Werribee has elevated teenage sensation Jayden Christie to the important role of skip for the No.1 side in Bowls Victoria men’s division 1.
Christie has been a revelation for the Bees and stamped himself as a future star when named in Australia’s under-18 squad last week.
Bees player-coach Snowy Barker said it was a no-brainer to hand the brightest young prospect at the club the reins to one of the four rinks.
“His ability is so good,” he said. “The lead-up games I’ve seen him play in have just been unbelievable.”
The Bees will put support around Christie to ensure he learns the role the right way and is not thrown in at the deep end to fend for himself. He will be able to sponge information from fellow skips Barker, Rob Panton and Mick O’Neill, while Dave Kelly, veteran of the side, has been strategically placed in Christie’s rink at third to be a sounding board.
“He’ll be a mentor in a way,” Barker said. “He’s had over 40-odd years experience so the structure will be there behind him.”
Christie is the only change in the skips, with the other three “locked and set” from last season. The rest of the side, however, is another matter.
The Bees will again be forced to fill a number of voids in their top side.
“We’re going to be playing a lot of new blokes,” Barker said.
“We’ve again lost four or five out of the top side, but we’ll just keep whacking away, front
up again, enjoy ourselves and see what happens.”
It is too early for Barker to offer up an expectation for the summer.
One non-negotiable is to win the vast majority of games on their home track at Watton Street.
“We expect to win at home, same as last year,” Barker said.
So far, so good, as the Bees made a flying start at home with a 93-61 win over Lilydale in the season opener on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Hoppers had a miserable start to life in division 2, losing 84-54 to Werribee (2).
It was Ian Andrew’s first game as coach of Hoppers.
