TOP contest in tennis pennant on Saturday saw Gray finish seven games up on Splatt after a fierce battle throughout.
The women scored two wins apiece, and ended the day on 29 games each — a fabulous effort from both sides.
Angela Smith and Karen McKissack started well for Splatt with an 8-6 victory over Colleen Grant and Hayley Siddons.
Gray’s Millie Saville and Jamie Gorringe reversed the score to beat Lisa Pekin and Rachel Evans by two games, and two tiebreaks topped off the contest.
Smith and Pekin were successful for Splatt and Saville and Gorringe for Gray.
The men went close to matching the women in hard-fought games, with Gray gaining a mere two game advantage over seven sets.
Splatt got off to a terrific start with wins to Christian Starrs and Glenn McKissack, and to Brett Pekin and substitute Trevor Holt, but Gray stormed back to take the next three.
Spencer McKenzie and Bruce McDowall, John Wardle and Darren Hender, and Brendan Blackmore and McDowall gained a handy break.
McKissack and Tim Croft and Starrs and Pekin won the final two encounters, but just failed to bridge the gap.
Starting the mixed with only a two game advantage, Gray pushed hard.
Christian Devlin and Grant added two to the margin, Hender and Siddons won a tie break, and McKenzie’s and Saville’s four game input got Gray over the line.
Croft and Evans scored an 8-6 win for Splatt in the last set, but could only reduce the margin to seven games.
Top side McCrae proved less desperate than McCallum, and finished down by 21 games.
Both teams had multiple substitutes, with McCrae fielding youngsters Will Gardner, Regina Warne and Sunny Handi to go with Terry Martin’s inclusion at number four.
McCallum had practically a new women’s outfit — only Vicki Nalder remained of the regulars and she was joined by Magella Snowden, Di Bramble and Merryn Williamson.
The women finished with two sets apiece and a two game advantage to McCallum.
McCrae’s Nat Plant and Lucy Martin beat Nalder and Snowden in a tie break, Bramble and Williamson and Nalder and Bramble collected a pair of 8-5’s and Martin and Handy won 8-5 for McCrae.
Danny Gardner and Lachlan Carroll continued on from the morning’s club championship semi-final contest, which Gardner won.
In the first set, Gardner and Marcus McCaig just got home from Carroll and Julie Wardle in a tiebreak, and Gardner and Richard Wardle scored an 8-5 win in the next doubles.
However Carroll finished the day well, winning the singles, and evening up the score to 20 games apiece.
Kieran Mays and Graeme McFarlane starred for McCallum with three wins each, and McCaig and Paul Bethune matched them for McCrae.
McCallum scored three wins in the mixed to make sure of victory.
Campbell’s women put the side eight games up in their contest with Stradbroke, but Stradbroke won the men’s section comfortably, to finish 23 games in front at end of play.
Louisa Frost, Pam Austerberry, Sophie Sartori and Bridie Gardner were in great form, scoring four from four.
However it wasn’t easy — Sartori and Gardner beat Kara Lierich and Lauren Pumpa in a tiebreak, and Frost and Sartori had another against Colleen Rundell-Gordon and Lierich.
Alan Thompson, Michael Shean and Neil Selleck won their three sets for Stradbroke, while Rick Austerberry was best for Campbell.
Young substitute, Daniel Hughes, did well for Campbell, winning one and going down in a tie break.
Curlewis fired up with a 35 game win over Beveridge, making the battle for fourth place even more of an unknown.
Curlewis won six sets in the men’s department, three in the women’s and finished with a clean sweep of the four mixed sets.
Matt Witney featured in the three men’s wins for Beveridge, while Craig Roberts, Ben Lewin, Cooper Angus and Anthony Lewin all won three for Curlewis.
Teagan Mays and Elise Morrison both won their three sets for Curlewis in the women’s department, while Jacqui Brooks and Narelle Maeder were the only Beveridge women to score a win.
With two more rounds to play before finals start, there is still time for the top four to change.
Most interest will focus on fourth place, where Stradbroke and Curlewis are the teams to watch.
Splatt’s defeat makes it almost certain it won’t feature in the finals this year.
