2025 Region Sides Championships Wrap
That’s a wrap for the 2025 Region Sides Championships! Eight sides fought out their respective finals, some in quite challenging conditions. The two Gold tier matches were played under the roof at Sebastopol Bowling Club, while the two Silver tier matches played outdoors on the grass. Players, officials, and spectators were very patient when all games were interrupted for over an hour due to lightning. Mother nature didn’t let up though, as the two Silver tier matches out on the grass were competed in the rain.

In the Women’s Gold final, it was Ovens & Murray who shot to the lead early against the star-studded Sandbelt line-up. It looked like the O&M crew were going to run away with victory after they established an 18-shot lead around the halfway mark of the match. The Sandbelt rink skipped by Kelly McKerihen was down 7-16 after 10 ends, but managed to fight back hard in the second half to fall just short with a 22-24 loss against Kylie Lavis. The other two Sandbelt rinks skipped by Lisa Phillips and Tiff Brodie both won their last 6 ends to remarkably secure a 57-50 victory. Congratulations to the Sandbelt rink of Mel Allen, Courtney Bennington, Paula Wood and Lisa Phillips (with Jess Adams subbing in for Round 1) who went through the entire championships undefeated, with 4 wins and 35 shots up.

The men’s Gold final was jam-packed with talent on both sides, with 2023 winners Metro West taking on 2022 winners Northern Gateway. Metro West took charge early in the match and maintained the lead despite numerous fightbacks from Northern Gateway. The big winners in the final was the rink of Larry Donohue, Brandon Anderson, Nathan Murray and James Pearce, securing a 24-8 victory over Gateway’s Nathan Lynch, and helping to secure their 57-43 victory. Special mention to the rink of Cooper Wescombe, Alex Skilton, Mathew O’Brien and Dylan Fisher who went undefeated with 4 wins and 25 shots up. Despite an 8-shot win in the final round, it wasn’t enough to hold off the powerful Metro West side. This caps off a big weekend for Metro West, who also secured victory in the Women’s Silver event.

The Women’s Silver final was a closely fought battle between Metro West and Goulburn Murray, with Metro West on 26 and Goulburn Murray on 24 before the weather break. Following this, Goulburn Murray broke away to a 7-shot lead, but Metro West were able to pull this back to be just 1 shot ahead after 62 ends. Goulburn Murray then scored 1 shot on the final end to force a 1-end tiebreak. On the tiebreak end, the difference was the Metro West rink skipped by Brooke Edwards, picking up 3 shots to clinch a 2-shot win for Metro West. The big winners in this match was the rink of Addy Ryan, Chelsea Pollock, Blaine Edwards and Brooke Edwards, securing a 29-14 victory. Congratulations to Metro West, we can’t wait to see what they can do in the Women’s Gold tier next year!

The Men’s Silver final was fought out between the two highly fancied sides of Eastern Ranges and Geelong, but it was Eastern Ranges who dominated this match from the start, establishing an early lead and maintaining it through the entire match. Notably, the rink of Leon Verkuyl, Steve Weber, Fintan McLoughlin and Josh Sanders recorded a 26-12 victory to help secure the win for Eastern Ranges. The Geelong rink of Zak Abro, Wayne Frith, Adam Martin and Tyson Cromie went through the event undefeated, with 4 wins and 34 shots up. Unfortunately their 4-shot win in the final wasn’t enough to stop the dominance of Eastern Ranges. The Ranges rink of David Goodger, Ben Thomason, Chris Carswell and Ben Simmons had an undefeated campaign, with 4 wins and 31 shots up. Congratulations to Eastern Ranges, who now have both Men and Women’s teams in Gold tier.

Bowls Victoria would like to thank the four host venues – Sebastopol, Webbcona, Victoria and Ballarat Memorial Sports, as well as the many volunteers at each of those venues who worked tirelessly to ensure the success of the event. Also thanks to the ITO’s, officials, team manager’s and players from every region who ensured the matches were played in great spirits. Finally, a huge thank you to our corporate partner, the City of Ballarat, for their support of the 2025 Region Sides Championships.

Full Results: https://bit.ly/BVRSC2025_Results