Tara Murray
The Deer Park Club couldn’t have asked for a better start to the inaugural Victorian Bowls League.
The competition saw teams from across the state face each other, with $20,000 for the winner, with the player of the competition awarded $1000.
The competition which has been years in the making, was a five-a-side competition, with pairs, triples, singles and fours matches
Deer Park claimed the inaugural title, beating the Brighton Blue Devils in the final.
Nathan Bush, Jay Bye-Norris, Mark Casey, Larry Donoghue, Tom Highs and James Pearce made up the Parkers team.
Casey said it’s great feeling to get the first big win for the club.
“After coming so close in last season’s [Bowls Victoria] premier division competition, we always knew it was important to start our new campaign off in a positive way so we are delighted,” he said.
“I’m really confident that we as a club are heading into the right direction, and this win just helps reassure it for us. The VBL was a fantastic competition with eight extremely strong line-ups from all parts of Victoria so to come out on top was amazing.”
Deer Park finished at the top of its pool after the regular round with two wins and a draw, to secure a semi finals spot.
The Parkers easily accounted for the Moama Steamers winning 20 points to one. The two teams shared the points in the triples, with the Parkers winning the pairs, singles and fours.
In the final, they won three out of the four matches, winning 19 points to three.
The Parkers won the triples 15 shots to 10, the pairs 16 shots to 10 and the fours 17 shots to eight.
Casey was named joint player of the series, tying with Yarraville Footscray Dogs Brett Mahoney.
