A YEAR after finishing last on the Bendigo Bowls Division pennant ladder, South Bendigo is now one win away from playing in the grand final after a stunning second-half revival against Castlemaine on Saturday.
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South’s season was tetering on the edge at tea in the elimination final when it trailed the Maine by 18 shots at Eaglehawk.
But South – playing in its first division one final since 1997 – rallied after the break to charge to a 98-89 victory.
“We won the first four ends after the break to get it back to 10 and it was nip and tuck for a lot of the second half,” South Bendigo coach Brad Holland said.
“It was a really good win to fight back from the position we were in at the break… it shows just how much fight the guys have got in them.”
South Bendigo finished three rinks up – Greg Sherman (+7), Ryan Tainton (+12) and Holland (+5).
The only winning rink for Castlemaine was that of skipper Ray McCumber, which had a 33-18 victory over Liam Crapper.
South Bendigo will now meet Bendigo East in the preliminary final after the Beasties lost Saturday’s qualifying final to Bendigo by 14 shots at South.
The Benders took the direct route through to their third-straight grand final with a 102-88 victory.
Having lost four games in a row between rounds eight and 11, the rejuvenated Bendigo will now carry a four-game winning streak into the grand final on March 19.
The Bendigo victory was spearheaded by a dominant performance by Ian Ross’ rink, which dished out a 38-16 hiding to Aaron Tomkins.
