Four members of the Aitken family play together in Corrimal's top pennants side and are the first three generation family to feature at elite pennants level in Zone 16.
Dean Aitken, along with brother Gavin plus their dad Glenn and Dean's talented son Jacob all play Grade 1 for Corrimal in the Southern Conference pennants competition.
Following an impressive first half of the season the Cougars have suffered back-to-back losses to slip to fifth and must beat Windang in this Saturday's final round.
Just 10 points separate Corrimal (fifth) from second-placed Figtree heading into the final weekend of the nine-round season.
Within the Aitken family, Dean was the first to take up bowls 34 years ago, with his dad and brother following, while 16-year-old Jacob is already an Illawarra junior rep star having played bowls since age 11.
The Cougars have made great strides in performance and recruitment over the past couple of years following a long period in the doldrums.
Dean has been part of the resurgence in his five years at the Cougars, while Gavin, Glenn and Jacob are enjoying their first season at the northern suburbs club.
The family connections naturally extend to Corrimal's pennant sides with last weekend Glenn (lead), Gavin (second) and Dean (skip) in the same rink, while Jacob played as the lead for former South African international Eric Johannes.
Eric's son Kyle continues the club family ties as the third in his father's rink.
And as the adage goes, the family which plays together has success together with Gavin, Jacob and Dean winning Corrimal's Club Triples this season, while they also won the Triples at Kiama in 2019. Next season the Aitkens plan to play the Corrimal Fours together.
Dean has represented Zone 16 a couple of times and with his teenage son looking poised and accomplished in the Open pennant ranks, he is set for a long representative career.
Aitken and Moran were also key players in Illawarra winning the prized U-18s Metropolitan Shield last January, with selectors adding the pair to the U-25s squad the following day for an inter-zone series.
Earlier this month Jacob joined elite company by winning the 2022-23 Zone Junior Singles, Pairs and Fours titles, while he also took on the likes of Jackaroos stars Aaron Wilson and Jesse Noronha at the recent Warilla Gorillas 4-A-Side Challenge.
Aitken partnered Towradgi superstar Robbie Warren in the elite Pairs tournament, with Warren drafted in as Corrimal's marquee recruit, in an event boasting $16,000 in prize money.
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