It came down to one of the final bowls of the day, but Creswick managed to chalk-up a valuable victory over fellow BDBD division one finals contender Mt Xavier.

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

$0/

(min cost $0)

or signup to continue reading

See subscription options

Creswick took an early lead during the day, but Mt Xavier fought back, Creswick skipper Gerry Flapper said Mt Xavier’s lead got out to about 10 shots at one point.

But the home side fought hard to get back into the contest and edge its nose in front.

Coming into the final end of the day, the match was up for grabs.

Mt Xavier skipper Darryl Lamb had a chance to draw a shot to claw the margin back with the his last bowl of the day, but it fell short and Creswick went on to claim a 97-95 victory.

Flapper said it was an extremely valuable result and one that keeps it well-placed for a top two finish.

“It’s a very important result for Creswick, it gives us a bit of a break over Mt Xavier as far as the top four goes,” Flapper said.

“It’s always great to get those early wins in before Christmas, when the greens start to speed-up after Christmas it’s even better.

It’s a very important result for Creswick, it gives us a bit of a break over Mt Xavier as far as the top four goes.
- Skipper Jerry Flapper

“At this point of the season it’s absolutely fantastic.”

Creswick was without one of its skippers, but Stephen Hepworth stepped up to great effect. He not only filled the void, but his rink was the most dominant of the day with a 35 shots to 18 advantage.

The victory puts Creswick second on the ladder and denies Mt Xavier a spot in the top four.

Elsewhere, Learmonth also enjoyed victory in thrilling circumstances. It defeated City Oval by one shot, 97-96, in what is a telling result in shaping the top four.

Gerry Flapper

Learmonth remains in third spot, with a handy buffer on fourth-placed Ballarat Memorial Sports. For City Oval, it is a costly loss, in what was almost a huge result for the sixth-placed side – it sits 17 points outside the four.

Top side Ballarat maintained its standing with a 13-shot victory over Smeaton.

The ladder leader did not have it all its own way against ninth-placed Smeaton, dropping one rink and drawing another.

BMS had a resounding result over Ballarat East, 139-75 winners, while Central Wendouree defeated Webbcona by 25 shots.

DIVISION ONE LADDER

Ballarat 99, 133.1

Creswick 89, 109

Learmonth 86, 121.5

BMS 73, 111.7

Mt Xavier 69, 99.4

City Oval 56, 95.7

Central Wendouree 55, 95.9

Webbcona 42, 91.3

Smeaton 37, 88.3

Ballarat East 24, 69.3

In the Geelong-Ballarat premier division, Sebastopol suffered a heart-breaking loss to top two side Bareena on Saturday.

The Kookaburras pushed Bareena all the way, but ultimately went down by one shot, 99-98.

Sebastopol remains in a strong position, sitting third on the ladder. But the top two sides, Ocean Grove and Bareena have opened up a gap in excess of 25 shots.

Sebastopol would have loved to narrow that margin and claim a confidence-boosting scalp, but it was not to be.

Meanwhile, Queenscliff proved too strong for Buninyong, coming away with a 29-shot triumph.