Tara Murray
The hard work is only just beginning for Deer Park in the Bowls Victoria weekend pennant premier division competition.
The Parkers sit atop the table after 10 rounds with just one loss among those results, backing on from winning the title last season.
Head of bowls operations Mark Casey said they were pretty happy with how things were tracking.
“We’re delighted with how we are placed with just four rounds before finals,” he said. “The pleasing thing is there is still plenty of room for improvement which is driving our guys on.
“There have been many positives this year, but I feel our team has been able to dig deep when needed.
“There have been a few games where we have looked down and out, but the team has found a way to win which is an encouraging sign heading towards finals.”
Casey said there was still plenty of room for improvement, He said their match against second placed Moonee Valley this round would be a good test for them.
“We have second placed Moonee Valley next round, who defeated us in our first loss at home in three years so we are really keen to put forward a good team performance.
“We still have some players who can go to the next level, which I’m confident will be the case.”
Casey said they were having a strong season across the board, particularly with their division 2 and 3 teams which are in the hunt for finals berths.
“As a club, we certainly have a focus on getting our second team into division 1 so we are looking forward to them having a great finals series.”
While the Parkers have their sights firmly on trying to go back-to-back, a lot of work has been done behind the scenes to lock in key players beyond this season.
Chris Ball, Nathan Bush, Matt Baus, Ellie Dixon and Jay Bye-Norris have all signed on for next season.
Casey has also signed on for another five years as head of bowls operations.
“We have signed the majority of our group to long term agreements which has been fantastic,” Casey said.
“The club couldn’t be in a better place, so it’s great to see the players wanting to commit long term.
“We have many exciting plans for the year ahead, ultimately the redevelopment of our bowls facility will be incredible but also the start of our new Youth Bowls Academy which will kick off in the middle of the year.”
