For Mathoura it gave them the opportunity to reset, while Rich River – which was undefeated heading into the weekend’s game – had their momentum halted.
Mathoura made the most of a rusty Rich River to storm to a monster 53-shot win, courtesy of three rink victories.
The rink comprising Mark Quor, Dennis McHarry, Craig Hillier and Anthony Hulm was in devastating form for Mathoura, winning their respective match-up by 27 shots.
Rod Werner, whose rink won by 13 shots, said it was exciting to start the year with such a big win.
“Everyone played well, and we should all be proud of ourselves,” he said.
“It’s especially pleasing to get the better of a side who hadn’t been beaten this season. You always want to be the first team to beat them.
“Our focus was to not give away multiple shots and we managed to do that.”
Moama was able to make the most of Rich River’s loss as it overcame Rochester, who are anchored to the foot of the table, by 42 shots.
Meanwhile, Echuca was far too good for Tongala winning by 17 shots.
The results at the weekend now means there is a two-game gap between Mathoura and Tongala in the top four.
And the two sides are set to face off on Saturday.
“It’s a really good opportunity for us to widen the gap,” Werner said.
“We could set ourselves for a real push to the higher positions on the ladder and potentially go a long way to securing a finals spot.”
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