Home is where the heart is for Werribee in the Bowls Victoria division 1.
The Bees play their artificial surface at Chirnside Park so confidently that skip Snowy Barker believes his side should go undefeated on home turf this season.
“We probably shouldn’t lose a game at home,” he said. “It’s a different surface to the grass at other clubs.”
The Bees took full advantage of a hesitant Richmond Union to win 105-69 in a canter on Saturday.
It was no ordinary Union side either; it arrived at Watton Street holding down top spot and with an undefeated record.
“They’re going to be a top four side – no doubt about it,” Barker said of the visitors.
“I just think the difference was our ability to handle the carpet.
“Like we keep telling the blokes, at home we shouldn’t drop a game. It will be a major loss if we do and we’re happy to keep that pressure on ourselves.”
All four rinks got up for the Bees in a whitewash.
Mick O’Neill’s foursome had the biggest win on the day by 15 shots.
Jayden Christie played third for O’Neill and continues to make an impression at age 14.
“He’s coming on in leaps and bounds,” Barker said. “The kids come up and play as 10, 11, 12 and 13 year olds, but the penny drops when they’re 14. They learn all about the control and the hand-eye co-ordination, and their concentration just totally changes.
“He’s going to represent the Victorian under-18s in the singles next month against Tassie, and he won a gold medal in the pairs recently in Perth.”
The Barker and Rob Panton rinks finished five up. Peter Ware, installed as skip to have a steadying influence over his crew, won on a dramatic final end.
“He’s a past club champion and been here and done that at the club for 30-odd years,” Barker said. “We put him in as skip to steady the ship. They were down by two and he had to draw a shot on the last bowl to get a rink win.”
While the Bees are close to invincible at home, they are yet to register a victory on the road this season. They get a chance on Saturday when they visit Kew Heights. Hoppers Crossing suffered its first loss in division 3, downed 82-77 by Werribee (3) in the Wyndham derby.
