By Rodney Bates
A mid-season refresh of the grass green meant our top two sides filled all eight rinks on the back synthetic green on Saturday.
Yarra Glen’s fifth placed division 1 side played home against fourth placed Croydon for a spot in the final four.
Yarra Glen had the better of Croydon early on but only had two rinks up halfway through.
A strong finish saw all four rinks get the points for a win 96-60. (18 points).
C. Carswell 23/12; S. Manifold 27/9; Beau Simmons 26/25; Ben Simmons 20/14.
The last time Yarra Glen’s Division 4 Side 2 played Ferntree Gully, it was a close game going down to the last end, with Yarra Glen just in front.
On Yarra Glen’s home turf, play was again close early, but a two end 13 shot run by Andrew Thurkle’s rink saw the home side take a slight advantage into the break.
After the break under a hot sun, Yarra Glen got the better across all teams to come away with all the points, winning 106/49 (18 points).
S. Smith 16/11; M. Ramage 23/13; R. Thurkle 32/17; A. Thurkle 33/8.
Side 3 travelled to Bayswater on a slick synthetic surface.
With two winning rinks gaining enough of an edge to cover the other to rinks by one shot, a win put them into the four with only two more games left to make finals now a possibility.
Final score 70/69 (14 Points) L. Baker 13/27; G. Baker 18/13; D. McMenaman 26/9; T. Dickson 13/20.
In Midweek Pennant, Division 2 played another away game at Chirnside Park.
With both teams battling to stave off relegation, a win was a must for both. Chirnside had the initial advantage on their slick synthetic surface early, taking a good lead into the lunch break.
Once back on the green all, Yarra Glen rinks rallied strongly, with Pete Leonard’s rink coming back from more than 15 shots behind to just go down by three.
A strong second half from “Spida” Tirant’s rink lifted Yarra Glen on the winning side, and Ash Skillern’s team holding on for a last end draw, a great result winning 58-51 (13 Points).
P. Leonard 18/21; P. Tirant 22/12; A. Skillern 18/18.
At home against Monbulk, a much needed win for Yarra Glen’s Division 3 side, with Yarra Glen getting over the line by two shots 66/64 (2 Points).
L. Baker 28/11; T. Dickson 19/25; D. McMenaman 19/28.
