MURRAY Downs closed the gap to ladder leaders Racecourse with a dominant 100-53 win over bottom of the ladder Nyah District at the weekend.
The reigning premiers now trail Racecourse by just two points, with the Rams picking up the full 12 points from their match with the Demons.
Racecourse, on the other hand, were forced to earn their 10 match points against Swan Hill, who managed to claim victory on one rink to walk away with the remaining two points.
Murray Downs were untroubled by Nyah District, with all three rinks securing a double-digit result over their Demon counterparts to continue their pre-Christmas surge up the ladder.
The match-up between Murray Downs’ John Caldwell and Nyah District’s Bruce Macdonald proved to be the closest for the day between the two clubs, with Caldwell’s combination claiming an 11-shot win.
The other rinks proved more one-sided, with Josh Thornton’s team defeating Alexander Everitt by 17 shots, while Brian Lehmann’s quartet defeated Rex Howard’s side by 19.
While it was a superior performance from the reigning premiers, Racecourse still hold top billing after defeating Swan Hill 75-63 on Saturday.
The combination of Norm Smith, Glenn McIntosh, Kylie Gardner and Ron Wolfe proved the difference in the match, with Smith’s quartet defeating Brian Quaife’s team by 20 shots. The remaining two Swan Hill rinks were unable to cover the damage.
Swan Hill’s Gary McGrath walked away with a nine-shot win over Glenn McKissack’s team, with closest rink of the afternoon ending in a one-shot win to Racecourse’s Mick Holyoak, who defeated Glenn Evans 20-19.
In the other round 7 match, top-four sides Moulamein and Lake Boga clashed at Moulamein, with the home side tightening their grip on third spot with a 17-shot win.
While the visitors remained in the match on all three rinks until the final few ends, they were unable to get the job done, handing all 12 match points to Moulamein in the 76-59 result.
Lake Boga’s Daniel Kelly was the closest to walking away with the points, succumbing to Martin Stephens by just three shots, while it was a much easier result for the Swans Aaron Worboyes and Dennis Compton, whose combinations both secured seven-shot wins over Peter Philp and Ken Hamill respectively.
