By Tara Murray
Deer Park is sitting exactly where it wants to be heading into the back part of the Bowls Victoria weekend pennant premier division season.
The two-time reigning premiers sit atop the table heading into the back part of the season which started on the weekend.
Head of bowls operation Mark Casey said they were ready to go for the second part of the season.
“The club couldn’t be happier with how things went prior to the Christmas break, beating Yarraville-Footscray 18-0 in the last game [in a top of the table clash] as really set us up with launch into the last five rounds with some momentum with our goal of a top two spot still the objective,” he said.
Casey said they felt they were starting to find the right mix of players in their top squad.
He said with the depth they’ve got this season, players can’t get complacent though.
“Players know that they need to keep performing at a high standard as there are players ready to step up,” he said. “It’s extremely healthy for all our teams.”
Heading into the weekend’s round, which was after deadline, the Parkers were sitting two points clear on top of the ladder.
There was then a gap of more than 30 points between the top two and the rest of the pack.
Casey said their focus at the start of the year was to finish in the top two and this hasn’t changed.
“There is still a lot of work to be done which starts with our next game against Clayton in Geelong.”
While the Parkers top side is flying, their second side which plays in division 1, section 1 is also having a really strong season.
Casey said they were so proud of the side.
“Getting promoted to division 1 this year and being placed in a really tough section we knew it wouldn’t be easy,” he said.
“They have shown that they are more than capable of mixing it with every side. If this side was to play finals it would be a massive achievement.”
While many of the Parkers players, including Casey, had some time off over the Christmas break, many were still in action in various tournaments.
It was a successful couple of weeks for the players.
“The club had eight men and women part of the winning metro west side in the Victorian Regional Championships so it’s great to know our players will be ready to go in our next game,” Casey said.
The Parkers on Sunday beat Clayton, 87 (14)-64 (4).
