Allan Matheson Shield | Park faces Golf in top-of-table showdown, Mooroopna eyes first division one victory against East

Park has begun its 2022-23 season in dominant fashion, recording a trio of strong victories against Mooroopna, East Shepparton and Stanhope to stake its claim as a top contender.

But while they have been impressive in their triumphs this week’s assignment will give the Parkers a true indication of where they are at, as they face a Golf side that has been the measuring stick of the competition for the past decade.

Shepparton Park team manager Ash Williamson said this clash served as an “acid test” for the squad as it looks to continue its bright start to the season.

“Shepparton Park has had a pretty favourable draw over the first three weeks and we’ve ticked off those three wins to really set up our season well, but this is the acid test,” Williamson said on After the Jack.

“It will be interesting to see how we can go over at Shepparton Golf, traditionally the greens are quicker which has been our Achilles heel in recent seasons.

“So we’ll have to adjust to that and give it a good crack.”

Golf on the other hand enters the clash a side brimming with confidence, having already bested fellow pre-season fancy Kyabram on its way to a perfect 3-0 record.

Elsewhere, East Shepparton and Mooroopna will be eyeing their first win of the season as they square off at East Shepparton.

After a tough start to life in the top tier Mooroopna showed great improvement in its last outing against Kyabram, taking two rinks off the highly-fancied Bombers to fall by 12 shots.

Now looking to carry that momentum into this clash with the battling Eagles, Cats weekend pennant manager Darren Kelly said he was confident his team could come away with the points.

“We’ve pretty well played all the top sides and have learned a lot,” Kelly said.

“We were very happy with the way we played against Kyabram in our last game taking two rinks, so hopefully we can maintain that momentum in what is a massive opportunity for us.

“It is a bit of a battle of the cellar-dwellers, so we see this game as a massive opportunity to get on the board and give our young guys who haven’t won a game in division one a bit of reward for effort.”

Kyabram will be looking to catapult itself back into the top two as it makes the trip to Tatura-Hill Top.

Entering the season as one of the league’s top contenders, the Bombers have found a nice groove in the early part of their campaign, with a four-shot loss to Shepparton Golf their only blemish.

Kyabram Bowling Club vice-president Glenn Fields said the team was in good shape leading into this tough encounter.

“The side will be pretty well the same as what it has been for a first three games, there isn’t really much to tinker with really having won two and lost a tight one against Shepparton Golf,” Fields said.

“It’s probably been as good a start as we could have hoped with a tough schedule to start the year, the vibe among the group is very good at the moment.

“We know we can’t take anyone lightly in division one though and are expecting a very tough match, so it is super important we are at our best.”

Stanhope rounds out the weekend’s action as it hosts Tallygaroopna in what is set to be an intriguing clash.

After being humbled by Kyabram in their opening match the reigning premiers Redlegs have hit back hard with a pair of convincing wins against East Shepparton and Mooroopna.

Stanhope on the other hand has been extremely competitive in its efforts during the past two games, upsetting Tatura-Hill Top before giving ladder-leader Shepparton Park all it could handle before the Victorian Open bye.