Dead Dogs Dilemma - 11 February 2009

This is a team that always goes to extremes, and this Wednesday was no exception with not 2, not 4 but 5 contenders vying to flaunt the colours for the Dead Dogs side.

Andy Zee, still suffering from an ingrown toenail, demurred to the dynamic duo from the north eastern suburbs to take a run alongside LOL and D-Mac. Emerging Businesswoman, Tracy – had an earlier outing with the team, and partner Michael was an eager debutante for the side, having had a previous brief encounter with the game in his youth.

Without the services of an experienced Skipper, (DDD had taken the Walkabout Tour) and no obvious contenders, it was a chance to pass the buck, with D-Mac taking up the number 1 position, ahead of Michael, followed by EB, and the reluctant LOL bringing up the rear. This was certainly going to be a challenging night!

Our opposition was a foursome of experienced players – the Flower Pots whom we had met on previous occasions. The game started well for us, winning the toss on a cool Adelaide night. Heatwave conditions of the previous 2 weeks had abated, and we were all reaching early for the “woollies”. (For those in other climates, this is a garment to keep warm).

D-Mac, with the extra responsibility of placing the kitty was convincing in his early deliveries. In Michael’s hands the number 3 bowl looked like a soft toy that had been left behind from a child’s birthday party, and he was caught between playing too soft or too hard. EB had an established reputation for intimidating the kitty, and tonight was no exception.

Little did the dynamic duo realise that Andy Zee was walking with Kryptonite in his back pocket in an attempt to harness their exceptional powers. They may well have thought he was trying to engage in small talk, or perhaps offer a coaching tip, but in reality his position was to determine the length of their delivery. This was an unorthodox approach to teamwork and met with mixed success!

Linda’s early attempts to emulate some of the trick shots of her predecessors and tiptoe in between the other bowls and come snugly up against kitty paid off. Our team took an early lead, and at the sixth end, the opposition was forced to take a long hard look at themselves. This proved to be our downfall, and we should have adopted a similar approach, but call it inexperience, call it bad luck (or call it a hangover from the previous week) our team could not regroup and fight off a determined challenge, going down 16 – 9.

The proceeds of the raffle on this night were to go to the Victorian bushfire appeal, and over $500 was raised, with Andy Zee scoring the honey, which he was happy to pass on to the dynamic duo, with more mouths to feed in that household.

As a footnote there was a team on the night that established a Hawthorn record of some 47 shots to 2. I struggle to believe it, but if George said so, it must be right. I think that winning team was called “The Bowls Bags” – they may have taken the money on this occasion, but the competition is still open following a round of upsets.

The Dead Dogs are in with a chance!