End of season reviews for Dunbarton A, B and C teams

This was another magnificent campaign for the Dunbarton A team who retained the title that they won on the final day last season. This season was much more comfortable.

The locals started the season with a bang lifting all seven points away to Old Bleach and then travelled to Ballymena in game 5 and came away with six points from a venue they regularly struggle at. In mid season the locals effectively wrapped the league up when they scored three maximum point games at home to Belmont, Old Bleach and Ulster Transport to storm well clear of main rivals Belmont who by this stage had lost three games while the Gilford men remained unbeaten. It was game 13/18 when the Dunbarton stars finally lost a league game when they travelled to closest rivals Belmont and lifted just 1.5 points but with a game to spare the locals lifted the title once again at Ards (same venue as last season). From start to finish the locals dominated this league and their home form was key. In nine matches in Gilford the locals chalked up 58 points out of a possible 63, an incredible record of consistency.

Having never won the league up to the start of the 2006 season, the Dunbarton A team have now chalked up a remarkable 12 titles in the past 17 seasons.

The Dunbarton B team ultimately endured a disappointing league campaign after a season that promised so much. Up to the start of July the locals had won six of their first seven games and having won away to Balmoral the eventual champions, and Mossley, the locals looked on track to also retain their Division Two title. However in July things began to unravel. A disappointing five shot defeat at Old Bleach was followed up two weeks later with a draw at home to Pickie when they led by 17 shots with just a few ends left. Further defeats away to CI Knock and Falls in August ensured that they could not finish in the top two and therefore not be promoted to Division One. As it was, the locals defeated Ballywalter in the final match of the season to finish a very respectable third position. With so much youth in this team, there is huge potential for the Dunbarton B team and they will surely be one of the favourites for the Division Two title next season.

The Dunbarton Midweek team followed in the same vein as their colleagues in the A team by retaining their Midweek Division One league title. Yet after game one the locals did not look as though they would defend their title as they lost their first game of the season away to Larne.

Incredibly however this was the only game that the locals lost in the entire league campaign. The locals managed to win their next 11 games in a row which included a dramatic two-shot defeat of Belmont and a crucial win against eventual runners up Hilden. Game thirteen was a nailbiter as the locals travelled to Randalstown and in a titanic battle with Old Bleach, the Gilford side had a chance to win the game with the last bowl but they knew a draw would still leave them in pole position going into the final fixture so they elected to settle for the draw. So for the second season in a row the Dunbarton team faced Ewarts in the final fixture, knowing that a win would guarantee them another title. And they did this in style, winning all seven points to eventually win the league by five points. What was even more pleasing about this success was that the team was filled with a number of new recruits. Reggie Bolton, Geoff McCracken, Gavin Clinghan, Jamie Kidd, Michael O'Neill, Emma Prunty all joined the club this season and played a huge part in the team's league success. Can they make it three in a row in 2025?