Salisbury Bowling Club’s Breeanna Dickson selected for Australian under-25 team

LAWN bowls has long been a family affair for Breeanna Dickson — now she is representing her country in the sport she grew up around.

LAWN bowls has long been a family affair for Breeanna Dickson.

The Golden Grove resident sent her first bowl down under the watchful eye of her late grandfather Brian as an eight-year-old at Salisbury Bowling Club.

Two years later, Dickson made her first state junior team after honing her skills in night owls competitions alongside her mother ­Melanie.

“I guess the whole family was into it in some way,” Dickson, 18, says.

“I really grew up around bowls.”

Fast-forward a decade and Dickson is one of the brightest stars in South Australia’s elite Premier One bowling competition.

At club level, the Salisbury player also shares the greens with her teammate and partner Ben Johnson.

“We met through junior bowling and went away on trips together and just got along really well.

“It’s good to have a training partner and it’s good to have someone to support you when you go away a lot.

“But I think there’s always a bit of a comment after matches about how each other plays.”

Dickson capped her meteoric rise last week when she was named in the Australian under-25 side for next month’s Trans Tasman series in Traralgon, Victoria.

Her national selection came a year after winning player of the tournament in the under-18 section of the same event.

“I was excited and surprised at the same time,” she says of her call-up.

“Being under-25s I thought it would be really hard to get into … but I’m just trying to get in as much practice as I can.

“There’s a lot of rivalry between Australia and New Zealand so it should be good fun.”

Dickson will play fours and pairs alongside fellow SA player Renee McPharlin.

“We’ve played pairs ­together for years for South Australia in juniors and ­seniors.

“Now to get the chance to play for Australia together is like a dream come true.”

Dickson says she has enjoyed the challenge of top-flight pennant bowls this season despite Salisbury struggling at the foot of the table since being promoted last year.

After the Trans Tasmans, she is eyeing success at the national championships in Tasmania next month, then representing Australia at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.