Two thirds of the way into the season, Yarraville-Footscray is still none the wiser about its destination in the Bowls Victoria premier division.
The Bulldogs have all three outcomes on offer: they can reach the finals, finish in mid-table or even be relegated.
The eighth-placed Dogs are just nine points out of the top four, but they are also only 14 points above the relegation zone.
That is why Yarraville-Footscray’s tense 81-75 win over second-last MCC at Francis Street on Saturday was so important. It afforded the Bulldogs some breathing space from the relegation places.
The Bulldogs claimed three of the four rinks to pick up 16 of a possible 18 points.
It was an arm wrestle in all rinks with Bulldogs skips Wayne Roberts (24-18), Chris Ball (20-16) and James Pearce (17-16) leaving it late to wrap up rink wins.
The only Bulldogs rink on the losing side was Ray Coulter, who went down 25-20 to MCC’s Michael Wilson. Yarraville-Footscray will travel to powerhouse Melbourne looking to cause an upset on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Altona remains in the driver’s seat at the top of the ladder – and comfortably so. The A’s opened up a 22-point lead in first place with a commanding 84-71 win over Essendon at Civic Parade on Saturday.
Dane McKinnon’s rink had a day out for Altona, winning 28-12. There were also wins for A’s skips Brad Peck (23-14) and Brett Foley (22-17). Nathan Wilson was the only A’s skip to drop points, going down heavily 28-11 to Essendon’s Jay Bye-Norris. Altona will be out to keep the good times rolling when it travels to newly promoted Deer Park on Saturday.
Lance Jenkinson
