Melton Bowls Club duo Mick Galakos and Ray Gnjidic have qualified for next year’s Victorian bowls championships.
Galakos and Gnjidic won the west metro pairs event last month, booking their place in the February championships.
They will take on pairs from 15 other Victorian regions, with the winners set to claim the Victorian title and go on to represent the state at the national championships.
Melton Bowls Club secretary John Adams says it’s a great result for the pair.
“They’ve played pennant and a few social bowls,” he said. “It’s really the first time they have played in any championships. They just gelled really well. You have to win all your games … they won about six to grab it.
“They both play in division 1. They’re in separate rinks, but they do play in the same side.”
The state championships will be held in Bendigo.
The pair’s selection continues what has been a great start to the new season for Melton, which is proving hard to beat in division 1 pennant.
After a big player turnover in the off-season, the new faces have fitted in well, with the club’s top side racing to 3-0 after three rounds. Despite dropping its next two games, Melton remains safely inside the division 1 top four.
Adams said it was a fine balance between pushing for the finals and avoiding the relegation zone.
“We were a little bit surprised with how we have been going,” he said. “We really needed to win these early games.
“We need to try and save relegation and then, at Christmas, if we are in the position we will try and push on.
“We have to persevere with the players we’ve got. If anyone loses form, we will make minor changes and try to rebound.”
Sitting on top of the ladder and undefeated in the division is early premiership favourite Altona.
The A’s are coming off a dominant 2013 season and Adams again expects them to be one of the teams to beat at the business end of the season.
“They have come up from division 2 and I think they were undefeated last year,” he said.
“They haven’t been beaten this year, either, and have a lot of players who have played premier league. They are going to be hard to beat.”
