian Warner
“I think the few new recruits we’ve got combined extremely well, everyone performed as a team.
“A quarter of our side is under 25. It gives us a bit of youthful enthusiasm.
“We were very pleased with Josh Barry who made a winning debut as skipper – his was an impressive performance.”
In other matches, premier division newcomers Bareena and Buninyong lock horns. City Oval and Lara will be looking to keep its winning start to the season in tact.
Queenscliff will be looking for a response after going down in round one, but face a tough challenge in reigning premier Victoria.
Webbcona take on City of Geelong with both clubs looking to open its accounts.