Tara Murray
It was heart break again for Melton in the Bowls Victoria weekend pennant, division 2, section 2 grand final.
Playing off in the decider for a third straight season, Melton was hoping it was third time lucky.
But for the second time in the space of eight days, Aberfeldie CBC proved too strong, on this occasion winning 75 (15)-74 (3) to secure the title.
Melton’s Conrad Dawson said it was a pretty sombre affair for the group after the match having been so close.
“It was heart breaking again,” he said.
“We went the whole season really strong and then dropped the bundle right at the depth.
“We were behind all day and they are a good side. It looked like it was heading for a draw but it didn’t go our way.”
Dawson said they trailed by as many as 30 shots earlier in the game, but managed to hit the lead with two ends to go.
He said the whole group lifted to get them back into the match.
Scores were then level, with Anthony Briggs having the final shot of the day.
“Anthony played the last bowl and it was a beautiful bowl, but it didn’t go our way,” Dawson said.
Dawson said they would let the group regroup and have a well earned break before starting to look ahead to next season.
Despite the disappointment of the result on Saturday, Dawson said they were still proud of the group which had achieved a lot.
“It does sting a bit, but we have shown that we can there,” he said.
“If we can keep this group together for many years to come, we can have a lot of success. It’s still a young side and maybe that’s why we’ve struggled a bit in finals.”
In other positives, Melton’s second side which also plays in division 2 avoided relegation after a strong end to the season after being bottom for a lot of the year.
It’s fourth side made the grand final, losing to Port Melbourne in division 7, section 1.
Port Melbourne put out a dominant display, winning 90 (18)-54 (0).
Dawson said they will be back again next year every better.
“We made finals and we will be better for them,” he said.
“We need to regroup and come back. Hopefully we’ll hit the ground running and hopefully fourth time is the charm.”
Meanwhile in division 1, section 4, Bacchus Marsh finished its season with a 97 (17)-58 (1) win against St Kilda.
Phil Minniti’s rink was the big winner on the day, winning 31-11.
Bacchus Marsh finished the season in eighth spot with six wins for the season.
