SOUTH PACIFIC FOURS FINAL
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Windang skip Rick Malley savoured one of the club's most memorable wins after a dramatic final shot triumph in the South Pacific fours final at Fairy Meadow Bowling Club.
Malley played one of the shots of the tournament with his final bowl to prevent the 18-end decider almost certainly heading into an extra end, after rival skip Shane Garvey and his team held four shots on the last end.
Illawarra's back-to-back senior singles champion, Malley played a perfect final bowl to draw the shot, and when Garvey couldn't counter, the Windang boys had won the final 17-12.
"It's a proud day for our club and to win it with a team of Windang bowlers makes it extra special," Malley said.
"Shane's a fantastic bowler and he had a great team, so to firstly not be intimidated by who we were playing, and then to beat them, is a wonderful effort."
Malley has enjoyed the best 18 months of his career. He has won consecutive Zone 16 senior (over 60s) singles titles, took out the NSW senior singles crown in 2011 - plus made the final in 2012 - and was selected for the NSW senior team for the Australian championships last September.
Personal achievements aside, Malley said winning a team-based South Pacific title was an enormous achievement for a club not in Illawarra's No 1 pennants.
He praised the "superb" performances of his lead David Tyrrell and second Martin O'Brien in the club's run of seven wins and a sectional round draw to take the crown.
Geoff Walker - who plays as Malley's third - capped off a great tournament by also making the pairs semi-finals.
Adding to the emotion, as the players hugged one another and their supporters, was the memory of Windang club legend George Stewart, who skipped the club to a South Pacific Fours title in 2010 and died last September.