Pool Comp season Charlton Croquet Club

- Contributed

- By Bob Wooley

ROUND Fourteen of the Inter-Hotels’ Pool Competition was played on Wednesday, 19th July, where two massacres, a mini-upset and a close encounter that has virtually finalized the top four were to be the highlights of the evening’s machinations on the baize.

The fifth-placed boys from the Pub in the Scrub assaulted the Royal fortress confident that they would re-traverse the mighty Avoca river victorious after wresting the chocolates away from the Royal Two defenders but it was proving to be a difficult task with the match tied at four games apiece at the end of the second stanza of singles after the Royal’s gallant captain Simon Elliott had retired the Logan’s perennial publican, Keith Turner and Stephen Rodger had squared the ledger against Peter Tannock while the Royal’s Dillon Baldock and the Logan’s Jason MacNaulty where each locked at one-game all with their opponents Sam Carroll and Nick Birthisel

Their task became even more difficult when Dillon and Nick closed out their matches against Sam and Jason in the third round placing the ailing Avoca Foresters on the precipice of being two games in arrears with just the doubles to play however the rollicking Royals carried the momentum into the first of the doubles to secure the victory

The languishing Loganites took the consolation prize by winning the final doubles in the Royal Two’s seven games to five win

Fifty-four years’ ago I was in the British hotel in North Melbourne watching Neil Armstrong tentatively descend the lunar lander’s steps to be the first human to step upon another world (that we know of) and, as the Country Club One crew hosted the visiting kings of the competition, the Royal One side, it was to be one small step for Paul, one giant leap for the Meanies as Club captain Paul Mullins blasted Dave Russ off the table in the opening frame

The match then became an eerie parallel of that previously described as he went on to ground Dave at the top of the second round however crew-mate Troy Shields was hit by a Mitch Phillips meteorite while the m a t c h e s b e t w e e n t h e C l u b ’ s J a c o b Vanrenen and Des Moulday with the Royal’s Daniel Needs and Thomas Watts were level

Jacob lit up the third stage by retiring Daniel and Des, whose formerly dead caterpillar that was reposing on his upper lip must have been re-incarnated and stung him in to action, put Thomas in to orbit, including a seven baller

All rockets were blasting now for the mighty Mean Machine as they secured both doubles to consolidate in fourth place on the stairway to heaven with an eight games to four successful mission

If the aforementioned shenanigans indicate that finals jitters are suddenly clouding the atmosphere then the stars were shining brightly in the elevated atmosphere overlooking the town as the second-placed Country Club Two combination touched down at the Sporting Club to compete with their team and it wasn’t long before the shuddering Sporties felt the full blast of the visitors’ vehemence as Will Jackson, Harley Durward, Grant Doyle and Jake Male eliminated Danny Pitt, Colin Crooks, Reg Nazifouski and Dayle Pitt with only Reg and Dayle managing to salvage a frame each in the process

The rollers and floggers then completed the demolition by winning both doubles to take the match by ten games to two

Home derby of the night took place on the launching pad of the Farmers’ Arms cosmodrome with similar spectacular results

The Farmers’ One’s leading light Leigh Watkins was to lose only one frame in his encounter with Zoe Cunningham while teammate Ben Medlyn also produced a similar result against Luke Pole while the One’s Hayden Glen and Geoff Watts were astronomical against Logan Hines and Kelly Pole

They then went on to win both doubles to complete the evening’s second ten games to two result

The highlight of Round fifteen will undoubtedly be the third clash for the season of the two teams residing in the home among the gum trees, as well as the highly probable curtain-raiser for the First Semi-Final on the 9th August, with the Two’s having been successful on both of these previous encounters

THE f irst round of the Murray Valley Croquet A s s o c i a t i o n ’ s A n n u a l Round Robin event was h e l d a t C h a r l t o n o n Saturday, 16th July

Thirty two players from B o o r t , S w a n H i l l a n d Charlton played doubles in As s o c iatio n C r o quet an d Golf Croquet

Play began at 10am, foll o w e d b y a d e l i c i o u s casserole and sweets lunch, further games in the af ternoon and finishing with af ternoon tea

The weather was fine, t h e l a w n s g o o d , a n d a n enjoyable social day was held

It was a close contest in both formats with Delma Pappin (Boort) the winner of Golf Croquet and Naomi Pa t u l l o t h e A s s o c i a t i o n Croquet winner