Crowns For Young Internationals

Australian junior singles champion Dylan Fisher added the Victorian Men's Under-25 Singles Championship to his bulging trophy collection at the Rosamond Bowls Club today, while Carla Odgers from Sunbury, who was a teammate when the national side competed at last year's Trans-Tasman Series in New Zealand, claimed the women's equivalent.

A prime mover in Clayton's recent premier division pennant win, Fisher, 17, was in brilliant touch as he surged toward victory in the Brad Greening Shield final, after withstanding a serious challenge from Webbcona's Brett Mahoney in the middle stages. At the outset Fisher leapt out to a 10-0 lead from just five ends, and spectators could have been forgiven for thinking an early finish was on the cards.

However, Mahoney, a 23-year-old aluminium fabricator and part-time barman, retaliated with a demonstration of the talent which won him the Webbcona club singles this year, his fifth in the game. A four-end blitz saw him just one in arrears , while the scores levelled at 11-11 after eleven ends and again at 15-15 after fifteen, following a fine Mahoney conversion for three.

But Fisher was unfazed and moved up another cog as he collected 10 shots over the ensuing five ends to claim his first state singles title. For Mahoney it was a third runner-up finish this season, having been a beaten finalist in his association champion of champions and state singles play-offs.

Ironically, today's win was also a first for Odgers, a 19-year-old student nurse, when she outplayed 2009 winner Lisa Phillips from Richmond Union to record an emphatic  25-9 victory. Phillips, 17, who won the recent Australian Open singles title and the Queensland Open singles late last year, never really settled into today's final and had no answer for the Odgers draw game.

After winning the two opening ends with singles, the little dynamo failed to score again until Odgers had reached 15. Several greenside spectators were perplexed at her shot selection as she continually resorted to playing weight whenever Odgers held close shots and paid heavily.

However, when Phillips eventually changed her strategy she managed to go shot-for-shot with Odgers for the rest of the match, although, realistically it was already too late.

Victorian Under-25 Singles Championships at Rosamond Bowls Club

Men: Dylan Fisher (Clayton) d Brett Mahoney (Webbcona) 25-15

Women: Carla Odgers (Sunbury) d Lisa Phillips (Richmond Union) 25-9

Pictured: Newly crowned state champions Carla Odgers and Dylan Fisher with Bowls Victoria director Maureen Connolly.