Benalla product Koby Cromie was named the Bowls Victoria Under-18 Male Bowler of the Year last Wednesday at the Bowls Victoria awards night in Melbourne. Photo: Bowls Victoria
Benalla teen bowls sensation Koby Cromie has been named the Bowls Victoria Under-18 Male Bowler of the Year, adding yet another accolade to an already impressive resume at the Bowls Victoria awards night in Melbourne last Wednesday.
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Cromie, who now plies his trade for Essendon in the premier division of the metro pennant in Melbourne, claimed the gong over good mate and Victorian teammate Charlie Boswood, who hails from Kyabram, with the pair having notched back-to-back under-18 boys’ pairs national championships together in 2023 and 2024.
The award caps a remarkable month for the young gun, who took out the boys’ singles title in April at the Club Sunbury-hosted 2025 under-18 State Championships, making it back-to-back Victorian titles and his third overall, having also won in 2020.
It was a dominant display, with Cromie notching wins over Fitzroy’s Jackson Tchung and Winchelsea’s Nayte Heaton-Harris in the round-robin section to progress to the finals, drawing Deer Park bowler Harry Coleman in the round of 16.
Kyabram's Charlie Boswood and Benalla's Koby Cromie, pictured after claiming gold in the boys’ pairs at the under-18 bowls nationals last year, were the finalists in the under-18 Male Bowler of the Year at the Bowls Victoria awards night last week. Photo: Marc Grimwade/Bowls Australia
It was a tight contest, however, the Benalla product emerged victorious 21-17, before an even tighter contest against Moama’s Brock Keenan followed in the quarter-finals, with Cromie advancing after a nail-biting 21-20 victory.
Things would be slightly more straight forward for the defending champion from that point, as he clinched a 21-3 semi-final win over Port Melbourne’s Jake Wardrope, before being crowned champion with a convincing 21-11 victory over Sunbury’s Joshua Leszczynski in the final.
It proved a historic triumph, too, as it makes Cromie only the fourth bowler to defend a Victorian boys singles under-18 title and the first to win it three times.
Cromie is no stranger to accolades, having last year been named the 2024 Bowls Australia Under-18 Bowler of the Year following a stunning season where he clinched the singles, doubles and triples titles at the Victorian championships, while also claiming the Under-18 Australian Open and under-18 pairs national titles, alongside a bronze in the singles at national level.
Elder Cromie brother Tyson was also a finalist for the Thunder Male Bowler of the Year accolade at the Bowls Victoria awards night, however, he was pipped by Dane McKinnon, while fellow Goulburn Valley bowlers Olivia Cartwright and Cassandra Millerick, both representing Moama, and Shepparton Golf’s Anthony Flapper — who coaches Cromie at Essendon — were all also up for awards, but were unsuccessful on the night.
