Lawn Bowls
5 May, 2026
Local fours side shines at state championships
Dimboola Bowling Club’s Darryl Argall, Don Connors, Peter O’Loughlin and skipper Daniel Danisch had an outstanding performance at the Bowls Victoria State Championships, finishing as runners-up in the men’s fours.
Held at Bendigo East Bowling Club from April 14 to April 22, fellow clubperson Judith Albrecht also had an impressive performance at the championships, reaching the semifinals of the women’s singles.
Darryl Argall, club president and lead-off bowler for the men’s fours team, said the team is elated by the experience and their performance.
“It was a tremendous experience for the four of us,” he said.
“The congratulations that we’ve had from all teams across the Wimmera Mallee area has been great.
“Over 400 teams entered the fours competition across the state, so to finish second is pretty good for a little old club like Dimboola.”
The team’s campaign started when they won the Wimmera Playing Area four’s event late last year, which saw them progress to the Wimmera Bowls Region Finals.
At Wedderburn in early March, the Dimboola side beat North Central in the Wimmera region final, advancing them to the final 16 to compete at the state championships.
Argall admitted the team was in early trouble in their opening knockout match against Traralgon, but quickly picked up momentum.
“The first game against Traralgon, we were down 5-0 on the first five rinks, and then we hit the front and never looked back.
“We won by three (13-10) and then played Sebastopol in the quarterfinals, where we won by two (15-13).”
In the semifinal, the side raced out to an early 8-0 led the match against Cohuna and comfortably held on to win 18-7, advancing to the final.
Argall said the team was outclassed by a talented Moama side in the final, where they lost 24-3.
“We came up against the big boys, the Moama Steamers, and they're all BPL professional players,” Argall said.
“So we got a hell of a whopping, but they are a tremendous bunch of blokes.”
The club president said each member contributed to the outstanding performance.
“We had a rough average team, and we all bowled well at times, where everybody added something,” Argall said.
“We were skipped by young Daniel Danish, who’s a ripping bowler at just 23.
“Our third, Peter O’Loughlin, is very experienced, and then we had Don Connors, who is very confusing because he can bowl both left-handed and right-handed.
“He bowls backhanded for both, so he switches hands depending on what the skip asks him to do, which is a confusing sight for the opposition.
“Then there’s me leading, who did all the hard work and carried them all the time,” Argall jokingly added.
Earlier in the championships, Judith Albrecht played out a round-of-16 nailbiter.
Albrecht fell behind 8-2 to opponent Jody Corrigan before coming back to take a 16-13 lead against her Stratford opponent.
Little separated the two late in the match, with a critical win on the 32nd end giving Albrecht a clutch 25-24 victory.
In the quarter final, Albrecht led almost the entire way against Clayton’s Paula Wood, ultimately finishing with a 25-17 win.
In her semifinal against Gayle Edwards from Deer Park, Albrecht led for large portions of the match before narrowly being defeated 25-22.
Argall was not surprised by Albrecht’s individual performance, believing she has the potential to take it out in future years.
“Judith’s been there twice now and is a bloody good bowler,” he said.
“Give her four bowls, and she takes some beating.
“Hopefully she can go two better and win it next year.”