Deer Park has almost made the game look easy in recent seasons.
The Parkers have been the dominant force in their Bowls Victoria divisions and achieved everything but promotion to the premier division.
But they’re finding it a lot harder in division one this summer.
Sure, they are clear in second spot, but there is not the aura around them or the certainty of results they had in seasons past.
And then there is Fitzroy Victoria, the new powerhouse of division one making life difficult for the other contenders.
“We’re not comfortable,” Parkers skip Ray “Bluey” Franksen said. “It’s bloody hard this season.
“The difference between this year and the previous four years is we’ve been a street above everyone the previous four years, but this year we’re sort of struggling a bit.
“We lost four in a row, then we won a couple, lost one, won one last week.”
Deer Park still poses a major threat to the other promotion hunters.
The Parkers are confident their best is as good, if not better, than every other division one team.
“In the back of our minds, it’s going to be different this year … we’re thinking we’re going to hit form at the right time of the year and that’s going to be the good thing for us,” Franksen said.
“That’s the mindset that we’ve got – we want to hit the finals in good form.
“In other years, we’ve been in good form and really had to battle in the finals.”
Deer Park is driven by its premier division ambitions. The Parkers are motivated to go one step further after enduring a “horror” end to last season’s finals.
Franksen has warned the rest of the competition to write his side off at their peril.
“A lot of other sides would be thinking we’re gone, but our team is easily up in the top two on paper, so we’re still confident,” he said.
“But to get to premier division, it’s not meant to be easy and it’s certainly not.
“We’ve been ready [for top flight bowls] for four years. We’ve got the cattle and we’ve already got some names pencilled in for next year, so we’re ready for sure.”
As for Fitzroy Victoria, Franksen concedes it will take an almighty effort to bring the ladder leader down. He is aware of what it will take from the Parkers should they come face to face with the powerhouse in the finals.
“They’ve got half a state side and they’ve got some very good bowlers,” he said.
“Across the board, we have 16 players and they all do their best.
“If we can get an even performance, we’ll do well for the rest of the year.”
Deer Park will travel to Essendon in the penultimate round on Saturday.
