Victoria Bowling Club Members take on the best at State Champions week

Victoria Bowling Club’s Kane Silbereisen, Jesse Thomas and Jarrod Burt combined for an excellent showing in the 2026 State Championships at Bendigo, reaching the Men’s Triples Final against Metro West.

The Ballarat Highlands men’s triple winners defeated Geelong’s Wayne Visser, Mitchell Hocking & Ray Butler by 9 shots in the Round of 16, before disposing of Northern Gateway’s Michael Stevenson, Darren Burgess & Anthony Flapper by 11 shots in the Quarter Finals.

A 6 shot semi final win over Wimmera’s Robert Tonkin, Damien Mason and Andrew Caserta set up a final against Metro Premier League bowlers Garry Ball, Brendan Umbers and Craig Mills.

Victoria’s Lauren Morris was on hand to recap each game and her summary is below.
ROUND of 16 (Geelong)

Game 1 saw us take on Geelong, where we got off to a strong start. Kane Silbereisen led brilliantly, setting the tone from the opening end by nailing the jack and immediately applying scoreboard pressure. Jess Thomas followed up with consistency, drawing well and building pressure, allowing Jarrod Burt to play team bowls and step in with key shots when needed. It was a complete performance and a solid opening-round victory.

R16: 17-8 (W) W. Visser, M. Hocking & R. Butler (GEE)
Quarter Final (Northern Gateway)

In Game 2, we faced Northern Gateway — Michael Stevenson, Darren Burgess and Anthony Flapper from Essendon — in a match featured on the live stream. Carrying momentum from the first game, Kane, Jess and Jarrod again applied early pressure and controlled the contest. The team worked seamlessly together to secure the win, with a particularly pleasing result for Jarrod against his former teammates, booking a place in the semi-finals later that day.

QF: 20-9 (W) M. Stevenson, D. Burgess & A. Flapper (NG)
Semi Final (Wimmera)

The semi-final saw us up against strong contenders Wimmera. After two impressive wins, this was always going to be a tough challenge, especially late in the day. We had a slow start, trailing by 7 shots after three ends, but once we found our rhythm and adjusted to the pace of the green, we fought our way back. Scores were level by the 9th end, and from there it was a tight battle. A strong finish — picking up 6 shots over the final three ends — saw us surge ahead and claim the win.

SF: 20-14 (W) R. Tonkin, D. Mason & A. Caserta (WIM)
FINAL (Metro West)

In the Grand Final, we met Metro West — Garry Ball, Brendan Umbers and Craig Mills from Yarraville Footscray — a formidable lineup with strong Premier League experience. It was a high-quality contest, going shot for shot throughout. In the end, Metro West claimed the final two ends to take the title, but it was a tremendous effort from Kane, Jess and Jarrod to finish as State Championship runners-up.

FINAL: 10-16 (L) – G. Ball, B. Umbers & C. Mills (MW)

Article: BHBR website

In the Mens Singles, unfortunately, Craig Ford didn’t progress to finals, but an incredible achievement to beat the best in Ballarat and Highlands to make it to Bendigo.