AVENUE has vaulted out of the Ballarat-Geelong Premier Division relegation zone with a stirring win over Central Wendouree.
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The resurgent club secured its first home win of the season with a 98-79 victory in round 14 action on Saturday.
Skipper Andrew Myers believes the result has buoyed his side for the final four rounds of the home and away season.
“Everyone’s feeling confident and we’ve probably got more good players than poor at the moment,” he said.
“That’s our first win at home, and you always try and factor in home wins, but they haven’t come for us this season.”
The see-sawing encounter saw Avenue enter the lunch break with a two-shot advantage and extend it by the 60-end mark, before Central Wendouree found form and hit the front with 20 ends left.
However, the visitors couldn’t maintain the advantage as all four of Avenue’s rinks saved their best for the final five ends.
Myers’ rink led the way with a 31-17 victory over Bill Durand, with Samantha Shannahan playing superbly in third after spending last week contesting the New Zealand-hosted Burnside Pairs.
Darren Fletcher suffered a 21-14 loss to Col Johnson, while Glenn Sargeant and Martin Shea secured respective 24-22 and 29-19 wins over Col Wright and Greg Roberts.
Avenue now faces Bareena on the road in round 15, but Myers is confident his team can push Geelong’s lowest-ranked club.
“It was a good win and we needed that, once again,” he said.
“When you win a game or two, you get a bit of a roll on.”
Avenue is ninth on the ladder on 76 points, with Webbcona bringing up the rear, nine points behind.
However, the relegation race is far from over, with Central Wendouree in eighth on 78 points, while Sebastopol ranks seventh on 87.
In other matches, Victoria has asserted its dominance over every team in the competition except Ocean Grove, with a 110-88 win over second-placed Lara.
Geelong West belted Bareena 107-76, Queenscliff beat Webbcona 94-73, and Ocean Grove thrashed Sebastopol 117-76.
michael.pollock@fairfaxmedia.com.au