Sport
21 October, 2025
Round three of weekend pennant excites
Round three of the Goldfields Playing Area’s weekend pennant saw some early contenders begin to emerge across the divisions.
DIVISION ONE
An outstanding performance from Peter Waters has kept Dunolly Blue’s undefeated start to the season intact, just surpassing Talbot 64-62.
Talbot took the first two rinks thanks to Peter McLaughlan vanquishing Alan Weir 25-13 and Peter Fletcher edging out Tony Galofaro 23-19.
However, Waters managed to wipe away Dunolly Blue’s deficit with a 32-14 win against Chris Crossley.
Despite the victory, Dunolly Blue has fallen to second thanks to the Maryborough Highland Society making no mistake in their 79-39 victory against Maldon.
Highland leapfrogged their rivals with a clean sweep on Saturday.
Garry Coburn got the better of Wesley Honeyman 27-13, Gregory Shay took a commanding win against Annette Gillham 32-10 and Greg McHugh held on against Peter Sedgwick 20-16.
In one of the tightest matches of the weekend, Carisbrook took an instant classic against Newstead, winning 60-57.
These two teams had some epic encounters in division two last season and Saturday was no different, with every rink decided by less than five shots.
After Ross Gregory held his nerve against Andrew Theckston 19-18 and David Cobden taking one back for Newstead 20-18 against Ron Baker, the visitors were leading by the slimmest of margins.
The hosts pulled through thanks to Malcolm Milne, who was victorious against Brian Daly 23-19.
With two defeats to start their campaign, reigning premiers Maryborough Golf got their season on track by defeating Avoca 74-59.
Lawrence Barry and Gerry Carmody did the damage for Golf, with Barry defeating Frank Shannon 29-14 and Carmody triumphant against Loralee Field 27-16.
Daniel Giddings ensured Avoca didn’t leave empty-handed, winning two points from Kevin Prime with a 29-18 victory.
DIVISION TWO
In the top-of-the-table interclub contest, Maryborough Highland Society Black came out on top, remaining the only team undefeated in division two with a dominating 55-22 win against Maryborough Highland Society White.
Highland Black showed no mercy against their sister team, sweeping both rinks with Albert Spencer conquering Tony Lacey 31-8 and Robert Bursill overcoming Frank Mifsud 24-14.
Highland White are now joined by two other teams at 2-1, with Maryborough Golf boasting the same record after taking care of Avoca 44-32.
Even with the rinks split, Trevor Young’s 30-8 victory over Geoff Loosmore was enough to counteract Avoca’s Ann Loosmore vanquishing Gordon Donaldson 24-14.
Joining Highland White and Golf at 2-1 is Bridgewater, who have maintained their strong start with a 40-31 triumph against Dunolly Green.
Despite Dunolly Green’s Debbie Wintle holding on versus Ian Clutton 22-20, Ron Brown secured the result for Bridgewater with a 20-9 victory against Beth Ritchie.
Talbot earned their first win of the season in a hard-fought battle against Dunolly Gold 34-27.
Both rinks were tightly contested, but Geraldine Smith and Barry Laws pulled through for Talbot, with Smith holding off Peter Freemantle 15-14 and Barry Laws taking care of Aaron Britten 19-13.
DIVISION THREE
In the tightest match across all three divisions, Dunolly won a thriller over Newstead 39-38.
With Dunolly’s Wayne Stephens defeating Noel Bott 25-21, Rod Jackson’s 17-14 victory against Paul Chase just wasn’t enough to grab the win for Newstead.
Carisbrook has cemented their position as the early frontrunners in division three with an impressive 63-21 triumph against Maldon.
Denise Matic impressed with a 40-14 victory against Pam Lyons, while Kathleen Upson completed the sweep for Carisbrook by defeating Glen Coy 23-7.
For the second time in the space of three weeks, Avoca’s division three team was forced to forfeit, handing the Maryborough Highland Society the points.
ROUND FOUR
The most intriguing match of the division one pennant in round four is a Grand Final rematch between Maryborough Golf and Dunolly Blue.
Golf aims to repeat last season’s memorable premiership triumph, while Dunolly Blue will hope to lessen the sting of their 55-54 defeat in the season finale with a win this weekend.
Talbot will look to rectify their excruciating defeat last weekend when they play another team that recently suffered a close loss in Newstead.
In the battle of division one newcomers, Carisbrook hopes to continue their flourishing start when they travel to play Maldon.
Top-of-the-table Maryborough Highland Society looks to keep its perfect record intact when it faces Avoca away from home.
In division two, Highland Black looks to maintain its undefeated start when it hosts Avoca.
Following their first loss of the campaign, Highland White has a tricky test this weekend as they play Dunolly Green at Dunolly.
Fellow Dunolly-based team Dunolly Gold will travel to play Maryborough Golf, while Bridgewater looks to maintain their strong start at home against Talbot.
Division three sees league-leaders Carisbrook play the Maryborough Highland Society, Dunolly host Avoca and Maldon play Newstead at home.