mmg.com.au

Dennis McHarry and Mal Williams are Goulburn Valley’s last hopes in the Australian Open men’s pairs bowls event.

Shepparton RSL’s McHarry and Shepparton Golf’s Williams won a thrilling second round match 11-1, 8-9, 3-1 to set up a round-of-16 showdown at noon today.

But Goulburn Valley’s other round one men’s pairs winners Brett Foley and Matt Robertson, of Shepparton Golf, and Jeff McNaughton and Rod Werner, of Hill Top, bowed out yesterday.

Foley and Robertson suffered a 2-9, 10-10 defeat, while the McNaughton-Werner combination went down 8-11, 7-8.

Shepparton Park trio Di Hands, Cathy Dudley and Kate Bush — the Goulburn Valley women’s triples champions — also tasted defeat, but had their chances in a 6-6, 8-9 loss.

The Parkers led 6-2 in the opening set against Patty Warlow, Jenny Tirant and Lorraine Burke, but conceded the final four shots to set up a winner-takes-all second set.

Warlow, Tirant and Burke jumped out to a 7-1 advantage, only for Hands, Dudley and Bush to fight back and take a one-shot lead into the last end of the set.

The sides played tit-for-tat on the deciding end.

Dudley removed her opponents’ bowls to erase a two-shot deficit and give Bush’s lead bowl shot, but their rivals promptly put another bowl on the kitty.

That left the match a shootout between opposing skippers Hands and Warlow.

The contest would have gone to a tiebreaker had neither skipper affected the head, but Hands — knowing Warlow had the last bowl — attempted to either remove their bowl or put the kitty in the ditch.

Hands could achieve neither; accidentally sending Shepparton Park’s closest bowl into the ditch to give up two shots and the game.

‘‘It would have gone to a tiebreaker, but I stuffed up,’’ Hands said.

‘‘She had another bowl and still could have taken us out, so I had to try something.

‘‘We really had a red-hot chance, but we were just a bit unlucky.’’

Hands’ and Dudley’s Australian Open isn’t over.

They are partnering clubmate Brenda Brodie in the women’s over-60 triples on Friday due to Bush, who is only 52 years old, being ineligible.

Hands has the added drama of her pregnant daughter, Joanna, being due to give birth to her second child on Friday.

‘‘Joanna’s got a two-year-old, so I could be playing (on Friday) with a two-year-old on the bank,’’ Hands said with a laugh.