Oh Brother, What A Match

By Duncan Horscroft on August 6, 2015 in News

Forget about the Hatfields and McCoys, or the Campbells and McDonalds, this was a battle for clan honours between the Pericas and Hugheses.

The much-awaited clash took place between brothers Peter and Bruce Hughes and Mark and Jason Perica on the village green at the Clovelly Bowling Club in an effort to advance to the next round of the coveted pairs division.

The Pericas have bowling in their blood. Their late mother Gerda was a regular competitor for the women’s club with a string of titles to her name.

“I joined the club about a year after Mum died and have been playing for about five years; Jason followed me about four years ago. We love the camaraderie and it’s great to carry on a family tradition,” Mark said.

As for the Hughes boys, they have taken to the game with a passion and both are now also keen competition regulars.

“I have lived around the area all my life and, when I started coming to the club for a beer a few years ago, decided to join and ended up playing bowls and enjoying it,” Bruce said. “Pete used to come and have a roll-up when he flew in from Melbourne where he was working, and when he moved to Perth he started playing Pennants for the Como club.

“He’s back in Bronte now looking after Mum and when she loosens the lead he turns into a bowls tragic.”

Unfortunately for the Pericas the bias fell the wrong way in the big game and it was high-fives all round for the Hugheses as they relived the victory over a few schooners.

The brothers are part of a ‘new breed’ of bowlers at Clovelly with many ‘younger people’ mixing it with the veterans in all forms of competition for both men and women.

Father-and-son team, John Cottle and his 12-year-old son Fletcher, are regular competitors and there’s a strong mix of husbands and wives playing together on a regular basis.

This year the club has been solid against other clubs with both the men’s and women’s teams representing Clovelly at the upcoming state Pennants titles at venues such as Warners Bay and Bathurst.

On most weekends the club’s greens are awash with barefoot bowlers who flock to the scenic location, and the strong demand for social bowling, coupled with the club’s competition success, has made Clovelly one of the strongest clubs around the beaches of the east.