MERBEIN Hawks toppled ladder leaders Ouyen in a ding-dong contest that went down to the wire.
Ouyen’s top rink skipped by Janet Vallance tied with Merbein’s Shawn Fullerton.
On the adjoining rink, Hawk Jack Anderson held Steve Simmonds to a 22-all draw.
With two matches decided, the stage was set for a close finish.
Laurie McLaine, Graham Newey, Allan Johnston and Mark Butcher got the job done for the Hawks, getting home by three shots over Harry Munro. Merbein 73 (10) d Ouyen 70 (2).
Irymple took early control of their game over Mildura, brewing to a 24-shot lead.
Tom Hogan was up by 16 shots over Mark Eckel, Matt West 13-9 up against Chris Mitchell and Wayne Gardner four shots clear of Keith Sharman. Whatever was in the teapot surely sparked a magic revival.
Mitchell’s rink hustled hard with Lindsay Lynch, John Simpson and Isaiah Bettess producing a spark, which ignited and fired the rink to a 21-18 win over West.
Mark Eckel pulled his rink together reducing the margin to a 19-30 loss to Tom Hogan.
Sharman’s rink pulled out all stops to record a 33-21 win over Gardner. The last end of that match saw Gardner step on to the mat to play the last bowl … six shots down. The equation was simple. Draw shot to save the game. His bowl fell agonisingly short and the Magic scored a four-shot victory. Mildura 73 (10) d Irymple 69 (2).
Workers put together a unified performance against the Coomealla Cannons. Roger Bray was up and about, collecting a 34-17 win over Mark Deakin. Ian Pollock added to the score line with a solid 27-14 win over Brandon Tyers. Rod Taylor piloted his Cannons rink to solid 22-19 win over Ken Job. Workers winning 80 (10) to Coomealla 53 (2).
Ladder: Ouyen 65, Mildura 60, Irymple 58, Workers 46, Coomealla 30, Merbein 29.
Division 2
IRYMPLE stole a march against the rest of the competition with a 14-shot win over Mildura. Graeme Phillips leading his rink of Ian Kellett, Tracie Storer and Russell Lynch to a 29-19 win over Ken Yeowart to set up the win. Irymple 79 (10) d Mildura 65 (2).
Merbein celebrated with a slender one-shot win over Red Cliffs. Owen Rentsch was the only winning rink for Merbein, getting over Michael Clifford 27-20. The Hawks 70 (8) d Tigers 69 (4).
Workers turned the tables on Nangiloc with an away win. Wayne Long’s rink getting home 22-18 over Ben Mansell. Workers 63 (10) d Nangiloc 60 (2).
Ladder: Irymple 69, Nangiloc 60, Mildura 57, Red Cliffs 48, Workers 34, Merbein 20.
Division 3
IRYMPLE scored a 75 (10) win over home side Mildura 64 (2). Ouyen scrambled home to defeat Workers. Ouyen 67 (8) d Workers 63 (4).
Underbool recorded a solid 74 (10) win over Euston 51 (2).
Ladder: Underbool 69, Irymple 65, Ouyen 53, Workers 46, Mildura 33, Euston 22.
Division 4
MILDURA recorded a solid 82 (10) win over Irymple 55 (2). Red Cliffs defeated Wentworth 78 (10) to 69 (2) and Euston recorded a strong win over Coomealla 68 (8) to 58 (4).
Ladder: Wentworth 60, Coomealla 59, Euston 46, Red Cliffs 45, Irymple 40, Mildura 38.
