Altona has marched into Yarraville-Footscray and shown it who’s the boss of western suburbs bowls.
The A’s returned with a convincing 86-63 win to give the newly promoted Combine a taste of what to expect in its first season back in the premier division.
A’s skip Brett Dodd said it was always sweet to get one over the neighbours.
“Altona and Yarraville-Footscray have been pretty big rivals over the years,” he said. “They like to knock off Altona … vice versa, we don’t like losing to them.
“They’re always big games. It doesn’t matter where the sides are on the ladder, they’re always pretty even games. We kicked away a bit at the end, but they were right in it for most of the day.”
The A’s claimed three of the four rinks, with Brad Peck the biggest winner, by 13 shots over Ray Coulter.
Peck’s rink has been the stand-out for the A’s in the opening three rounds.
“He’s on fire and he’s got a good rink behind him,” Dodd said. “They’re definitely our strongest rink, on form and on paper.
“If we can keep it tight, they generally get the job done most weeks. Pecky’s probably the in-form player in the whole side at the moment.”
Peck, a former Tasmanian, piqued the interest of the A’s after skipping for his home state. He has spent five seasons with the A’s, becoming one of the more dependable players in the team and a well-liked figure in the clubhouse.
Dodd enjoyed a 22-14 win over Jamie Pearce, while Brett Foley edged out Alan Dove 21-16. Combines player-coach Wayne Roberts was his side’s only rink up, defeating Brenton Coad 22-19.
The A’s will play Bundoora RSL in a later, 3pm game on Saturday, while Yarraville-Footscray travels to Moonee Ponds.
