Last year’s division two premiership team earned promotion to the top level after winning three finals to take the title from season-long ladder leader Moama Steamers.
Skip Jennifer Crilly will be aiming for a repeat of the personal success she, Brian Stokes and Geoff Crilly had in 2023-24.
The trio was ranked inside the top 10 players in the division two competition, which Stanhope won by one shot in a thrilling grand final with Moama Steamers.
Kenneth Hoppner has joined the trio as second, a role which was played by Teena Harris for much of last season.
Stanhope had an opening round bye and all three skips — Jennifer Crilly, Jamie Stokes and Peter Myers — have 1-1 win/loss records this year.
Myers’ rink of Harris, Austin Maxwell, and Bruce Pearson has been the best performed rink, winning one game and losing the other one narrowly.
· Tongala Red is on track to improve dramatically on its finish in the 2023-24 season, the lead and skip duo of Frank Van der Burgt and Beth Vistarini leading the way.
The team won five of its 14 games last season (with two draws) and finished ninth on the ladder in the 12-team competition before the introduction of a fourth division into midweek Campaspe Playing Area pennant bowls.
This year it has won two of its four games and had the chance to improve further yesterday when it played one of the two teams below it on the ladder, Lockington.
Van der Burght and Vistarini share the same statistics (ranked 12th and 13th overall), having won three of their four games, with third bowler Bernadette Tinning playing in two of those wins.
Van der Burght was the 10th ranked player in division three last season, which was Tongala’s highest seed.
· Kyabram’s Boswood brothers, Charlie and Henry, have played leading roles in the Goulburn Valley Playing Area’s three-round domination of Murray Playing Area’s representative team.
Playing alongside another experienced clubmate, Robert George, the 24-member Goulburn Valley men’s team won all three rounds — 86-47 in round one, 65-54 in the second round and 86-59 in the third.
Charlie Boswood, leading for Krist Ferguson, opened with a 22-5 win, while his brother Henry won 13-8 as lead for Guy Madigan.
George was third for Ken Sutcliffe, but that rink lost in round one.
George’s four bounced back with an 18-12 round two win, while Charlie’s rink drew with a rink that included three of his former teammates — Jacob, Josh and David Cartwright.
Henry lost in round two, but bounced back with a round three win 12-10.
Charlie’s four was again dominant in the third round, winning 20-4 and George’s team, was a 16-5 winner.
The Cartwrights had one win, a loss and a draw in their three rounds.
In the women’s event the GV won round one by five shots, lost round two by 20 and was beaten in round three by five shots.
Mary Greco and Jennifer Dixon played as skips, Greco winning round one by three and Dixon an eight-shot winner.
In the second round Greco suffered a 13-shot defeat and Dixon made it two on end with a four-shot win.
Both Kyabram skips lost in the third round.
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