North East Bocce Association team members (from left) Fran Mandaradoni, Tony Borelli, Liam McInnes, Paul McInnes, Maria Greco, Joe Greco, Angiolina Borelli and Rosa Russo. Photos: Bocce Australia.
Two teams made up of Kyabram Bocce Club players recently took out titles for the North East Bocce Association at the Australia Bocce Nationals.
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A total of eight players represented NEBA at the national event held in Melbourne over the King’s Birthday long weekend, with six of them from Kyabram.
Frances Mandaradoni, Liam McInnes, Paul McInnes, Maria Greco, Joe Greco and Rosa Russo all competed, each playing doubles, with all but Russo also featuring in the precision throw event.
In the women’s doubles, NEBA had two teams enter as Maria Greco partnered with Russo and Mandaradoni linked up with Angiolina Borrelli, a player from Tatura.
Both teams qualified for the semi-finals and ended up playing off against one another for a spot in the decider.
Greco and Russo won the all-NEBA affair on the final end, reaching the grand final against Morwell.
In another close finish, a supplementary end was required to determine the grand final winner.
Greco and Russo won the toss and delivered a resting toucher, which the Morwell team attempted to drive out. But it failed, meaning the Kyabram players claimed the national raffa bocce women’s doubles title, with Russo also taking out the event’s best-and-fairest award, as determined by the umpires.
Kyabram's Maria Greco (centre) and Rosa Russo (second from right) are awarded their first place medals for winning the national women's doubles title.
The Kyabram representatives weren’t done, with Joe Greco and Paul McInnes taking out the men’s doubles, negotiating tightly contested matches on the way to their national title.
Greco and McInnes defeated Liverpool Club to reach the decider, where they faced the Melbourne-based Frecca Azzura Club.
Like the women’s grand final, a supplementary end was again needed to separate the men’s doubles, with the two sides locked at 6-6.
After McInnes delivered NEBA’s final bowl, Frecca Azzura had one drive but missed, handing a second national title to an all-Kyabram team.
McInnes was also named best-and-fairest.
Kyabram's Joe Greco (centre) and Paul McInnes (second from right) won the national men's doubles title.
NEBA had two teams in the men’s doubles, Liam McInnes and Tatura’s Tony Borrelli being the other pairing, with the duo falling short in their bid to reach the finals stage.
Meanwhile, the precision throw — where players have to hit a target without touching obstacle balls placed within inches of the nominated ball — saw Kyabram representatives again place well.
Maria Greco and Mandaradoni dominated the women’s event, with the latter claiming top position over the former, who was runner-up.
Maria Greco (left) finished second behind Fran Mandaradoni (right) in the women’s precision throw.
In the men’s edition, Joe Greco and Paul and Liam McInnes competed, with Greco finishing third. NEBA representative Tony Borrelli claimed the title.
Players from the bocce association are no strangers to such success at this level.
“Maria Greco, she’s represented Kyabram at international level before, playing in Türkiye and China. Together with Rosa (Russo), they won Australian national games,” Joe Greco said.
“Tony Borelli is an international player that’s done very well over the years in volo (bocce), and the other players are mostly new players that have just started playing since we introduced raffa at Kyabram, that have done very well in the sport.”
This year is the fifth in which the Kyabram Bocce Club has played the game of raffa bocce, which differs slightly in rules to volo bocce, a French version of the sport that has been more commonly played in Australia over the years.
The ball doesn’t have to be thrown as far in raffa, making it a more suitable adaptation of the sport for all ages.
Kyabram’s two national raffa title-winning teams now have the opportunity to compete for Australia at the World Bocce Championship in Brazil in October.
The four players — Maria Greco, Rosa Russo, Joe Greco, and Paul McInnes — aren’t guaranteed for international selection yet, still needing to go through another stage in Melbourne that involves training and try-outs.
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