An all-women’s lawn bowls team created history last week, taking out the world’s richest fours tournament – the Inland Petroleum City of Dubbo International Fours.

Held at Club Dubbo between September 22-24, the tournament’s $60,000 first prize was claimed by Annabelle Teague (Cabramatta), Chanel Chakouch (Merrylands), Sam Noronha (Merrylands) and Lisa Phillips (Clayton), who produced an outstanding performance to defeat the 2024 champions and last year’s runners-up in the grand final.

The victorious side featured a tremendous mixture of youth and experience, a spokesperson for Club Dubbo, home of the West Dubbo Roos, said.

Annabelle Teague, just 16 years of age, plays out of Cabramatta, while 19-year-old Chanel Chakouch has already enjoyed considerable success, including winning the Bowls NSW Champion of Champions title this year. Sam Noronha is a NSW representative, while skip Lisa Phillips is a former Australian representative and Australian Open champion.

Their victory in Dubbo was particularly significant given the quality of opposition they overcame on their way to the title.

In the semi-final, the women defeated the highly-credentialled international combination of Cory Wedlock, Adam McKeown, Ross Owen and Gary Kelly, representing Australia, Wales and Northern Ireland.

They carried that form into the final against a star-studded team which had won the event in 2024 and finished runners-up last year and included two Australian Jackaroos and a 2025 World Indoor champion – Joey Clarke, Jack McShane, Nathan Black, and Ben Twist.

The result provided one of the most memorable finishes in the five-year history of the tournament.

Local players also featured prominently throughout the event. West Dubbo’s Warren Towney teamed with Allan Tighe, Shannon Tighe and Dubbo City’s Ricco Lane, with the combination progressing through to the quarter-finals before being eliminated.

The 2026 event has been described as the strongest yet, with more than 158 bowlers taking part. The field featured teams from throughout Australia, along with international representation from New Zealand and Fiji, further adding to the growing reputation of the Dubbo tournament.

On the final day, a Consolation Event was also held for teams that missed out on the major championship prize money, providing a major incentive for teams to remain involved right through to the final day as more than $40,000 in prizemoney was still on offer. The consolation title was won by the East Cessnock combination of Nathan Wise, Steve Fairfull, Osh Muncaster and Cody Griffin, who edged out another highly-credentialled team featuring NSW and Victorian state players and Australian bowls great Aron Sherriff by just three shots.

Of the 38 teams competing in the tournament, 20 teams received at least their entry fee back in prizemoney, highlighting the depth of the tournament’s overall prize structure and ensuring there was still plenty to play for outside the main championship event.

With world-class players, international teams, strong local representation, and one of the richest prize pools in the sport, the Inland Petroleum City of Dubbo Fours continues to grow in stature.

Club Dubbo Bowls Manager Anthony Brown thanked the players for supporting the tournament, while also acknowledging the enormous contribution of Club Dubbo staff and the many volunteers who worked tirelessly throughout the event.

“The support we received from the players, staff and volunteers was outstanding,” Anthony said.

“To see an all-women’s team win an event of this calibre was a great result for the sport and showed that the ladies can compete with the very best.

“We believe this was our best tournament yet and we are already looking forward to next year.”