Young gun earns five minutes of fame after cheeky bet

Taroom’s Phoebe Lawa, 21& Geoff Brown, 75. 

Palmwoods bowler Geoff Brown, 75, may have been joking – but Taroom’s Phoebe Lawa, 21, made sure he kept his word during a marathon weekend of lawn bowls in Meandarra.

The pair met on the green at the Quick-Fire Triples on March 21-22, where 16 teams powered through 15 games of six ends in a non-stop test of stamina.

Phoebe, who has been playing for just two years and works at the Taroom Bowls Club, teamed up with her mum and grandmother – proving lawn bowls is one of the few sports where three generations can line up together and still be a threat.

Across the rink, Geoff brought 40 years of experience, a four-time Queensland over-60s cap and an Australian title in the format. He was playing alongside his Meandarra cousin and Buderim’s Richard Meacle, a familiar face in the district.

But it was a cheeky sideline comment that stole the show.

Geoff told Phoebe that if she could knock off a “so-called” better team, he’d do his best to get her name in jis local paper. She did – and here we are.

It was a fitting snapshot of a sport where experience meets enthusiasm.