East Shepparton produced its performance of the season to hand Shepparton Golf a maiden loss of the Goulburn Valley Bowls Division's top tier campaign.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Daniel Nichols — after shaving his head for bushfire relief and raising $3000 prior to the Friday night blockbuster at Zurcas Lane — led his troops to a stirring win in round 10 action.
While the Golfers remain next to no chance of finishing anywhere other than first following the defeat, East has now secured a 10-point buffer to Kyabram in fifth spot to give its finals chances a massive boost.
Geoff Franze steered his rink to a huge 31-12 victory against John Stokes, wrestling the lead back from the Golfers on the seventh end after a see-sawing start and never looking back.
Mackenzie Trewren was impressive against Golf coach Brad Orr, securing a 29-18 result despite trailing by two shots after the 15th end.
A 17-4 run to finish the contest was enough for Trewren, his brother Connor (third), Robin Squire (second) and Glenn Cartwright (lead) to snare the big result.
Nichols was also on the winning side of the ledger, taking out John Gribble 23-22 after leading 21-3 at one stage.
David Daws found the only joy for the Golfers in the 16-99 to 2-87 result, defeating Ash Lawlor 35-16.
● Stanhope has jumped out of the frying pan of a relegation battle and into the flames of a fierce finals race after a momentous upset against Shepparton Park on Saturday.
The 16-99 to 2-94 triumph puts Stanhope 35 points clear of last spot and within 23 of fourth.
Hayden Crilly (31-20), Shane Walsh (30-22) and Tim Hancock (25-24) claimed rink wins, while for the Parkers coach Paul Nichols had a 28-13 result.
● Kyabram had a crucial 16-113 to 2-81 win against Euroa, with Rob George, Glenn Fields and Greg Shilling all securing rink triumphs.
Charles Sellenger's 26-25 win was the only highlight for the Magpies.
● Hill Top also had plenty of reason to celebrate after defeating Nagambie 16-110 to 2-90.
The Lakers found two points via Rob Page, but Garry Russell, Dennis McHarry and Russell Locke ensured the Hillbillies remained in the thick of the race to taste post-season action.
17°C