Warrnambool Blue skipper Pat McCorkell: "Girls that don't start early, they're mad. It's a great sport."
WARRNAMBOOL Blue skipper Pat McCorkell has an apt way of describing her players’ approach to being the underdogs.
Blue will meet better-credentialled rival Warrnambool Gold in a Tuesday pennant intra-club match at the Timor Street greens today.
McCorkell said Blue was taking the sixth-versus-third match seriously but was under no illusion of the challenge which faced her players.
“We’ll be trying. It might be very trying but we’ll be trying,” she said.
McCorkell’s verdict illustrates the differing goals of Warrnambool’s Gold and Blue sides.
Gold is chasing a top-two berth to give it the best chance of claiming another Western District Bowls Division flag.
Blue, meanwhile, wants to stave off lower-table rivals City Memorial Pink and Timboon to avoid relegation.
“We haven’t had a real good year, actually,” McCorkell said.
“We’ve won the odd rink at times. From here on it’s just to hold our spot without being demoted back to division two.
“We’re sitting in sixth place at the moment. We’re quite a few points ahead of Pink and we’re only two ahead of Timboon.”
McCorkell is a long-time stalwart of Warrnambool Bowling Club, having followed her husband Brian to the club in 1996.
She said she regretted not taking up the sport sooner.
“I watched him for years. I was never going to play but it got me in the end,” she said. “I wish I’d played it years and years ago. Girls that don’t start early, they’re mad. It’s a great sport.
“(But) I told them this would be my last year as skipper. I’ve had enough of skipping. I just want to go play second and third, let someone else learn to skip.”
McCorkell said bowls clubs needed to attract more young players to the game to ensure the sustainability of the Tuesday pennant competition.
Warrnambool has five mid-week teams but, like many outlying clubs, battles to meet its player quota.
“We need to encourage more younger players to the sport but that’s very hard to do,” she said.
“We’ve got four young girls that play but they’re all at school. They play the odd game but don’t want to play pennant.”
In other Tuesday pennant action, high-flying City Memorial Green takes on Terang at Cramer Street.
Port Fairy Gold hosts Timboon hoping to remain in touch with the top five.
And an intra-club derby will also feature at City Memorial between the club’s Pink and Gold.
afawkes@fairfaxmedia.com.au