Round seven kicked off at the Prince in Seymour with the POW Rebels going toe-to-toe with the R.C.C. Kings, who returned to their old stomping ground for the first time since moving to the Royals Cricket Club.
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With the Kings feeling right at home, they put on a master class, winning the first seven games straight before the Rebels landed a blow, the visitors consolidating their place inside the top four with a 10-1 landslide victory.
Despite the loss, the Rebels had a few reasons to be pleased, with Jose Mason throwing her first ever 180. Congratulations Jose!
On top of that, youngster Corey Ritchie nailed his first recordable score, throwing a 107, and Shelley Jensen snagged a high score of 105.
Kings captain Terran Crispin was on fire, slamming in five pegs including in a match-high peg of 89 to go with six tons and a 140, Adam Lynch landed five pegs as well as throwing four tons, a 125 and a 140 and Anthony Bohlman nailed a ton, a 120, 125 and 135.
Game two took place at the Top Pub in Broadford, with the Top Guns lining up the Pyalong Tigers in the crosshairs. With only one game separating these two, it came as no surprise that the game went down to the wire.
The Guns battled all night, but some exceptional pegs from the Pyalong side proved to be the difference, with the Tigers pocketing the four points with a 6-5 win.
The Top Guns’ young gun Zane Kilroy landed the maximum six finishes for his team, including high pegs of 75 and 58. He also fired in three tons, two 125s and two 140s.
Greg Holcombe continued his purple patch of form, completing a high peg of 76 to go with a ton and a 140, Alan Sharp snagged two tons and Kellie Harris returned to the team, getting on the board early with a 105.
Tigers captain Jack Stephens was back to his high-scoring best after a quiet round six, smashing in six tons, a 121, 125 and a high peg of 83. Dan Sporle was next best with four tons and Craig Stephens snagged a single ton as well as throwing a match-high peg of 115 to cap off the highlights for game two.
The third fixture of the night saw two of the flag favourites go head-to-head at The Factory, with team Badass locking horns with the Golf Club Aces.
Badass exploded out of the starting gates, winning all three teams’ games, which piled the pressure on the Aces, and despite half of the singles matches going to a deciding leg, the home side cruised to an 8-3 victory which plants it firmly at the top of the ladder.
Badass’ Anthony Wallis’ name was being spoken all around the district after word of his 170 finish got out. Congrats Wally! His highlights didn’t stop there though - he finished the night with another high peg of 84 as well as throwing a ton and two 121s.
Peter Myles was on song too, throwing a high peg of 86 to go with three tons, a 118 and two 140s.
Dave Kennett snagged another 180 for the season as well as throwing a ton and two 125s, Ray Maloney pounded in two tons, a 118 and a 140 and Wayne Carter chipped in with two 133s.
The Aces’ highlights included six tons and a 114 peg to Dan Raynor, Frank Roberts speared in three tons and two 140s, Mark Jones smashed in three tons, a 140 and a high peg of 70 and Dave Ring rounded out the night with two tons and a high finish of 92.
The R.C.C. Mighty Ducks squared off against the Royal Rascals at the Royals Cricket Club in the next match of the night. With both teams still searching for their first win, neither was going to hold anything back.
The Rascals got on the board early, but the Ducks hit back straight away to set up an arm wrestle.
The Ducks tried hard, but the home side just lacked polish with its finishing as the Rascals broke their duck to bank their first win of the season with a 7-4 victory.
The Mighty Ducks’ Jackie McKenzie stole the limelight when she nailed a high score of 164, Shane House chipped in with 111 and Yolanda De Navi snagged a 103.
The Rascals’ Stuart Crockett hammered in the match’s highest finish, pumping in a peg of 65. He also threw a ton and a 101. Noel Whitling snagged five pegs and scored a 133 and Alex Polachek hammered in a high score of 106 to wrap up game four.
The Pyalong Recreation Reserve was pumping on Monday night with an even match-up between the Pyalong Buccaneers and the POW Renegades.
With the Buccs sitting directly above the Renegades on the ladder, the four points was anybody’s for the taking.
After the ‘Gades suffered a heartbreaking narrow loss in round six, they came out breathing fire on Monday night and won the first three games on the trot to give themselves a handy buffer going into the singles.
The Buccaneers fought back in the singles, but the damage was done early as the ‘Gades took home the chocolates with a 7-4 win, a win that keeps them in touch of the pack that is forming in the middle of the ladder.
The Buccaneers’ Jayde Pearson was dynamite on the oche, pumping in four tons, a 120 and a 125, Mick Doyle continues to fly under the radar this season, sneaking in a ton and a 126, captain Mark Ruddick scored a ton and a 138 and Graeme Ward slipped in a 121.
The Renegades’ Leigh Turnbull backed up his heroics from last week, finishing with a full contingent of six finishes, including a high peg of 62. He also scored three tons.
Captain Chrystal Turnbull followed Turnbull’s pegging lead, hitting high finishes of 74 and 60 to go with high scores of 105 and 121, Jarrod Kerr returned to the team and smacked in two straight tons and Roger McCallum snuck in a high peg of 55 to go with a ton and a 116.
The next match-up saw two of the top four teams toe the line at the Royals Cricket Club, with the R.C.C. Snipers looking to assert themselves as the competition’s benchmarch and the Pirates hoping to prove themselves as a top-four contender.
The Snipers blasted out to a 3-1 lead before the Pirates slowly clawed their way back into the match in the first round of singles matches to take a 4-3 lead into the reverse singles.
But the cream always rises to the top, with the Snipers winning the next three games on the spin to pocket the points, running out eventual 6-5 winners.
Snipers captain Mark Robinson was an immovable force for the home team, hammering in five pegs, seven tons, a 125, two 140s and a 180. Well done, Robbo!
Jason Masters fired in three tons and a 140, Steve Ritchie slipped in two tons and a 120 and Dave Cooper chipped in with a 121.
Pirates captain Dan Kilroy tried his best to drag his team across the line, finishing with two tons, a 123, 134 and a match-high peg of 114. After a blistering start to the season, youngster Seth Kilroy was off the boil, spearing in just two tons and a 140. Jamie Dow-Rowan smashed in two tons and Steve Kilroy chipped in with just one ton.
The Lions faced off against the Kilmore Cobras at the Royal Hotel in the final match of the round. With a plethora of high finishes already peppered throughout the matches this week, this one followed the same storyline as these two teams pulled out all the stops to keep in touch of the top four.
The Lions got off to a fast start, winning all three team games. Despite the Cobras’ fightback in the singles matches, we’ve seen time and time again that in close matches, those first three games can make or break a teams’ night, and that was the case as the Lions clawed their way to a 7-4 victory.
Gary Power was a standout for the Lions after hammering in five pegs, including a high peg of 78. He also snagged four tons, a 120, 121 and two 140s. Rob Welsh hit the match’s highest finish, smashing in a peg of 108 as well as three straight tons, Lizz Henzell nailed a 101, 115 and 132 in a good captain’s knock and John Crockett put a full stop on the round with a single ton.
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