WERRIBEE overcame a tumultuous off-season to produce a stunning 91-71 opening-round win over Bundoora RSL in the Bowls Victoria premier division at the Bee Hive at Chirnside Park on Saturday.
The Bees lost six regular first team players, including player-coach Brett Dodd, and were widely tipped to struggle this summer, but pushed the poor reviews to one side and got on with the job.
“It was good to get off to a good start considering the lost clientele,” Bees skip Snowy Barker said.
“We just played with the blokes we’ve got, took care of what was in front of us and had a red hot crack at it. A few blokes stepped up and played well.”
Barker was not plastering over any cracks that appeared during winter.
He admitted it was a troubling time to see the quality of personnel walking out the door.
“It was pretty low all round,” he said. “We had to get up for the first game. It was certainly a boost getting a win first up.”
Players were greeted with cold and slippery conditions.
The Bees relished the quicker green brought about by a downpour shortly after the commencement of play.
It sped up their synthetic surface and the visitors struggled to adapt.
“It definitely suited us,” Barker said.
Barker picked up a commanding 28-12 win over Damon Di Florio.
Ben Major got up 20-13 and Darren Christie had a crushing 29-17 win.
It was a timely warning from the Bees to write them off at your own peril.
A highlight for the Bees was the debut of Rob Panton, who recently arrived from Tasmania.
“First game for a new club, he performed pretty well,” Barker said.
“He had a trial down at Altona and didn’t work out.
“He came to us and we signed him straight away. He’s slotted straight in.”
The Bees will hit the road for a clash with newly promoted Brighton in the second round on Saturday.
Bowls Victoria
Premier division: Werribee 91 d Bundoora RSL 71
Division 2: Hoppers 72 lt Sunbury 89
