The Bulldogs walked away from Stanhope Bowls Club with a hard-fought 16-91 to 2-85 triumph.
With the mercury forecast to reach 40℃, the combined outfit had ice in their veins and sealed their third consecutive victory — after they sat plumb last a month ago.
The Bulldogs’ coach Brendon Boyd was over the moon to clinch a vital win.
“It was great to walk away from Stanhope with 16 points because it could have easily been the other way around,” he said.
“It was a very close game; there was only a few shots in it all day and it was tight all the way through.
“The scores show just how close it was.”
Boyd said each rink traded blows throughout the contest, with neither getting away from their opponents.
The biggest rink win on the day went the way of the Bulldogs’ David Cartwright (28-24), with the other three rinks separated by a total of four shots.
Peter Lesueur (20-19) claimed a tight victory, while teammate Justin Spedding (23-21) enjoyed a bit of breathing space.
Stanhope’s Tim Hancock saluted 21-20 over Boyd to ensure the hosts collected two points.
Boyd praised his side’s all-round team effort and highlighted the performances of two young up-and-comers.
“I thought it was a real good team performance. Our front-end bowlers did a great job,” he said.
“And it’s been great to see our younger players like Josh Cartwright and Josh Lesueur develop and grow as bowlers.”
Only two division one matches in the Goulburn Valley Playing Area could be completed on Saturday due to the extreme heat that lashed the region.
Boyd said the weather “hovered around the high 30s” all day, but a slight breeze helped players handle the harsh conditions.
Meanwhile, Tallygaroopna enjoyed a 48-shot thumping over Euroa.
The Redlegs cruised to classy 18-112 to 0-64 away win.
Mitch Sidebottom (27-14) and Liam Crapper (37-13) were Tally’s two standout performers.
In the lower grade action, Shepparton Park thrashed Tatura-Hill Top by an extraordinary amount in division two.
Park, led by skip Peter Cross (40-13), strolled home to secure an 18-141 to 0-65 victory.
Shepparton Golf ran out 16-109 to 2-77 winners over Rushworth.
In division three, East Shepparton and Stanhope shared the points in a thrilling 9-87 to 9-87 draw.
Nothing could separate the two outfits, with seven shots the winning margin on all four rinks.
Tallygaroopna (16-133 to (2-81) and Seymour (17-112 to 1-55) both clinched comfortable wins over Avenel and Shepparton Park respectively.
In division four, Seymour VRI and Shepparton Park ran out 16-shot and 80-shot winners over Kyabram and Euroa respectively.
No games were contested in division five due to heat, however, multiple division six matches were completed.
In north action, Rushworth breezed past East Shepparton (14-73 to 2-57), Dookie defeated Stanhope (16-88 to 0-64) and Colbinabbin powered past Shepparton Park 16-120 to 0-39).
Down south, Alexandra (1) upstaged Yea (14-71 to 2-59) while Eildon (1) got the job done over Eildon (2) by six shots.
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