IN 1977, Bob Liddle swapped tennis and squash for a spot of lawn bowls.
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On the advice of a friend, the then 33-year-old headed to Bendigo East Bowling Club. He would never pick up a racquet again.
Forty years and 11 Bendigo Bowls Division pennant flags later, Liddle is lining up for his 500th pennant bowls game for the Magpies.
"I always played racquet sports and sadly my body wore out. I couldn't combine tennis and squash with being in the building trade," Liddle said.
"It was (former club president) Vic Simpkins who encouraged me to give bowls a crack. I'm glad he did.
"Anything competitive I've always liked. I play a lot of social bowls now, but once I get on the pennant green now I show the teeth a bit."
Liddle, whose premiership haul includes seven in division one, said as a newcomer to bowls at 33, he was considered by most to be "relatively young".
"Not anymore," he said..
"We have got one (player) here who is nine, Brock Keenan. His dad 'Crackers' (Michael Keenan) has two sons playing here.
"(Brock) is a division below me, but his other son Cameron plays in our division. They're both very good.
"They have their dad's enthusiasm."
Ther age demographic is not only change to have occurred during his time at Lansell Street.
Liddle said the advent of coloured clothing had helped introduce the sport to newer and younger audiences, in much the same way it had with cricket in the late 70s and early 80s.
He has also witnessed Bendigo East's rise from bowls minnow to super power.
"When I too up bowls 40 years ago, Bendigo East was struggling to win a game in A1 pennant," he said.
"Now I think we're probably the super club in Bendigo now.
"We had a couple of players come to the club and they taught us how to win, how to practice and all those sorts of things.
"I've was fortunate to play 352 games in the A1 before I wore out."
Despite plenty of team success, Liddle admits he is no champion.
"But I like to think I'm a champion club person," he said.
As many club members will attest, including Magpies stalwart and games record holder Ken Gloster, if there is job to be done around the club, "Bob will do it - no fuss, no questions asked."
Liddle was hopeful but not confident of celebrating his milestone with a win, with the East taking on top side White Hills away from home.
"We're not having a terribly great year this year, but we still have a chance to get into finals if we keep winning and we did beat them earlier this season," he said.
"We should be doing better than we have be.
"We have had a lot of players out of the top teams and that has created a lot of player movement and it's always the number three and four teams that suffer."