Andrew Cross, Peter Wallis (third), Ken Cornell (second) and Cliff Sinclair (lead) managed a 24-12 triumph against Rushworth in the 12-86 to 6-85 result.
The Tigers were well served by Chris Garvey, Bruce Wootton and Jean Sprague in securing rink wins, but it was not enough for success on the big board.
Shepparton Park had a 16-98 to 2-84 win over East Shepparton thanks to rink wins from Ash Williamson (28-17), Peter Cross (25-20) and Vince Page (25-20), while David Downs snared success on his rink for East.
Kyabram managed a 16-110 to 2-75 win over Mooroopna — with only Darren Kelly's rink claiming points for the Cats — while Shepparton Golf's 30-shot triumph over Nagambie was an all-rinks affair.
● Shepparton Golf snuck home over Mooroopna Golf in division three by eight shots.
Both teams claimed two rinks apiece in the clash — with Frank Ivak and Brian McInneny the winning skippers for the victor.
Other successful sides of the round one fixtures included Tallygaroopna — which had a huge 55-shot triumph over Shepparton Park.
Terry Lea-Whyte (37-16), Greg Rowan (34-21), Peter Emanuelli (27-15) and Tom Goodwin (29-20) led the way for the Redlegs.
● East Shepparton was involved in two heart-stoppers in division four — and ended up on opposite sides of the ledger in each.
The club's Pink team had the better of Shepparton Park in a 15-85 to 3-81 battle, but its Lime outfit went down to Stanhope by two shots, 3-98 to 15-100.
Neville Cowie, Brian Stokes, Tom Burgess and Geoff Crilly proved the decisive rink for Stanhope in the result, winning 30-22.
Tatura-Hill Top, Murchison, Kyabram and Seymour also got off to victorious starts for the season.
● More close affairs were staged in division five.
Tatura-Hill Top Red found the line against Colbinabbin to the tune of four shots, winning two of the three rinks on offer.
Those victorious skips were Andrew Willaton and Peter Ibbott, but James Ryan's 35-25 result for the visitors kept them right in the clash.
An eight-shot triumph for Stanhope and a 14-shot win for Euroa were also secured at the weekend, while Tallygaroopna's third side secured a 33-shot margin on debut.
● Seymour VRI and Avenel were among the winners in division six.
Wayne Flint helped VRI to a three-shot win over Mooroopna Golf with a 22-16 rink result, while the Swans were best served by George Pedler's 31-10 victory.
Rushworth's Jim Perry managed a 33-17 win of his own though to narrow the overall margin of the contest to five shots.
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