Wangaratta bowlers ready to roll

As the Ovens and Murray Bowls region pennant season draws near, Wangaratta are extremely well positioned to go deep into finals this year, judging by their stunning pickups. The pennant season is set to commence on Saturday 10 October, with Wangaratta fielding three A teams and a B division team. While they narrowly missed out on finals in A1 last year, stocks have been bolstered with some massive signings, including some young guns. Wangaratta Bowls Club’s Maurie Braden confirmed the club had attracted Tim Cromie as a coach, helping lead the way. “We’ve had a lot of movement this year, so it’s looking really promising,” he said. “We’ve picked up a coach, Tim Cromie, he’s originally from Benalla but he’s played the last few seasons in the premier league for Essendon. "He’s working with Adrian [Pantling], the greenkeeper, so he’s come on board which is good. “He actually won the Northern Gateway region which is pretty strong, all through Essendon and Altona, Lalor, Bundoora, he won the region singles there. “The exciting part about that is we get his son Koby who has just broken into the Victorian open side and he’s only 18. “We’re going to get him for a few games, he’ll be playing premier league at Deer Park, but because they play a few Friday night games and the start times for the competitions are different, we’ll have him for the opening round. “He’s got a young mate called Charlie Boswood, he’s 16 from Kyabram, he also plays at Deer Park and he skips in the Victorian under 25 development squad and the under 18s squad, he’s a little gun. “Dave Allan has come in from Milawa, he’s keen to have a go, and Kylie Alexander who plays for the Ovens and Murray women’s rep side has come in from Yackandandah to have a game.” Bowls in Wangaratta looks to be as strong as ever, and growing year on year. “Membership increase has been very good – we’re hoping next year we can field five sides on a Saturday,” Braden said. “It’s growing, which is great. “We’ve had eight new members, the ladies have had a couple of ‘bring a friend’ days, so we’ve picked up some members out of that. “They’re probably more socially than pennant-wise at the moment, but it’s still a great thing of the club. “It’s one of our aims, to increase women’s participation, and one of Bowls Victoria’s aims in their strategic plan.” The 2026/27 pennant season commences on Saturday 10 October.

Wangaratta bowlers ready to roll

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