East Shepparton’s Peter Dunning.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
The long-awaited first bowls of the 2026-27 pennant season were sent down in the Goulburn Valley Playing Area at the weekend, and round one of the Allan Matheson Shield offered a glimpse into who might spearhead the season.
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Tallygaroopna and Shepparton Golf are the grand final incumbents, with the reigning premier Redlegs set to once again be a competition benchmark.
But who is primed to take the leap and challenge for the weekend division one crown?
East Shepparton made an early statement in its quest to return to finals, starting with a rousing 27-shot win over last season’s finalist Euroa.
Ken Sutcliffe claimed Euroa’s sole rink of the day, but East Shepparton was clinical in the other three, with new club coach Shane Holmes (18-11) and Kevin Cox (23-14) skipping their fours to victory.
It was the Don Dickinson-skipped quartet, however, that delivered the biggest win of the day, triumphant 31-13 to launch East Shepparton to a promising first-up result.
Shepparton East's David Torrance.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Euroa's Bill Taylor.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Shepparton East's Don Dickinson.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Euroa's Peter Naughton.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Shepparton East's Allan Hueston.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Euroa's Ken Sutcliffe.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
But though the slate is wiped clean, one thing remains the same.
The reigning premier wouldn’t be denied the round one points, with the Redlegs beginning their flag defence with a hard-fought 13-shot win over Tatura-Hill Top.
A thrilling rink one encounter saw Matt Robertson’s four hold off a determined Jarryd Tinning-skipped Bulldogs by a single shot, but his fellow skip Brendan Boyd claimed a rink back for his club with a two-shot win over David Daws.
Redlegs star Mitch Sidebottom delivered the decisive result, his 29-18 win over Jason Carter complemented by Mark Ryan’s 21-18 triumph.
They weren’t the only grand finalists to get away on a winning note, however.
Shepparton Golf flexed its muscle by firing past the 100-shot mark over Mooroopna, the resounding 108-66 result seeing the Golfers finish the round on top of the standings.
Kris Ferguson (35-16) and John Gribble were the chief destroyers, while Anthony Flapper and Brad Orr rounded out what was an early statement of intent for the GVPA powerhouse.
Rounding out the winners’ circle was Shepparton Park with Ross Higgins’ 18-shot triumph an outlier for the other three rinks against Seymour VRI.
Seymour’s David Ellis drew against Paul Nichols to ensure they walked away with a point, with the remaining two rinks failing to drift beyond four shots.
