Stanhope and Moama to do battle in weekend bowls grand final

Then, in the final round of the home-and-away season, it was Fletcher who proved the difference. He beat Geoff Beattie for a second time and, along with the one-shot rink win of Tim Hancock it was an eight-shot overall win for Stanhope.

Stanhope booked its place in the grand final with an eight-shot win over Moama in the final round of the Goulburn Valley Bowls Division weekend season on Saturday.

The match was in the balance heading into the last round, but it was Fletcher who proved the difference.

He beat Geoff Beattie for a second time and, along with the one-shot rink win of Tim Hancock it was an eight-shot overall win for Stanhope.

Stanhope finished the home-and-away season on top of the ladder with 10 wins and three defeats.

Moama finished third and had three fewer victories in the regular season, but seems to have struck form at the right time.

In the elimination semi-final against Echuca it won all three rinks and took the match by 37 shots.

On Saturday against Tongala, the grand finalist of the past three seasons, Moama was 11-shot winners.

The two grand final teams account for eight of the top 10 players from season 2024-25, with Moama skip Robert Young and his lead bowler, Tony Hawley, having the best records of any player in the division.

While that duo are the top two bowlers of 2024-25, Stanhope’s father and son Fletcher combination (Barry and Ben), Jono Thorne and John Patterson are breathing down their necks.

Thorne and Patterson have bowled as leads to Greg Fitzpatrick, while Barry Fletcher has had a front row seat (as third) to his star son’s season.

All four have won 10 games in the 14-week season.

Young and Hawley have won 11 games this season, along with third Robyn Thomassen (fifth-seeded bowler this year), tasting defeat just once this season.

A dream draw for the grand final will be Young against Ben Fletcher (the top two skips of 2024-25).

Moama’s other two skips, Rodney Werner and Geoff Beattie, are ranked 17th and 24th on the skip’s ladder this season.

Their opponents, Tim Hancock and Greg Fitzpatrick, hold down the fourth and sixth spots on that same table.

OTHER GRAND FINALS

• Deniliquin has come from fourth spot on the division two weekend ladder, with just six wins for the home and away season, to reach the grand final against Moama Steamers.

The Deniliquin team beat Tongala in week one of the finals, by three shots, then won by one shot against Echuca in the preliminary final on the weekend.

• Unbeaten division three ladder leader Moama Steamers Green will tackle sister side Moama Steamers Black in the grand final on Saturday.

• In the division four grand final, the top two teams, Moama Steamers and Echuca, will face-off in the grand final.

• Deniliquin and Deniliquin RSL will contest the division five grand final after finishing the home-and-away season first and third.