Melton’s quest for a Bowls Victoria metropolitan premiership came to an end on Saturday with an 80-66 defeat in the division 1 semi-finals at the hands of Werribee.
Melton struggled early, falling behind by 16 shots after eight ends.
On their home turf, the Bees were always going to fight hard to keep the lead.
They continued to apply the pressure, holding out their western suburbs rivals for the rest of the match to progress to the grand final.
Melton Bowls Club secretary John Adams said coming back from the early deficit was a big ask.
“The opposition did play extremely well,” he said.
“It was their home ground and that’s why they jumped us early. They have been practising on the carpet all week, which is a different surface to what we have.
“Our players took two or three ends to pick it up, and that’s when they got the 16-shot break. That’s virtually what they beat us by; we were just sort of chasing our tails.”
As the afternoon tea break approached, Melton did rally, closing the gap to seven shots and giving itself a chance in the second half.
But Werribee stood firm, regrouping to extend the lead.
Despite the semi-final loss, Adams said his club would be taking a lot of positives out of the season. As well as the division 1 side making the finals, Melton’s other three teams all avoided relegation.
“We’ve been in metro for four years now after coming from the Central Highlands bowls competition,” Adams said.
“All our sides have gone up two divisions and our top division side was only 14 shots away from playing off for the section grand final.
“It was a very good effort for a small club, compared to some of these bigger clubs.
“We’re really fighting above our weight division; we’re more than holding our own. The whole club can be very proud of what’s happened.”
With its pennant competition aspirations ended, Melton is already turning its attention to next season.
Adams believes the club is only a couple of quality players away from being able to take the next step.
“We need to get two or three top-class players,” he said. “That will help us get to that next level. We did get found out a bit against Werribee.
“If we can get those two or three extra players, our other players can go down a position or two and it will strengthen the whole club. That would really help the club next season.”
