mmg.com.au

A slow start returned to haunt Central Goulburn Murray as it was eliminated on day one of the Bowls Victoria Men’s Regional Sides Championship at Horsham on Saturday.

The team suffered a shock 72-42 defeat to Central Victoria in its opening game and despite bouncing back with a 63-48 win against Wimmera it was never able to recover.

A fighting loss against eventual champion Northern Gateway in the final round of Section B showed what Central Goulburn Murray was capable of.

However, even a win would not have been enough to send it through because of a lowly shot count.

Goulburn Valley Bowls Division president Maurie Rowlands said the opening game proved costly.

‘‘I had thought that was the game we might be able to win, but we got off to a bad start,’’ Rowlands said.

‘‘We did win two rinks, but the two others lost by quite a lot and we were on the back-foot from the word go.’’

The Mark Ryan-led GVBD team was outstanding, winning all three of its rinks for the day, including a stunning defeat of Northern Gateway, which featured premier league bowler David Donaldson.

Shepparton Golf’s Rick Orchard and Kyabram pair Greg Shilling and David Cartwright, as well as Mooroopna’s Ryan, all acquitted themselves well throughout the day and were at their best against the tougher opponent.

Shepparton Park’s Colin Power skipped a composite team, which won two of its three rinks, dropping three shots on its final end to lose 12-8, a score that flattered Northern Gateway.

It was the second year in a row the team was unable to make it past sectional play, but Rowlands said the standard of competition on offer limited any disappointment.

‘‘To take Northern Gateway to just four shots was our best performance, it was just that one rink that went down by more than we could pull up,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s hard to go through an event and not drop a match and they were able to do that, so credit to them.

‘‘We came very close to beating them, so that gives us some consolation.’’