Dandenong Pulse’s performance was outstanding in the recent third Victorian Bowls League (VBL) championship! It’s been a cracking journey, and we can’t help but feel proud of our team’s stellar effort.

We started off with high hopes, and boy, did they deliver! We nabbed the runner-up spot in the qualifying rounds, then headed off to Barham to face off against the cream of the crop – eight of the state’s finest teams.

Now, the competition’s gotten pretty fierce with most teams now including an interstate marquee player. Our Dandenong regulars – Sammy Atkinson, Nics McKenzie, Kris Paine, and Clark Wilson – were joined by Matt Ellul, an ex-Victorian and WA state rep from Altona Bowls Club, and our BPL marquee Gary Kelly from Warilla Club in NSW.

Our fantastic Club Coach, Britt Jago, took the reins, and with a whopping $30,000 up for grabs, everyone was giving it their all.

At Barham, we kicked off with a solid win against Warrnambool, bagging victories in the triples, pairs, and singles. The fours didn’t quite get there, but our overall shot differential was a tidy 14.

Next up was local rival Clayton. It was a nail-biter, with the shots finishing 62-61 in our favour. But in this game, rink wins are the name of the game. We managed a singles win and a triples tie, but lost in the fours and pairs. It was a close call, but we just missed out.

This meant we needed to pull out all the stops against table-toppers Bundoora to make it to the grand final. With a clean sweep of four rink wins, we earned a bonus of five points and a ticket to the Championship title match against Deer Park.

The final was edge-of-your-seat stuff! Sammy Atkinson and Gary Kelly got us off to a cracking start with a two-shot victory in the pairs. But our triples team of Matty Ellul, Kris Paine, and Clark Wilson faced a tough challenge against Mark Casey who had teamed up with Chris Ball and Nathan Bush, and unfortunately went down by eight shots.

In the last round, Casey’s fours were winners over Matt Ellul’s rink (now with Sammy Atkinson on board) by four shots – a valiant effort! In the singles, Gary Kelly faced off against Tournament MVP Matt Baus. Despite a rocky start, Gary fought back brilliantly from 14-2 down to 19-15, before we conceded the overall win to a very deserving Deer Park team.

All in all, we’re over the moon with our team’s outstanding performance. Finishing runners-up in such a high-calibre competition is no small feat, and we couldn’t be prouder. This tournament just keeps getting better and better, cementing its place as Victoria’s premier teams event.

If you’re keen to check out all the VBL match results, pop over to Bowlslink at https://results.bowlslink.com.au/event/3951dfcf-2a9b-4a69-96ac-57d6335d7594.

Well done, Dandenong Club! You’ve done us all proud!

More about Dandenong Club VBL https://dandenongclub.com.au/vbl/vbl-team/