In the hit movie The Castle, lead character Darryl Kerrigan spoke about the “serenity” of his family trips to Bonnie Doon.
You could easily say the same about the fortunes of Altona in the first seven weeks of Bowls Victoria premier division.
A calmness has descended over the A’s this summer that has seldom been evident in the past two seasons.
There is no fluctuating form line, no rink changes from week to week – just a settled 16 that have made a perfect 7-0 start.
According to A’s skip Brett Foley, last year the club struggled early and came home strong.
“Last year, we didn’t really click and no one played up to standard,” he said.
“We’ve got the mix of the rinks right already this season.
Sometimes it takes half a year to get your mix right with the rinks, but we’ve got it right from word go.”
The A’s extended their winning run on Saturday with a 103-61 mauling of Mentone at Civic Parade.
Mathew Rennex (up 20) and Shane Fordham (up 18) were merciless, and Foley (up nine) was solid.
Brad Peck finished down five to be the only losing skip.
“It was pretty comfortable,” Foley said of the overall result.
The improvement at the A’s has come from their depth players. Bryce Young, Lenny Callus, Colin Davis and Reed Chanter have made significant contributions after Foley asked for more from them in the off-season.
“I’ve asked from them for a bit of improvement and it’s happening,” Foley said.
“They’ve stepped up and started the year really well.”
Despite the white-hot form, Foley is urging his players to stay grounded, with tough matches coming up against surprise packet MCC Kew Sports (third) and Brighton (fourth) in the next two weeks.
MCC Kew Sports, promoted to the top flight this summer, has been a revelation.
“It’s going to be a tough test at their home ground,” Foley said. “They’ve knocked off a few good teams.
“They’re going better than what most people expected.
“We won’t be taking them lightly.”
Meanwhile, Yarraville-Footscray suffered its first loss of the division 1 season, going down 81-61 to Burden Park.
As a consequence, the Bulldogs gave up top spot in their section to Glenroy.
The Dogs will be looking to get back into the winners’ circle, where they have spent so much of this season, when they host Edithvale at Francis Street on Saturday.
