Rochester Bowls Club

The Rochester Bowls Club has been buzzing with activity this weekend.

Besides lots of 21-up and 100-up games being played, we had four finals matches played.

On Saturday, Jan 10 the Men’s Championship was played out between Anton Gusak and Rob Clayton.

After a very tight match, Rob came away with the win, to take out his third club championship.

Rob previously won the title in 2013 and 2022, congratulations to both men, this was truly a magnificent game to watch.

The many spectators at the club also enjoyed the Men and Ladies B-grade final. The men’s final had extra interest in the fact that it was played between father and son, Alan and Kyle Williams.

Kyle has done exceptionally well to have qualified to play in both the B and C-grade finals, in only his second season of bowls.

Alan played some great bowls to take out the title of Men’s B-grade champion. He, too, has done well, having won both C-grade and B-grade with only four seasons of bowls under his belt.

The ladies B-grade championship was a competitive match between Raylee Willis and Joan Limbrick. Congratulations to Joan for taking out the title.

In blustery conditions on Sunday morning, Jane McCallum managed to take out her second Ladies Championship title.

Congratulation to Jane on her win, fighting hard to master the wind. Carol Cakebread was her worthy opponent. Well done to both bowlers.

The finals were played on excellent greens, and praise goes to our greenskeeper Matthew Walles and the group of men who help him out regularly.

Thanks also to the markers, scoreboard attendants and umpires who all give freely of their time and talents.

Bowlers are reminded that entries for the Mixed Pairs competition closes next Sunday, January 18. Please note when the first round needs to be played.

The ladies have extended the time for when the 100-up and 21-up events need to be played because opportunities to play matches have been impeded by extreme weather. The current round can be played up until Monday, January 19.

60-and-overs bowls, scheduled for Rochester this Wednesday, Jan 14 has been re-scheduled to the Tongala Bowls Club.

Weekend pennant will begin again next Sat, Jan 17 and Midweek Pennant on the following Tuesday, Jan 20.

Bar Duty 5 – 6.30pm Monday - Thursday

12 - 15 Jan- B Coghill and D Hocking

19 - 22 Jan- G Willis and K McCormack

26 - 29 Jan- K Barker and R Feuk

Lockington Bowls Club

1-1-2026

There’s a bit of a lull in proceedings at the club during the Christmas and new year festive break.

However, there have been a couple of reportable actions worth detailing.

The final round of the 60-and-over competition was held at Lockington before the break and a local team of ‘golden oldies’ under the entry name of club president John van den Bosch was successful with an outstanding display of bowling from all team members.

The ladies in the kitchen were thanked for the excellent presentation of meals.

The green staff members were acknowledged for presenting the glorious playing surfaces.

The 60-and-over competition will resume in the new year.

The club championship is nearing completion, with most of the final matches decided over the weekend.

In the third round of the championship, Lloyd Buchanan defeated a gallant Neil Haines 26-14 and proceeded into the quarter-final and met Phillip Cunnington.

In the game against Haines, the match was very competitive with scores close before Buchanan suddenly applied heavy pressure and scored good numbers while restricting his opponent to singles.

In the top half of the draw, the game between past champion Steve Pavone and Dave Thomas was a semi-final to remember.

Both contestants displayed excellent draw bowling with close heads before Thomas edged ahead to close out the match and win a place in the championship final after winning 25-23. A real classic.

Lloyd Buchanan met Phillip Cunnington in the quarter-final and produced more of his untapped talent to take the early ascendancy 18-8 before Cunnington collected a couple of ends to trail 16-19 on the 22nd end.

Buchanan was unmoved as he picked up six shots over the following four ends to win a place in the semi-final 25-17.

Both bowlers were applauded as they left the green.

Buchanan will play Andy Harris in the semi-final, with the winner to meet Dave Thomas in the final.

The club will hold the annual Twilight Legends 2-bowl Triples tournament commencing at 5.30pm (any combination).

Contact Cindy Felmingham 0427 849 232, Ray Hanson 0435 991 865 or Neil Haines 0457 056 591 for entries.

Entries close Saturday, January 10. This event is generously sponsored by Westwoods.

A happy and prosperous new year to all kindred clubs and bowlers.

9-10-2026

The club championships are almost complete, with one decided and the other to be announced on Monday, January 5.

In the women's championship semi-final battle, between current champion Leanne McInnes and Kim Ray, the pair fought out a brilliant contest with the scores fluctuating throughout the game.

Scores were level at 12-all on the thirteenth end before Ray picked up consecutive ends to lead 20-15 as McInnes was trying desperately to stay in touch.

Suddenly, the current champion Leanne McInnes closed out the match, grabbing the required shots over the following three ends to win the semi-final 25-23 and proceed to the final where she will play Sue Harris.

Both bowlers were applauded as they left the green.

Ray would be naturally disappointed after displaying such immaculate bowling throughout, only to be defeated on the cusp of victory.

The men's championship semi-final between Lloyd Buchanan and Andrew Harris produced accurate draw bowling with a mixture of aggression and a bit of banter between the two contestants.

The scoring was on an equal basis as one bowler gained a slight ascendancy before the other would hold sway with some precise, decisive deliveries.

It was Buchanan that eventually ground out victory, 25-21, against a gallant opponent in Andy Harris.

On Friday, the big day arrived for the Club Championship to be decided between Dave Thomas and Lloyd Buchanan.

The green was in impeccable condition as the two contestants went into battle.

The large crowd in attendance were in a confused state of shock as Thomas completely dominated the early stanza, as he opened up a possible match winning 14-2 advantage on the tenth end.

Buchanan appeared shell shocked as he fought tenaciously to try and bridge the threatening gap and win the mat.

However, Thomas was in no mood to surrender the early ascendancy and continued on with some immaculate draw bowling to draw to a 22-10 lead on 21 ends, before closing out the championship 25-10 and collecting his first ever club championship title.

Both players were given applause as they left the green.

Buchanan was just a little out of touch following his majestic form shown in the earlier matches.

Congratulations to Dave Thomas on his victory and the best of bowling in the Campaspe Area Club Championship play-off.

The club will be holding the annual Twilight Legends 2 bowl Triples (any combination) on Monday, January 12, commencing at 5.30pm.

Entries to Cindy Felmingham 0427 849 232, Ray Hanson 0435 991 865.

Entries close Saturday, January 10.

This tournament is generously sponsored by Westwoods.

12-1-2026

Welcome to the new year of 2026, and what a warm welcome it has been. Not much activity during the hot spell, however there are a couple of results worth noting.

The biggest story of the moment was the final of the women's Club Championship, played between current champion Leanne McInnes and the promising Sue Harris.

The game was neck and neck during the initial stages, with Harris picking up a maximum four on the second and then winning extra ends to lead 7-5.

Eventually, McInnes unleashed her brand of championship form to win consecutive ends and break away to a 14-8 advantage on eleven ends.

Harris was trying desperately to stem the tide and won a couple of ends before McInnes led 21-10, then proceeded to take out the required shots to win her seventh Club Championship title 25-10.

Both bowlers treated the large crowd to a magnificent display of lawn bowls. Leanne McInnes will now represent Lockington in the Campaspe Area State Club Champions event.

Last Tuesday evening, the barefoot bowls resumed in ideal conditions. The red-hot trio on the night was John Dowie, JD Wright, Peter Eade scoring two wins plus five shots in a runaway performance to collect the chocolates.

Club members have been travelling to local tournaments during the past fortnight with the "fab-four" of Shane Felmingham, John Whiteside, Kim Ray, Cindy Felmingham winning the coveted Dingee Bowling Club Mixed Fours tournament. Well done.

Reminder to all members that Weekend Pennant resumes this coming Saturday, January 17 with Midweek Pennant comes back on Tuesday, January 20 2026.

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