Werribee has endured another bout of travel sickness in Bowls Victoria division 1.
The Bees’ away losing streak this season now stands at three after Saturday’s 73-70 loss to Kew Heights.
While it was a marked improvement from the previous road trip, it wasn’t enough to appease Bees skip Snowy Barker, who is getting sick and tired of replaying this broken record.
“Have we turned the corner? No, definitely not,” he told the Weekly.
“I’ll be ramming into them how disappointed I am with the loss. I’m not going to accept mediocrity.”
Acclimatising to the opposition’s surface is a major part of the problem for the Bees, as all their rinks battled in the first half of the game but came home strongly once they familiarised themselves with conditions.
But three of the four rinks left their run too late.
Barker says his side is taking too long to build confidence on foreign territory and it’s not unlike the ills suffered by opposing clubs visiting Chirnside Park, where the Bees hold a flawless record.
“It’s just a mindset,” he said. “We’ve got to be more confident in our ability to play the game.”
Barker’s rink was the only one up for the Bees, squeezing in by four shots.
Once they hit the lead, they didn’t relent.
Peter Ware was down by as many as nine shots but picked up seven on the last three ends to make it a thrilling finish, ultimately losing by two.
Rob Panton trailed by eight, but fought back to lose by a single shot, while the Mick O’Neill rink had a four-shot loss after a see-sawing battle.
Sheldon Miles was the most impressive of the promoted players for the Bees.
Fresh faces will continue to be inserted into the line-up in a bid to find a winning formula away from the Hive.
“We’ve got to try them all to see what they can do,” Barker said.
The Bees (2-3) host high-flying Elsternwick Club (4-1) featuring state player Brad Martin at Chirnside Park on Saturday.
