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THE Mount Gambier RSL Division 1 Red Open pennant team finished its season with a home defeat to a strong Naracoorte side, losing by 73 shots to 60 and only gaining two points for the day.
Michael Fox was the only successful skipper, winning a close encounter 24-22.
Both Strawb Masters 17-28 and Deane Wilkinson 19-23 sufferred defeats and although both teams finished on 141 points for the season, it was the Naracoorte side which claimed the prime top position on percentage and therefore gets the home final next week, while RSL Red has the double chance.
The Blue team had a solid end to its season, defeating Millicent, who sat just below them in fifth position at the start of the day and coming home with a 72-68 win to hold onto fourth position after amassing 14 points.
Glenn Wright 21-20 and Rex Heins 31-25 were the winning skippers, with Chris Waugh going down narrowly 20-23.
The Blue side will face Mount Gambier in the do-or-die semi-final.
In Divison 2, RSL travelled to face local side Mount Gambier Blue with high expectations of beating them to go into second on the ladder.
Unfortunately they were not able to get the necessary points and went down by 58-67 but acquired four points for their efforts.
Graeme Smith 23-17 and Wayne Legutko 22-20 won their rinks but a heavy defeat to John Schroeder’s rink 13-30 enabled Mount Gambierto halt the RSL’s charge.
Therefore RSL finished in third position and must now face Naracoorte in a winner-takes-all semi-final.
Divison 3 travelled to face bottom side Millicent Blue with the prospect of a win solidifying their top spot on the ladder.
They did not disappoint and came back with an 84-45 victory which now cements them with a home final.
All three skippers won their rinks to amass 16 points, with Alby McIntyre 30-15, Noel Miller 29-7 and Des Moulden 25-23 being victorious.
Division 4 provided lots of anxiety and dramas with their visit to bottom club Mount Gambier Blue in what turned out to be a close encounter for the finals aspiring RSL.
A 71-68 win was highlighted by an outstanding performance by Tony Freemans rink who recorded their best score for the season with a 32-13 victory.
This carried the team to victory as Ron Cook 23-24 and the previously unbeaten Garry Burke 16-31 fell victim to the difficult-to-handle Mount Gambier greens.
But a shock defeat for second-placed Beachport Red to Port MacDonnell enabled the RSL to leapfrog them into second place and subsequently get the double chance with a visit to top-placed Robe next week.
