Sebastopol jumped three spots on the ladder to re-enter the top of the four of the Ballarat District Bowls Premier Pennant competition.
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It was do or die for the Kookaburras, who beat Creswick by seven shots on Saturday. To make matters more difficult, three other clubs had to lose if it was to re-claim fourth spot by the end of the round.
Miraculously, it happened. Learmonth, Buninyong and BMS all fell, and Sebsastopol - which had lost six of its last seven coming in - now control its own destiny with one round to play before finals.
More interestingly, the Kookaburras' final game is against Central Wendouree, which sit last on the competition table.
"We'd like to think we've got a good chance there, so it certainly makes it interesting," Sebsastopol skipper Anthony Holland said.
"We've been struggling, last week we only lost by one and we knew that we were close but couldn't get the important results that we needed."
The Kookaburras shuffled the deck heading into Saturday's match. Holland replaced the absent Rob Baker at skipper, while Stephen Topp was elevated from second to third under Ian Warner.
It worked.
Holland defeated Creswick's Allan Annear by eight shots, laying the platform to a 69-62 victory. Teammate Glen Sargent overcame Stephen Hepworth by two shots, while Gerry Flapper recorded the only rink success for Creswick, after beating Warner by three shots.
This certainly makes things interesting now.
- Anthony Holland
"It was a tight tussle, we had our nose in front all day but never kicked very far in front," Warner said.
Sebastopol led by one shot at lunch before extending its lead slightly with about four ends to play. Warner said it was a matter of 'toughing it out.'
"We basically hung on like that the whole way," he said.
"I think it was a team effort. The green was a bit slow because of the rain and the conditions were a bit hard."
The win marked the second in a number of weeks for Sebastopol, which have been in a tailspin since Christmas. After beginning the season at the top of the ladder, Warner said things haven't been clicking.
"The side looks solid on paper. It's very compatible, we enjoy playing with each other. There is no disharmony. It just hasn't been happening," he said.
Meanwhile Victoria remain atop the ladder on percentage after a thumping 18-shot win over Central Wendouree.
The club managed three rink successes away from home on Saturday. Vics skipper Sunni Haynes led the way with a 15-shot win over Col Wright.
Elsewhere Ballarat kept on Victoria's heels after defeating Learmonth by 15 shots.
Brad Fothergill's rink formed the backbone to victory, triumphing by 13 shots over David Kelly. David Pike managed the only win for Learmonth in what was a dark day for the club.