For the first time in over a decade, Armadale Bowling Club’s top team has brought home the flag.
It was a categoric win for the Third Division team, which had back-to-back matches on Saturday at a home final.
In the first game against Scarborough, the Armadale team won every single rink, sealing in eight points.
The final aggregate was 90 for Armadale versus 58 for the visiting side.
Tension was at an all-time high during the grand final later in the day.
Men’s captain Chadd Hunt said you could cut the air with a knife.
“I was pretty nervous,” he said.
“My 84-year-old Dad who has played for decades was even more nervous.
“We just love the club. And we put a bit of pressure on ourselves.”
But they needn’t have been so stressed.
Armadale won convincingly against Leeming, again winning every rink, and increasing their aggregate margin; Armadale finished with an aggregate of 97, versus Leeming’s 53.
Mr Hunt said the win was a “solid team effort” from a “genuine, good bunch of people”.
He said the atmosphere at the club was electric on Saturday.
“There were a lot of spectators down there. It was a big day for us, and great for the club. We’re just a small family club, so to get a result like that was just fantastic,” he said.
But the Third Division triumph wasn’t Armadale’s only success.
Last Thursday the Sixth Division side also finished on top after winning by a single shot at their grand final played at Kwinana.
Their win secures them a promotion to the Fifth Division for next season.
And the Fourth Division minor premiers won their game last Thursday and are gearing up for their grand final today (Thursday).
The Fifth Division team played in an absolute nail-biter on Saturday, tying on all points, but unfortunately being beaten on percentage.
With all their recent success, the club is running into a bit of a problem – where to put all the flags.
“We’re all trying to work out which wall to put them on, but we’re running out of room,” Mr Hunt said.
The successful season is also starting to have a positive effect on recruitment, with a fair few past players there to see Saturday’s pennant finals saying they might make a comeback.
“I think we’re going to start to build our club back to what it was 10 years ago,” Mr Hunt said.
Photographs – Richard Polden.
