Karoonda remain unbeaten, Murray Bridge are still winless in Lower Murray bowls

This story was contributed by Dhontbe Schortt.

Karoonda have continued their winning form with a 72-47 win over Tailem Bend in Lower Murray bowls, with the end result probably a little flattering for the visitors as Karoonda took a stranglehold early in the contest.

It was all one way traffic for Andrew Stasinowsky, Erin O'Malley, Ray Rudiger and Malcolm McKenzie as they raced to a 23-0 lead over Duane Edwards, David Hoare, Keith Wood and Bernard Naulty after just eight ends.

Sixes on both the sixth and eighth ends, as well as an earlier three and a four, had Staz in complete control, and a massive score loomed before three successive twos leading into the break gave Edwards some momentary respite.

But the resumption of play saw Stasinowsky again on a roll, winning the next seven ends in a row, albeit with much more sedate numbers as he took a 32-6 lead.

Edwards recovered to win the final four ends, adding seven shots to reduce the final margin to a more palatable 19 shots, 32-13.

Rowan Zadow, Rohan Tomkinson, Jayden Turner and Ian Symonds also had little trouble in disposing of Travis Schenke, Merv Stevens, Ian Shepherd and Matt Kowald 21-12.

In a dominant first half, Zadow won seven of the first nine ends for a 13-3 lead.

From there both sides traded shots, with Schenke unable to make any significant inroads as the final score settled at 21-12 for the home side.

On the final rink, Rob Hales, Michael Thorne, Neil Zander and Grantley Byrne just edged out Josh Porker, Malcolm Waechter, Belinda O'Malley and Bill Cornish 22-19.

The scores were very tight through the first half, but a three to Hales on the 13^th end immediately followed by three singles gave him a six-shot lead with five ends to play.

Porker closed the gap, trailing by a single shot going into the last end, but a two to Hales secured the win and two points for Tailem.

Jervois powers away against RSL

At Jervois, the home side was far too accomplished for a struggling RSL as they powered away to a 72-31 win with all rinks up.

Graeme Herbert, Garry Mason, Graham Schenke and Shane Fromm won the first six ends, and led 13-1 after nine ends, against David Thiele, Max Wilkin, Michael Walker and Phil Day.

A two to Thiele only sparked another scoring spree to Herbert, who then won another nine ends in succession and added 17 shots to lead 30-3.

A three to Thiele doubled his score before Herbert finished the day with a three of his own and a 33-6 win.

Jeremy Scannell, Graham Fromm, Bruce Smith and Stuart McCulloch broke through for their first win of the season with a solid 20-12 win over Jason Sipos, Charlie DiSanto, Bruce Warner and Greg Hopgood.

Only one shot separated the sides after nine ends, but Scannell was in imperious form as he led his rink to wins in eight of the next nine ends to take a commanding 19-7 lead.

A consolation three shots to Sipos on the final end at least got his score into double figures.

The as-yet-undefeated rink of Shawn Hicks, Derek Vanderzon, Heather Fromm and Neil Morris had an intriguing battle with Noel Kneebone, Karen Kneebone, David Newell and Anne-Marie Kuchel before finishing the stronger for a 19-13 win.

Sixteen of the 21 ends were decided by singles, and the lead changed hands six times over the first 16 ends.

Kneebone was having the better of his matchup with Hicks, with some big conversions, but ultimately a more even performance from Hicks' teammates edged them in front.

A four on the 19^th end gave Hicks the lead by six shots, and that became the final margin.

Murray Bridge are struggling

At Mannum, the home side could only win one rink, but the magnitude of that win was sufficient to give them a 69-62 win over Murray Bridge, who remain winless after four rounds.

Terry McDonnell, Andrew Hammence, Peter Wegner and Todd McDonnell had a massive 40-10 win over David Kempe, Ben Traeger, Brian Leckie and John Bubner.

It was an unhappy return for Kempe, who spent the previous two seasons at Mannum, as a promising start quickly turned into disaster.

A three on the third end gave Kempe an early two-shot lead, but McDonnell went on to win 10 of the next 12 ends in adding 28 shots to two for a 30-6 lead.

All of those scores for McDonnell were multiples, with a six, a four and two threes to go along with six twos.

A four to Kempe on the 16th restored some respectability, but McDonnell was not done yet and he won the final five ends, and with a five for good measure strolled to a 30-shot win.

Darren McIntosh, Tony Trewren, Troy Penhall and Paul Smart started with a flourish, scoring four on the first end, and had raced to a 15-1 lead over Graham Wakefield, Tom Towns, Jack Vinck and Gary Odgers after nine ends.

Wakefield gradually closed the gap in winning seven of the next 10 ends, and with a three on the 19th reduced the deficit to eight shots.

But McIntosh finished off in style, adding five and four in the final two ends to take the margin out to a game high 17 shots with a 28-11 win.

Brian Traeger, Judy Zadow, Helen Lindner and Bruce Attrill, who had relinquished his skipper's role, overcame a slow start to overtake Gavin Pfeiffer, Graham Leathers, Stephen Gregory and Colin Campion with a mid-game surge which set up a 24-18 win.

Pfeiffer had won the first four ends and led 7-0 before the visitors kicked into gear and added 17 shots to one to lead 17-8 after 12 ends.

Pfeiffer then added a single, followed by three twos, which got him back to within two shots.

Traeger settled and added seven shots to three over the last five ends for a six-shot win.

Round five preview

This weekend, the completion of the first full round, where all teams will have met once, should give some indication as to where all teams sit.

Murray Bridge will host RSL, with both teams sitting in a bit of a rut at the moment.

RSL started the season with a good win over Mannum, followed by a close loss to the undefeated Karoonda, but their performances over the last two weeks would leave them very disappointed.

Murray Bridge are yet to win, but as premiers for the last two years, their fall from grace may be more of an aberration than a genuine indicator of where they are at.

Ruby Traeger has taken over as skipper from the seemingly ageless Bruce Attrill, so they are prepared to make changes.

It is hard to see them dropping this one, so I will tip a big win to kick start a revival.

Karoonda are home to Mannum, and I see no reason why their winning form will not continue.

Andrew Stasinowsky, Erin O'Malley, Ray Rudiger and Malcolm McKenzie have been standouts, with an average winning margin in double digits, and are yet to taste defeat.

If my information is correct, this will be Josh Porker's last appearance before his return to the Premier League makes him ineligible, and he will be very keen to depart with his side's unblemished record intact.

Mannum will be buoyed by their last start win over Murray Bridge courtesy of a massive win on one rink, but they will be looking for more consistency with their other win being over a severely depleted Tailem Bend.

Karoonda should win this one.

Jervois cross the ferry to play Tailem Bend in the most difficult clash to predict.

Tailem have arguably the biggest home ground advantage in the association, with many players finding their greens difficult to adapt to; but this season they have have lost their only home game so far, albeit with key players missing.

Sam Shepherd has made just a single appearance so far this season, but he makes a huge difference if available.

If he plays, the skippering trio of Shepherd, Duane Edwards and Travis Schenke backed up by Rob Hales, Merv Stevens and David Hoare is as good as any in the comp.

For Jervois, an emphatic loss to Karoonda has been followed by three solid wins, and they appear to be gaining confidence.

Shawn Hicks has his rink of Derek Vanderzon, Heather Fromm and Neil Morris going well with four straight wins, despite them trailling at the break in three of those.

Jeremy Scannell regained his mojo last week and will be keen to build on that, while Graeme Herbert had a massive win and is finding good form.

I will tip the visitors in a close encounter, but only just.