By Lance Jenkinson
Bundoora RSL will need to cash in its Bowls Victoria premier division finals double chance after losing to minor premier Altona on Saturday.
The RSL boys gave a good account of themselves in the major semi-final but went down 82-71 at Buckley Park Bowls Club.
RSL had late opportunities to win, but Altona made the bigger plays down the stretch to be the first side through to the grand final.
Damon Di Florio was Bundoora RSL’s biggest rink win for the day, beating Altona player-coach Brett Foley 21-13.
Brett Spurr, one of RSL’s most consistent performing rinks since Christmas, enjoyed a narrow 17-16 win over Shane Fordham.
But Adam Galloway had a day to forget for RSL, hammered 31-15 by Brad Peck, while Nick McIntyre was beaten 22-18 by Mathew Rennex.
“We were four [shots] down with three [ends] to play and things just didn’t go our way in the last couple of ends,” Bundoora coach Ian Ewing told
Star Weekly.
“At the end it was a conversion one way and a missed conversion the other way. The result might have changed on the back of two bowls.”
While Bundoora RSL was deflated by the loss, the premiership equation remains unchanged.
RSL went into the finals needing two wins for a flag and that’s still the case ahead of a preliminary final date with Essendon on Saturday.
“We get the opportunity next week to start the process of winning two games,” Ewing said.
The winner of the RSL-Essendon clash meets Altona in the grand final in a fortnight.
The sides met twice in the regular season with each standing their ground on their home green.
