Sport
4 March, 2024
It’s a three-peat for Highland Tartan, claiming division one Saturday pennant flag
It’s a triple treat for Highland Tartan, who landed their third consecutive premiership with incredible shot-making in their 62-33 grand final success at Avoca against Dunolly Blue. The margin of victory belies the quality of the game, with both...
It’s a triple treat for Highland Tartan, who landed their third consecutive premiership with incredible shot-making in their 62-33 grand final success at Avoca against Dunolly Blue.
The margin of victory belies the quality of the game, with both teams making some terrific shots throughout the afternoon, but it was Highland Tartan which held all the cards throughout, landing significant blows to keep Dunolly Blue at bay.
Much of Highland Tartan’s success can be attributed to Michael Fryar’s rink, which performed strongly at the most important time of the season, establishing a big lead right from the get-go.
Their 26-9 victory came thanks to a dominant start which saw them lead 21-3 at one stage, before Alan Weir and his team were able to score some late shots.
Across the other rinks, things were a little tighter. Greg Shay’s battle with Peter Waters was close throughout the day, but Shay was able to hold Waters and his team at bay, eventually taking victory with their 18-10 success.
Highland Tartan would land the sweep, with Garry Coburn’s team emerging victorious in the tightest battle of the day, scoring a 18-14 win over Tony Galofaro.
It was an incredible turnaround from Highland Tartan throughout the balance of the season.
After losing two successive games in rounds three and four to Talbot Gold and Dunolly Blue respectively to fall to fourth position, Highland Tartan battled back to take a top two spot in the final round.
Their semi-final clash was perhaps the biggest turning point of the season, roaring back into the game against Dunolly Blue after trailing by double digit shots to force extra ends, where they eventually won by one shot.
That led to Saturday’s perfor-mance, in which Highland put together an incredible day’s effort to answer every Dunolly Blue challenge.
It’s a point not lost on Highland Tartan side manager Garry Coburn.
“We got over the line and bowled pretty well all day,” he said.
“The old saying is you can’t play your good games at the start of the year. At the end of the year, it’s a telling factor. It’s no good being your best at the start, you have to gradually work into it and get into your peak at the end of the year.”
Coburn paid tribute to the efforts of Fryar and his team, which helped Tartan take command from the outset.
“When you have a rink up early all day, it takes the pressure off the other two. Greg Shay was also up all day, so it makes it a bit easier overall. You just have to stick with it and keep a rink tight, you don’t really want it to blow out,” he said.
“Our rink was a bit slow early, but we eventually stuck with them and got in front of them.”
That rink, he says, was an important rink to win, given the performances of Galofaro’s rink, which was the top-rated on the player ladder throughout the season.
“I thought the green rolled really well, and it was a matter of who adopted it quicker. Tony Galofaro’s rink is a really good rink, so it was good to stick with them, and to beat them by four shots is even better. They’re a terrific rink,” he said.
“There were a couple of ends where we looked pretty ordinary and were about five or six shots down, and I was lucky enough to come in and draw a couple of shots, which took a lot of pressure off and was a bit of a turning point of the game for our rink.
“To the credit of the other guys on my rink, they bowled really well in the second half and got bowls around the head, which was really good.”
With Highland Red also winning the division two premiership, it was a double dose of joy for the club, while the midweek pennant Tartans will also be playing off for a premiership in today’s grand final against Dunolly Blue.
“The Reds played really well today. It was a good game, the scores were a bit one-sided towards the end, but it was good to get up. We also have the midweek Tartans on, which is another bonus, and if they can get up, it would be even better,” he said.
Coburn paid tribute to Tony Lacey, who took over as bowls president at Highland this season.
“Tony took it over, and he has three teams into a grand final and picked up two premierships, which is a bonus,” he said.
