Werribee has defeated Preston-Reservoir to make it three wins on the trot in Bowls Victoria division 1.
The Bees were unusually slow starters under lights at Chirnside Park on Friday, but once they took the lead they were never headed.
“They took off in front of us early and we slowly pegged them back over the course of the night,” Bees skip Snowy Barker said. “We just played more consistent towards the end.”
Three of the four rinks were neck and neck all night. Barker’s rink of Ross Mayne, Dave Kelly and Nick Alderson broke the match open with a 28-shot triumph.
“Our blokes were just too consistent all night as a collective,” Barker said. “We were close for a couple of ends and then we got on top of them from the fifth or sixth end and stayed well in front and got further ahead.”
The Bees claimed three of the four rinks.
Rob Panton finished up by five shots, while Peter Ware had a nailbiting two-shot win.
Mick O’Neil went down by five.
The Bees are hitting their straps nearing the mid-point of the season. They will reserve judgment on their season to date until after they play Bundoora on the road on Saturday when they will have played all teams once.
Meanwhile, Friday night bowls was considered a resounding success for the Bees. The seed was sown by Preston-Reservoir, who offered to play on a Friday night in exchange for the Bees playing a Saturday twilight match later in the season.
The playing conditions differed from the usual Saturday afternoon games, but bar takings were up and the players enjoyed the concept.
“We had a roll the night before under lights just to see if it changed conditions and the carpet changed a bit as the night got cooler,” Barker said. “But on the game night it got a bit quicker, which helped us.
“A lot of the players said it was good, as it freed up the Saturday for them to do what they wanted to do.”
