THE scene for the Far Western Bowls grand finals is set.

Preliminary finals were played at Memorial and Portland on Saturday and as is usual the contests were full on.

The biggest margin was 14 shots was the biggest margin and that was in Division four.

Portland Memorial has a side in every division grand final.

Division one was held at Memorial and Portland played Penshurst.

One score was something like 16-3 early on, and after the break the Penshurst teams pushed back and finished the day still behind, but the difference was 13 shots.

In the home and away, the totals were both to Portland with 19 and 20 plus.

Peter Cottier played Mick Ross and the result went to Rossy with 13 to 23.

Tony Hogan vied with Phil Allen for the win, but the result went solidly to Hogan’s team, 21-13.

That left Lindsay Gruar, returning to full time skipper for the last three home and away games, to take on Ali Rentsch.

The Gruar team was supreme and made the difference secure for Portland, winning 29 to 14, and overall, it was a 60 to 53 result.

Portland will now play Memorial in the grand final.

Division two

THE game between Memorial and Macarthur was played at Portland, and the green ran beautifully, the wind was light for most of the day, and the result of this game came down to the last couple of ends.

It was a close game all afternoon with each side taking the lead and then surrendering it.

With four ends to go, the scores were 31-31.

Ted Leahy with his team had control of the Bill Edge opponents and a four after the all-square time set things up for what turned into an overall 11-shot win to Memorial.

The Leahy team scored 26 to Bill Edge six, and don’t get it wrong, there were some good bowls all round, as the rub of the green went to Leahy’s team.

On the next rink, Gerry Watt played Clifton Tonissen and the latter had the better of the scoring opportunities by nine, Watt’s team 19 to Tonissen 28. 

So, Memorial ended up with 45 to Macarthur 34.

Memorial now plays Portland on Saturday.

Division three

THE Dartmoor side had won the first semi-final played Portland again at Memorial.

The home and away games had both been won by the away sides, Dartmoor at Portland by four and Portland at Dartmoor by 11.

This one went to the wire and the result was just four shots.

Portland’s Heather Burgess defeated Ross Kerr 21 to 18, and Peter Longstaff recorded 13 and the ever-reliable Peter Holmes team put 20 on the card, therefore final scores were Portland 24 to Dartmoor 38.

Dartmoor will now play Memorial on Saturday.

Division four

BACK to Portland and Memorial Red played Hamilton Gold.

Around 60 spectators watched the division two and division four games and got full value.

Red got a good start but as usual, the Gold teams kept plugging away, which included a six and four for Gold on the same ends late in the game, leading to the Gold side coming out on top.

Jude Fasoli and team had the close one against Hamilton’s Barry Dowling, 19-21.

Rhonda Bramley drew Jim Nicholl, and the Memorial skip saved many ends with great bowls, but they were equalled plus some on other ends and Nicholl’s team won, 23-11.

Overall scores were Red 30 to Gold 44, meaning the latter will play Memorial Blue for the little shield.

Grand finals

A QUICK look at the potential for the grand finals.

Division one will see Memorial and Portland face-off, and the sides have a long history of battling for the shield.

Memorial won the semi-final by 18 shots, and the two home and aways by three and 21.

The form of the Memorial side has been very consistent, sitting in top spot for the final six rounds.

However, the side they replaced there was Portland.

Stats look to favour Memorial, but Portland knows how to compete and should make it a good contest.

Division two is a repeat of the division one game, and Memorial rose from fourth after the eighth game to finish on top of the ladder.

Portland dropped from top spot early on and worked back to be second at the end.

Only four shots was the margin in the semi-final, so it was a bit too close potentially to make any predictions.

Division three’s decider is between Memorial and Dartmoor, and Memorial sat on top of the ladder for 12 of the 14 rounds.

Dartmoor worked from last in round five to third, and Memorial will have a tough game ahead, as Dartmoor is very resilient.

Division four is where I have a vested interest, as it is where I played most of my pennant games.

The only time Memorial Blue and Hamilton Gold played home and away, Gold won by 26.

In the semi-final, Blue started to blow Gold off the green, leading 39-7 at the break but a comeback happened, and Memorial ended up winning one rink and the game by 10.