Drysdale will unveil former world No 1 player Kelsey Cottrell and husband Andrew Howie as marquee players for the round 10 Geelong Bowls Region clash against ladder leader Ocean Grove.
The 17 January clash at Drysdale will be eagerly anticipated with Howie and Cottrell, who reached a world No 1 ranking in June 2024, locked in to play.
Drysdale player and skip Bryant Howie said his brother Andrew and sister-in-law Cottrell would “make it a big week for the club”.
“She’s (Cottrell) going to do some coaching clinics and do a mini sportsman’s night for us on that night,” he said.
“We’ll be playing Ocean Grove and starting a bit later so there’ll be a bit of a crowd there as well.”
Drysdale bounced back from a loss to Highton to convincingly defeat Bell Post Hill in round 7 on Saturday 6 December in Premier Pennant bowls.
John Monahan’s rink of lead Mark Neicho, second Matthew Campbell and third Aaron James won 40 to 6 and contributed heavily to the overall 110 to 57 win.
Bryant Howie’s rink of lead Julie Candy, second Tony Villani and third Mark Johnson had a tougher assignment before pulling away to win 27-14.
“It was 14-all on 17 ends out of 21,” Howie said.
“And then we kicked away, played some clutch bowls and really finished the game strong and responded after a bit of a scratchy start.”
Howie’s rink has come together after his regular lead Jimmy Miller tore a tendon in his thumb, putting him out until the New Year at the earliest.
“Julie has stepped up to Premier League in the past three weeks through injury to one of our players and some unavailability,” he said.
“She’s stepped up from our second side and has really just been solid, been building and she’s a great character and has become part of the team.
“Tony, our second, he played a lot of Premier League last year, just sort of dropped down to the second grade because of form and has worked his way back up there the last few weeks. He offered up a solid performance, won his position and then finished the game really strongly.
“Mark has recently come across from St Leonards. I had a pre-existing relationship through kids’ sport and we worked on getting him across, not promising him anything. He’s come in and brings a lot, brings a great attitude. He’s a good player and fits in really well with the club.”
Drysdale is 5th on the ladder and plays Queenscliff (3rd) and Torquay (4th) in a big couple of games before the Christmas break.
“We’ve had a couple of disappointing results, but Queenscliff are sitting high up on the ladder and they beat us by one shot in the first round,” Howie said.
“We could have played a lot better so we’re taking that as a big challenge.
“Torquay is always a pretty close game for us. They’re sitting above us in the four.
“We beat them at home last time so there’s no real fear for us. If we play well, that’s the spot in the four that we’re looking to wedge ourselves into before Christmas.”
GEELONG BOWLS REGION
Round 7, Saturday 6 December
Premier Pennant
Rink lists: skip, lead, second, third.
Ocean Grove 105 (18) def Eastern Park 57 (0): T. Cromie, A. Forster, W. Frith, J. Rudd 19 def S. McDonald, M. Sherwell, T. Scorpo, M. Coleman 12; P. Loe, C. Rippon, M. Rowley, T. Joel 22 def N. Bell, R. Sherwell, P. Scorpo, T. Balchan 15; M. Flapper, H. O’Reilly, J. Bertrand, Z. Abro 36 def A. Munro, D. Jackman, P. Hawkins, D. Washington 12; B. Pavey, R. Hunt, C. Burrell, C. Price 28 def A. Martin S. Webb, G. Connolly, S. Field 18.
Torquay 83 (14) def Queenscliff 69 (4): G. Banks, T. Jenkinson, J. Howarth, A. Sampson 15 def by S. Sullivan, R. McGovern, A. Green, S. Monahan 24; B. Irvine, B. Calthorpe, G. Gibson, P. French 21 def M. Hocking, C. Heard, B. Gladman, J. Reilly 16; D. Cairns, R. Milesi, W. Roberts, B. Ott 33 def R. Butler, R. Cameron, W. Visser, J. Mahoney 10; J. Issell, C. Papastergiou, R. Aitken, A. Shaw 14 def by B. Russell, M. Speed, W. Macleod, N. Dixon 19.
Drysdale 110 (16) def Bell Post Hill 57 (2): J. Monahan, M. Neicho, M. Campbell, A. James 40 def B. Richards, F. Clayson, D. Phalp, B. Seaton 6; A. Rees, M. Hommelhoff, L. Benson, A. Keranen 15 def by B. Toner, S. McIlvenny, J. Toner, B. Bottrell 17; B. Howie, J. Candy, T. Villani, M. Johnson 27 def D. Gillett, G. Logue, R. Couzens, M. Couzens 14; M. Godbolt, P. Lucas, M. Rees, J. Fry 28 def D. Gercke, A. Lewis, B. Mayne, A. Pratt 20.
Highton 122 (18) def Lara 44 (0): Dan Priddle, M. Coulter, R. Wilkinson, B. Prior 19 def D. Grellet, S. Tump, C. McPherson, T. Ansett 16; A. Lee, D. Kiss, Y. Olsen, S. Shuttleworth 36 def K. Weil, G. Hinch, J. Van Baar, M. Fedyk 8; J. Fitzgerald, J. Kiss, T. Hickey, D. Klemke 32 def M. Kelly, H. Tump, G. Watts, P. Cook 8; David Priddle, R. Priddle, D. Tudor, C. Polwarth 35 def I. Polwarth Jnr, J. Macgavin, S. Edmond, D. Moloney 12;
Round 5, Friday 5 December
Ocean Grove 123 (18) def Bell Post Hill 50 (0): P. Loe, C. Rippon, M. Rowley, T. Joel 42 def B. Toner, S. McIlvenny, J. Toner, B. Bottrell 10; T. Cromie, A. Forster, W. Frith, J. Rudd 28 def D. Gercke, S. O’Donnell, J. Tararico, P. Kane 12; B. Pavey, R. Hunt, C. Burrell, C. Price 26 def D. Gillett, A. Lewis, B. Mayne, M. Couzens 17; M. Flapper, H. O’Reilly, J. Bertrand, Z. Abro 27 def A. Pratt, P. Kelly, R. Couzens, G. Logue 11.
DIVISION 1
Leopold 76 (14) def Portarlington 74 (4): C. Sproal, B. Mathieson, P. Shuttleworth, D. Seear 23 def T. Demaria, P. Schmidt, M. Weales, M. Dennis 20; N. Lazic, B. Shaw, M. Booth, T. Kelly 22 def B. Hirth, D. Roberts, W. Atkins, P. Fisk 15; M. Willis, P. Halliday, D. Rudge, D. Alderuccio 18 def by D. Dunlop, I. Wiffen, R. Malcomson, J. Baker 21; L. Cameron, M. Gregg, T. Salisbury, L. Seear 13 def by G. Reed, T. McNamara, A. Marston, T. Freeman 18.
St Leonards 85 (16) def Highton 70 (2): M. Kennedy, F. Aston, P. Garlick, A. Doyle 27 def N. Oakes, L. Hore, H. Gilmore, P. Monk 13; T. Long, M. Maddox, B. Padgham, G. Lund 21 def O. Landry, P. Jones, S. Kerr, R. Kerr 16; H. Dahler, R. Beattie, D. Barnett, R. Michael 23 def R. Imanse, R. Stephens, I. Anderson, K. Madden 16; A. Hills, J. Doyle, B. Auld, B. Culph 14 def by M. Cavanagh, M. Staggard, D. Cameron, D. McGregor 25.
Ocean Grove 86 (16) def Belmont 63 (2): H. O’Reilly, J. Le Cerf, C. John, D. Henery 26 def S. Davies, B. Clark, M. Koulkoudinas W. Hovey 14; M. West, M. Jacobs, T. Brady, O. Clark 19 def by J. Harris, S. Grainger, S. Rundell, D. Ross 20; R. Brehaut, M. O’Reilly, B. Boyle, A. Callow 19 def R. Hayes, G. Davies, P. Newton, L. Butcher 15; A. Drury, T. Warren, P. Entwistle, C. Verrier 22 def R. Agg, J. Clark, C. Bassett, G. Smith 14.
City of Geelong 89 (16) def Geelong 67 (2): D. Vogele, N. Trease-Gordon, G. Lane, S. Khruapanich 19 def B. Wilson, B. Armitage, C. Fawthrop, J. Fry 18; S. Tillson, R. Sutherland, S. Somerton, D. Wombell 20 def by T. Thompson, N. Coots, G. Briggs, G. Harrison 23; M. Nitchie, L. Simpson, N. Robinson, S. Ashby 26 def T. Earp, R. Kent, D. Jarman, S. Martin 15; N. Craven, H. Boult, K. Gooley, L. Harvey 24 def K. Petzierides, R. Petterwood, F. Wheat, A. Fawthrop 11.
