On the mat: Kyabram's Josh Cartwright.
Photo by
Aydin Payne
Josh Cartwright’s first season as a skip in the Goulburn Valley Playing Area’s division one pennant bowls competition hit a high note on Saturday when he guided his rink to a seventh win for the season.
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Going into the Christmas break the teenager is now the fourth-ranked skipper in the eight-team competition, having lost only two of his nine matches this season.
It is a big improvement on season 2022-23 when the middle child of the three lawn bowling siblings (Jacob is the youngest and Olivia the eldest) finished as the GV ‘s 28th ranked division one player.
His brother Jacob was ranked 19th and father David was the competition’s 11th best skip (7-6 record) last year.
Josh Cartwright’s performance this year is equal to that of decorated teammate Brent Reiner (number two skip in division one this season) and only marginally behind the other top three skips for season 2023-24 ― Shepparton Golf pair Kris Ferguson and Brad Orr.
Younger brother Jacob and father David are the 70th and 71st seeded players this season.
The middle Cartwright is now the GV’s 14th overall seed (fifth-ranked of the second-ranked Kyabram team), having bowled with champion Kyabram veteran Greg Shilling as his third and the experienced Robert Anset in the lead role.
They won their ninth round match at the weekend against Euroa’s Andy Houston by 13 shots (27-14), Shilling the second-ranked third in the competition and Anset the fourth-ranked lead.
It was Kyabram’s fifth successive win after it had lost its first two games ― to Shepparton Park and Shepparton Golf.
Kyabram opened the season with a two-shot loss to the now fourth-ranked Park combination and it was hardly the perfect start to the Kyabram P-12 College student’s season. He lost 16-25 to Graeme Myers.
His only other loss for the season was against Tallygaroopna skip David Daws, a match he lost by nine.
Cartwright had successive wins ― 22-18 against Euroa in round two, 28-24 versus Mooroopna veteran Bruce Anselmi, was Kyabram’s only winner (26-19) in the 10-shot loss to top-of-the-ladder Shepparton Golf in round four.
He made it four in a row against East Shepparton and hasn’t lost since the Tallygaroopna match in round six.
Since then he has had nine and 14-shot wins against Tatura-Hill Top and Shepparton Park, then the Euroa result on Saturday.
Darren Boswood has now settled into the number two role with the team after Jamie Stokes and Kenneth Risstrom had stints in the foursome.
Eighth seed: Stephen Piggott shares the same record as Mal Williams and Brent Reiner, ranked eighth in the GV division one competition, having bowled as second and third to skip Reiner all season.
Stephen Piggott is one of three top 10-ranked Kyabram division one bowlers, having bowled alongside Mal Williams and top skip Reiner for almost the entire season.
Piggott has been second and third in the Reiner and Williams (lead) line-up, with David Schreenan, Hayden Crilly and Charlie Boswood all having rotated through the rink this season.
