Lawn Bowls

ACC Lawn Bowls

The imminent rise of the Mazenod lawn bowls team can be best summed up by Drake in 2012, “If you ain’t been a part of it, at least you got to witness”.

Jordan versus the Jazz in 1996, Kawhi against Philly in 2019. When you think of clutch sporting moments in history, many come to mind. But one stands out above the rest: Yong, Girolami, Hettiarachchi, Vukovic and Fernandez. The dream team that rose to victory at the 4th National ACC Lawn Bowls Championship in 2020. When the lawn bowls team first came together, it looked like repeating Mazenod’s heroics of 2019 would be far fetched. ACC titles? State runners up? We would be lucky if we could bowl the ball the right way. But under the Mr Shifu-esque tutelage of Mr Lee, our team was looking better than ever when the big day came to pass.

As we rolled into MCC Bowls in Hawthorn, it became clear that winning would be no easy feat. We were up against the best of the best, and we would have to dig deep if we were to succeed in our goal of becoming world champions. However, it was in this moment that our team brought out the very best of what it means to be a Mazenodian. We, as a team, had always strived to leave nothing undared and on the day, that is exactly what we did.

The group stages were of no problem to our team. All five of us were at the top of our game, bowling with focus and precision. The depth of quality in our squad meant that rotations were able to be managed, a luxury that many other teams did not have. Once the finals came around the opposition became much more difficult. Despite this, our team rose to the next level and in a tightly fought duel that went down to the very last round, we came out as winners.

With the conclusion of the tournament, state scouts had headhunted 3 of our 5 players (which will remain unnamed due to security concerns) to join the Australian Juniors Lawn Bowls Team however, we gratefully declined.

I think, when we look back now, it cannot be denied how valuable Mr Lee was to our success. He supplied us with the best equipment, shared his wealth of experience with us and guided us on the day, truly bringing the best out of each and every one of us. It was perfectly said during the trophy acceptance speech when Mr Lee was described as not just a coach and bus driver, but a “father figure”. I think it is fair to say he is a role model anyone can look up to, and I would highly recommend doing so.

Some teams are forgotten soon after their peak, whilst others linger in the memory for slightly longer, nothing more than a passing wisp in this rush we call ‘life’. But I have a feeling the heroics of this team will never be forgotten, a legacy to last for the years to come.

Thomas Yong