Werribee had a rude awakening as it returned to second-tier Bowls Victoria division 1.
The Bees, relegated from premier division last season, slumped to an 81-80 defeat on the road at Kingsbury in the season opener on Saturday. Bees skip Snowy Barker said the loss was a wake-up call for his players.
He said it was disappointing, given Kingsbury was not generally regarded as one of the division’s most highly credentialled sides.
“It’s a tough way to start, but we’ll get them together and say there’s the reality,” he said.
The Bees’ only winning rink came courtesy of their newest skip, Rob Panton.
With a nine-shot win, he did all he could to aid the Bees, but narrow losses to Barker, Mick O’Neill and Peter Ware would be their downfall.
“It was his first year with us last year from Tassie,” Barker said of Panton.
“I knew he’d feel comfy at a new club playing skip, which he hasn’t done before.
“I said, ‘You’re going to have to step up and play skip after playing three for me’, and he did.”
Panton’s elevation to skip was brought about by the exits of a number of key players.
One of them, Darren Christie, crossed town to coach Albert Park.
But Christie’s talented teenage son, Jayden, stayed with the Bees and showed his quality against Kingsbury days after claiming a gold medal in the pairs and a silver in the fours at the under-18 national championships in Western Australia.
“He’s an up and comer,” Barker said.
While the Bees were shocked with their first-up loss, Barker said it wouldn’t lead to rash decisions at the selection table ahead of Saturday’s home opener with MCC.
“We got beat by one shot overall – it’s no drama,” he said.
“We’ve got to build a bridge, get over it and saddle up again.”
Meanwhile, Hoppers Crossing got off to a flyer in division 3 with an 80-75 win over Laverton.
