Division 1
Mount Gambier RSL Red 76/14 d Mount Gambier Blue 62/2
MOUNT Gambier RSL’s Division 1 Red team did not have it all its own way when made the trip across town to play the lower ranked Mount Gambier Blue on Saturday.
The day was a close affair until the RSL side began a run of scoring across all rinks around the 19th end.
This momentum swung the majority of rinks in its favour and it was able to take the overall win.
Jamie Lambert, Ralph Stafford, Michael Fox and Graham Ellis provided somewhat of a buffer for the Red side on their rink against Andrew Yeates, Bill Bremner, Steve Farrell and Kym Jones.
The Ellis four led throughout, with three fours boosting their score to 33-19 after the final end.
It was a similar scenario for Robert Corner, Deane Wilkinson, Chris Waugh and Andy Ashby, as they finally shook off Ray Hutchesson, Geoff Collins, David Babb and Jeff England with a solid run of multiples over four ends to win 27-19.
However, it was not all in the favour of the visitors, as Jason Kuring, Peter Roachock, Neil Tobin and Rex Heins struggled against Brian Francis, John Hughes, Gary Widdison and Ian VonStanke.
The team was 11 shots behind by the 18th end, but was able to narrow the margin slightly for an eventual 16-24 defeat.
Mount Gambier RSL Blue 74/13 d Lucindale 71/3
AFTER soundly defeating Lucindale away in its first encounter, the Mount Gambier RSL Blue side had no such luxury in Saturday’s round at home.
Lucindale took it right down to the wire, with the RSL managing to win by just three shots at the end of the day.
Dougie McPhail, David Edwards, Ben Masters and Glenn Wright had a see-sawing game against Andrew Stewart, Richard Graetz, Peter Kurray and Peter McCallum.
After the RSL regained the lead on the 18th end, Lucindale surged to the finish to deny it the points, as the hosts suffered a 25-26 defeat.
Another intense battle saw Tim Wrightson, Ian MacIntosh, Gary Feast and Strawb Masters lock horns with Tracey Willmott, Scot Davison, Rodney Willmott and Neil Watts.
The lead changed many times throughout the day and in the end the match resulted in a 25-all draw.
Max Schultz, Gary Bowering, Greg Whitehead and Ron Ploenges seemed to have a firm grip on their game against Eric Pitt’s team before they dropped a three and then a seven after the break to squander their lead.
Ploenges’ four quickly recovered, but Lucindale fought to the end.
The RSL team was able to finish four shots up, with a score of 24-20, which was enough for the side to claim the overall victory.
Division 2
Port MacDonnell 93/16 d Mount Gambier RSL Red 71/0
AFTER leading strongly through the first round of matches, the Mount Gambier RSL Division 2 Red side has not been travelling well of late.
This was again the case on the weekend, when it went down to Port MacDonnell in what should have been a winnable game at home.
After playing catch-up, Noel Miller’s four managed to find the lead with two ends to play.
However, Joy Bilney’s rink were too good and the Bay claimed a 28-24 win.
A slow start also saw Wayne Legutko’s four playing catch up, as they began slowly against Kel Butler’s side, before a seven moved their score along.
The RSL were up by six shots after the 18th end, but were out-bowled from that point and lost 28-33.
Ian Moulden’s four had the early edge over their visitors, but Bob Hutchesson’s rink soon asserted its dominance.
The Bay outscored them in an 18-2 shot spree before the break and Moulden’s four were unable to regain control, finishing 19-32 down.
Penola 71/14 d Mount Gambier RSL Blue 65/2
ALSO in the Division 2 competition, the Mount Gambier RSL Blue side put up a gallant fight against Penola as it hit the road for Round 17.
However, the guests proved too strong in the end.
Ron Cook, Harry Childs, David O’Donnell and Des Moulden played a close game against Scott Deigenhardt’s four, but a dropped seven with two ends to play saw the win slip from their grasp.
The RSL team lost by seven shots, 23-30.
A late improvement in the final five ends from Nancye Wilson, Beryl Messenger, Rick Fallaize and Karen Doman was not enough to secure the points, as they finished 19-27 against Peter Thompson’s four.
Despite these unfortunate results, the day was not without its highlights, with John Robinson, Jim Cruise, Malcolm Williamson and John Spehr dominationg the second half of their match against Rick Mitchell’s team to win 23-14.
Division 3
Mount Gambier RSL Red 95/16 d Port MacDonnell 50/0
THE game between Mount Gambier RSL Red and Port MacDonnell reflected the difference in strength between the top and bottom sides in Division 3, as the Red team cruised to an easy victory.
Bob White’s four won 35-11 in an impressive display, while Alby McIntyre’s team also performed well to win their rink 34-14.
The closest game saw Tony Freeman and his team survive a strong comeback to get over the line 26-25.
Mount Gambier Blue 61/2 d Mount Gambier 65/14
DESPITE having its chances on its home greens, the Division 3 Blue team was unable to secure the win when it hosted Mount Gambier on Saturday.
Les James’ four was the only rink to enjoy a win, as they took the lead on the 14th end and gradually pulled away for a final score of 25-18.
Eileen Cruise’s four tried to make up for a slow start, but the gap was too large and they went down 22-28.
A loss was also the result for David Klem’s four, after they maintained a slight edge for majority of the game, before being overrun in the closing ends for a 14-19 deficit.
