A 15 YEAR wait for premiership glory is now just one win away for Moulamein, with the club set to do battle for the ultimate prize against three-time defending champions Murray Downs this Saturday afternoon.
It will be just the second time that Moulamein have played in the Division 1 Murray Valley Playing Area decider, with their one and only grand final coming all the way back in 2009-10, when they coincidently defeated the same opponent they will lock horns with this weekend at the Swan Hill Bowls Club.
Saturday’s match hasn’t come by accident for Moulamein, with the club enduring many ups and downs, and several heart breaking finals defeats, including a loss in last year’s preliminary final.
Just two players – Martin Stephens and Aaron Worboyes – remain from Moulamein’s only Division 1 premiership team 15 years ago, with Stephens, who is now Moulamein president, telling the Gannawarra Times it will be a pretty special moment for his club.
“To make it through to the grand final is a pretty good feeling, it’s been a long time since we’ve made it this far and it’s been a long time coming it’s fair to say,” Stephens said this week.
“It will be a pretty special moment for our club and one that everyone has been waiting a long time for.
“We’re a small club and a small town, we only have about 30-odd members, whereas Murray Downs have a lot of players and are a pretty strong club – but I guess that makes us the underdogs.”
Although Stephens is happy to hand the title of premiership favourites over to Murray Downs, it’s his team who have plenty of cause for optimism, with Moulamein having secured a three-shot win over the Rams a fortnight ago in the semi-final.
In fact, Moulamein have defeated Murray Downs in every encounter between the two clubs this season, including a a 14-shot win back in round 5 and a 79-shot to 55 drubbing in round 10.
Despite their head-to-head record being one way traffic this season, Murray Downs president Garry McCaig is confident his team is ready to break through and claim his club’s fourth consecutive MVPA Division 1 title.
“They (Murray Downs) have done an excellent job all year with our squad having stepped up a division after the creation of the Northern Valley competition,” McCaig said.
“Moulamein are pretty much unchanged from last year, while our team basically lost 12 players.
“It’s a credit to our players and the club with the way they’ve gone through the season and I think we’re in with a big chance, Moulamein certainly won’t want to take us lightly.”
Murray Downs have dominated the MVPA first division for the past three seasons, and a win on Saturday would further enhance their legacy as one of our regions bowling superpowers.
But while Saturday is shaping up to be a battle of David and Goliath, Stephens knows his team couldn’t be any better prepared to end the Rams premiership reign once and for all.
“We’re confident about tomorrow and Murray Downs haven’t beaten us this year yet,” Stephens said.
“With that said, we won’t be over confident either because they (Murray Downs) are a very good side with plenty of experienced heads in their team.
“The semi-final win was huge for us though, we were behind at half time but we rallied and managed to get over the line, but most of our games against them (Murray Downs) this year have been close finishes.
“We can’t afford to let our guard down, any side that makes it through to a grand final doesn’t make it by mistake, they’re (Murray Downs) obviously good enough to get there and they’re also a team in form.
“I think we have our combinations right, so hopefully we play well as a team on the day.
“It’s the combinations of each rink really, that’s where we feel our strengths lie and hopefully that holds us in good stead tomorrow.”
With very little separated the three rinks a fortnight ago in the semi-final, with all three rinks ending in a three-shot win to the respective teams.
The combination of Peter Furnell, Raymond Wilson, Les McPhee and David Timmins would prove to be the only successful rink for Murray Downs that day, with Mark Evans and Aaron Worboyes leading their combinations to victory on their respective rinks and a direct path through to Saturday’s grand final.
While Worboyes will lock horns with Furnell and Dennis Compton will do battle against David Uebergang this time around, the match between Evans and Murray Downs Ken O’Bree and their respective teams will remain exactly the same as it did in the semi-final, with McCaig expecting that contest to be a pivotal one in deciding this year’s premiership.
“The rink that will be the big match up I feel will be Ken O’Bree against Mark Evans, I think whoever wins that rink will go a long way towards determining the result,” McCaig said.
“(Mark) Evans rink over the year has been very good, with his wife Kerryn (Evans) playing as third, but Ken (O’Bree) has a pretty strong rink also.
“Overall, I don’t think anyone will be disappointed if Moulamein wins, they’ll certainly be a popular winner because they’ve been trying to win it for years, but it will be a fairly competitive match.
“Our team is pretty good and we know how to win, which is important when it comes to grand finals.
“It will be a good match and I hope Murray Downs wins of course, but there’s little doubt that the crowd favourite will be Moulamein, which is fair enough.”
MURRAY VALLEY PLAYING AREA
DIVISION 1 GRAND FINAL
MOULAMEIN v MURRAY DOWNS
SATURDAY, MARCH 1 – 1.00pm
SWAN HILL BOWLS CLUB
GRAND FINAL TEAMS
Moulamein
Team 1
Neville Graham
Darren Arthur
Garry Armstrong
Dennis Compton
Team 2
Louisa Dean
William Wilson
Kerryn Evans
Mark Evans
Team 3
Martin Stephens
Sam Evans
Jess Dehne
Aaron Worboyes
Murray Downs
Team 1
Josie Boyd
Kerry Power
Harry Whitford
David Uebergang
Team 2
Judy Wilson
Keith Burrage
Douglas Fisher
Ken O’Bree
Team 3
David Timmins
Darryl Barry
Raymond Wilson
Peter Furnell
MURRAY VALLEY PLAYING AREA
GRAND FINALS
SWAN HILL BOWLS CLUB – 1.00pm
DIVISION 2
Balranald 1 v Racecourse 3
DIVISION 3
Murray Downs 3 v Tooleybuc 1
DIVISION 4
Racecourse 5 v Nyah District 2
