Holdfast Bay bowler Max Kleinig vies for Australian honours

MAX Kleinig was last month named SA’s best male lawn bowler – this week he will vie for selection in his first Australian men’s team.

MAX Kleinig was last month named SA’s best male lawn bowler.

This week he will vie for selection in his first Australian men’s team.

The Holdfast Bay bowler has had a bittersweet 12 months, leading his state and club to within a whisker of their first titles in decades.

His stellar form was rewarded with a call-up to the national team camp on the Gold Coast where the Jackaroos squad will be trimmed from 15 to 10 for their international program.

“It was a big surprise to be honest to get the tap on the shoulder,” Kleinig, 26, says.

“I’ve always wanted to play for Australia at the highest level and it would be a dream come true to be in that squad.”

Kleinig was awarded State Representative Player of the Year at Bowls SA’s awards night.

The honour recognised his efforts in helping SA to second place at the Australian Sides Championships in Perth, its best finish since winning the tournament in 1988.

“It’s massive,” says Kleinig, who also won the award in 2013.

“It’s a big honour just to play for the state, but when you get voted for an award like that by other players it’s pretty cool.”

Kleinig played a major role in taking Holdfast to the Premier One grand final this past season.

He says the heartbreaking one-shot loss to Ascot Park has made him more determined to end the club’s wait for its first top flight flag since 1991.

“The initial shock of losing the grand final was pretty hard to get over ... but we want to regroup and try again to win it,” Kleinig, of Old Reynella, says.

“There’s no one at our club who has won a Premier One pennant so we’ve all got the same goal and we’re pretty driven to get that done.”

Kleinig grew up in the state’s Mid North and began filling in at Laura Bowling Club aged nine.

After three seasons making the 472km round trip to play for Somerton each weekend, he moved to Adelaide in 2011 and joined Holdfast.

Like several of the state’s leading bowlers, Kleinig works as a greenkeeper at the club he plays for.

“It’s really the only way you can get enough time off to pursue your bowls career,” the former under-25 international says.

“It has its moments because you hear all the criticism (of the greens) while you are there, but I love it.”