The Kookaburras have registered the national champion in a one-off move while the Queensland-based bowler is in Victoria for the Lawn Bowls Australian Open at Darebin which starts on Sunday.

Sebastopol sits fourth on the premier division ladder on 143 points, immediately above Geelong West on 139 points, with two rounds of the regular season remaining.

Burra skipper Rob Baker said the club had approached Wilkie to play tomorrow after it had heard on the grapevine that Geelong West had recruited Mark Casey under similar circumstances.

“We heard (Geelong West) had got an Australian top-three player for this week, so we decided to get the Australian number one,” Baker said.

“All we need to do is make sure he is registered with the BRBA (Ballarat Regional Bowls Association).”

Wilkie, who played most of his junior bowls at Webbcona, was only too pleased to help out a Ballarat club in premier division.

“Sebastopol asked me and I was happy to have a game,” Wilkie said.

“I heard about Mark Casey at Geelong West, they obviously want to take Sebastopol’s position in the finals. It is also good practice for the Australian Open.”

The top three premier division sides are close to securing their place in the top four and qualifying for finals this season, with third-placed Queenscliff 16 points ahead of Geelong West, and a maximum 36 points available from each side’s remaining two games.

In premier division, the double chance and home-town advantage in the finals remains up for grabs, with Bareena just one point ahead of Webbcona, and Queenscliff a further 13 points behind. Webbcona and Queenscliff will play tomorrow at Queenscliff in a match with almost as much riding on it as the Bareena-Sebastopol encounter.

Wilkie has qualified for the singles and triples at the Open, and was yesterday playing to qualify for the pairs.