The first game of Round 6 saw the Top Guns go toe to toe with the Royal Rascals at the Top Pub in Broadford.
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With the Top Guns still holding a grudge after the Rascals knocked them out of the finals in their maiden season, there was plenty of pride on the line in this match-up.
The Rascals got onto the board early, winning the quads game thanks to Belinda Reid’s first 180 of the year; congratulations Belinda. But it was all one-way traffic from there as the Top Guns carried on their form from the previous week, taking the chocolates with a 7-4 victory.
Along with her 180, the Rascals’ Belinda Reid speared in a ton and a 110, and Brendan Rogers scored the match’s highest finish, a peg of 55, as well as hitting a 121. The Top Guns’ Alan Sharp found the treble at will, finishing the night with five pegs to go with two tons, a 116, 121 and 132. Young gun Zane Kilroy also nailed five pegs as well as scoring two tons, a 123 and a 125; and Greg Holcombe smashed in two tons to cap off game one.
The R.C.C. Mighty Ducks threw down the challenge against the POW Renegades in game two of the night.
With the Ducks hunting an elusive first victory, they were going to bring their A-game against a strong Renegades line-up.
The Ducks scored freely and kept up with the ‘Gades throughout the night but struggled to hit the peg, and eventually succumbed to a 9-2 defeat.
Robert Leggo was the stand-out for the home team, nailing a match-high peg of 58 as well as throwing a ton and a 125, while Aaron Peacock continues to fly under the radar and pinched another scalp and nailed a ton in the process. The Renegades’ captain led his team well, nailing six pegs as well as snagging three tons and a 125; Patrick Browning was a good spoil, slipping in five finishes of his own as well as throwing a ton and two 140s; and Roger McCallum chipped in with a 121.
The third game of the round saw the first meeting between the two Div 2 premiers, with the Pyalong Tigers locking horns with the Bottom Pub Pirates at the Pyalong Recreation Reserve. After their shock defeat to the Top Guns in round five, the Pirates came out fired up and chasing redemption, putting the Tigers to the sword to the tune of a 7-4 victory. The Tigers’ captain, Jack Stephens, found a rich vein of form and followed it all night, smacking in four tons, a 123 and hit finishes of 90 and 98 in consecutive legs; Dan Sporle struggled for consistency overall but still nailed a 101, 105 and a 125. Robert Parkinson was unlucky with the night’s match-ups but snagged two tons and a 140 and Jenna Martini chipped in with a 117 to round out the highlights for the home team.
Steve Kilroy was in scintillating form for the visitors. He slipped in two tons, a 107, 128 and a 130 to go with a high peg of 68, while his nephew Seth Kilroy continues to impress in his first season as a Pirate, firing in three tons and a 123. Andrew ‘Harry’ Harrison rediscovered some of his form from last season, snagging two tons and a 118; Jamie Dow-Rowan hammered in three straight tons; and Dan Kilroy contributed just the single ton for the night.
Game 4 put up one of the closest match-ups this season as the POW Rebels went head to head with the Avenel Assassins.
With both teams going blow for blow all night and nearly every singles match forced to a deciding leg, it was a fitting way to end an epic match with the result not being decided until the very last dart thrown for the night.
But it was the Assassins who notched their second victory of the season after pipping the Rebels with a 6-5 win, thanks to some fancy finishing from Assassins’ Noel Whitling who hammered home five pegs including the match-high finish of 55, as well as sticking two tons and a 115. Cody Short was in good touch too, finishing the night with a 104 and a 105; and Jasmine Reed was the only other player to hit a triple figure score for the visitors when she nailed a 105.
For the Rebels, Steve Reed hit their highest score, sneaking in a 115, and Marg Francis backed that up with a 108.
Moving onto game five, there was another close match going on over at the Prince of Wales Hotel, with the POW Kings throwing everything they had at Golf Club Aces.
The Kings got off to an early lead after a flurry of high scores, but the Aces showed why they have been a contender for so long and levelled the match 4-4 before winning the next two games straight, putting the final nails in the coffin to walk away with a 6-5 win, leaving the Kings wondering ‘what if?'
The home team was well served by captain Terran Crispin who finished his night with five tons and two 140s; Adam Lynch had the team's high peg with a 68 finish, and also slipped in six tons and a 104. Jarrod Duggin continued his red-hot form with another two tons, a 120, a 125 and a 132; and, last but not least, Jeff Rhue snuck in a single ton. The Aces’ Dan Raynor was seeing the treble 20 as big as a beach ball as he steered in not one, but two 180s! Congratulations Dan. He also slipped in five tons and a 121. Emily Wills lent great support with two tons, a 125, 132 and two 140s; Aces’ captain Steve Raynor scored three tons from one start; and Frank Roberts powered through all his opponents and hammered in a ton.
The 6th game of the night saw two of the league's closest teams come together at the Broadford Hotel, where Broadford Vikings took on Pyalong Buccaneers for the first time in their short history.
With Monday marking the anniversary of the passing of Vikings’ captain Mark Jones’ brother Rev, it was perfectly timed that these two teams came together to celebrate and reminisce with each other, as well as fight tooth and nail for the four points.
The Buccaneers got on the board early with a doubles victory, but the sheer scoring power of the Vikings' dynamos was too much to withstand as the Buccs were sent home shell shocked after a 9-2 demolition.
Peter Myles was unstoppable for the Vikings, putting on a clinic with an impressive five tons, a 125, four 140s and a maximum; well done. Mark Robinson returned to the side, showing no sign of jet lag after rocketing in high pegs of 101 and 120 to go with eight tons, a 131 and a 140. Captain Mark Jones was in fine finishing form, hitting six pegs as well as throwing two tons, a 121 and a 140, and Darren Withoos nailed three tons for the home team.
The Buccaneers had a dark night for highlights with only Mick Doyle snagging a 126 while Jayde Pearson had a classy finish of 50, with a double bull out; she also scored a ton and a 140.
The final game of the round saw the Lions host the R.C.C. Titans at the Royal Hotel in Seymour.
With the top of the ladder on offer for the Lions with a victory, they left nothing to chance, went in all guns blazing and blew the Titans away with a 9-2 blitzing.
The Lions' Dennis Soncum returned to form in a big way after a quiet round five and hit the match-high peg of 90 as well as throwing six tons, a 123 and two 140s. Zan Ivancic was sensational with six pegs, four tons, a 118, 120, two 140s and his second 180 for the season; well done Zac. Gary Power had his groove on, nailing six tons and a 140; and Rick Wylie rounded out the home team's highlights with a couple of tons.
The Titans’ Mitch McGuinness was a shining light for the visitors and hammered in four tons, a 101, a 132, a 140, a 160 and a team-high peg of 53. Ayden Ballantyne scored a single victory as well as snaring a ton and a 140; and Mitch Wittig hit the final highlight for Round 6 when he snuck in a single ton.
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