Mathoura produced a Houdini-like act to wrench the Campaspe Playing Area Division One midweek pennant bowls minor premiership from Rochester on Friday.
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The two powerhouses met at Mathoura, with Rochester only needing to halve one rink to finish on top.
Instead, the home side pulled out a performance from the top drawer to clean sweep the three rinks for a 16-75 to 0-33 result.
Mark Quor defeated Brian Trengove 29-8, Peter Holzer recorded a 29-10 victory over Diane Milgate and Christine Taylor edged out Richard Feuk 17-15.
The 84-shot turnaround on the ladder saw Mathoura finish level with Rochester on 134 points, but claim top spot courtesy of superior percentage.
The second semi-final will feature a return bout between Mathoura and Rochester at Echuca Bowls Club on Friday.
Rochester’s Division Two season ended with a 16-75 to 0-35 point loss to Mathoura, with all three rinks skipped by Bert Smolenaars, Anton Gusak and Elaine Hall defeated.
Rochester finished the season in sixth place on 74 points, ahead of Rich River and Ky Valley View on the ladder.
Rochester’s Division Three side closed out its season with a 14-44 to 0-33 loss to Deniliquin.
David Murray lost to Helen Anderson 15-25 and Don Gillies was edged out in a thriller by Lee Pattinson.
The result meant Lockington missed out on the top four by inferior percentage despite a 14-49 to 0-30 win over Tongala.
Annette Brereton defeated Rob Hosking 30-16 and Phyl McFarlane accounted for Beth Vistarini 19-14.
Lockington finished level on points with fourth-placed Deniliquin, but Deni’s superior percentage, 105.97 to 96.57, will see it in the first week of the post-season.
Deniliquin will take on Elmore in the first semi-final at Rich River Bowls Club after Elmore closed out the season in third spot.
Elmore takes winning form into the post-season, defeating Rich River 14-58 to 0-25.
Evelyn Locke defeated Christine Simson 28-14 and Ann Williams was a 30-11 victor over Joan Luke.
Rochester will be the venue for the opening round of the Division One weekend pennant grand finals.
Rich River and Tongala will play off in the second semi-final, with the winner to progress to the grand final.
The loser will play the winner of the first semi-final between Mathoura and Echuca.
Both matches start at 1.30pm.
Rochester’s top-flight campaign ended with a 14-61 to 2-52 loss to Deniliquin at Deniliquin.
John Weeks was Rochy’s lone winning skip, defeating Peter Chadderton 21-19.
Paul Snare won a thriller against Brian Trengove 23-22 and Jamie Shields defeated Richard Feuk 19-9.
Rochester ended the season in sixth spot, ahead of bottom side Deniliquin.
In Division Two, Rochester ended the season with a 14-70 to 2-46 loss to Deniliquin.
Leigh Milgate was in fine form, defeating Stephen King 27-12, but losses to Tim Quinlan and John Boyd on the other rinks saw Rochester defeated on overall shots.
Rochester finished in sixth place, ahead of Deniliquin RSL and Deniliquin.
Lockington and Rochester qualified for the Division Three finals.
Lockington finished second and faces Moama in this week’s second semi-final after defeating Echuca 13-63 to 3-57 in the final round.
Steve Pavone’s 26-13 win over Tony Deenan proved pivotal for Locky, as Leanne McInnes played out an 18-all draw with Max Clifford.
Max Bennett’s 26-19 defeat of Graham Turner ensured Locky had done enough to claim the bulk of the points.
Rochester will play Deniliquin in the first semi-final despite a 16-77 to 0-45 loss to Moama.
Skip Jenny Major, David Murray and Kevin Hall were all defeated by their Steamers rivals.
Elmore ended the season in sixth spot after a 14-64 to 2-61 loss to Deniliquin.
Gary Williams was the lone winning skip for Elmore.
In Division Four, Rochester forfeited to Moama, with Mathoura defeating Lockington 14-50 to 0-28.
Neil Haines lost to Gayle Kerr 26-16 and David Thomas went down 24-12 to Garry Hulm.
Both local teams missed the finals, with Lockington sixth and Rochester seventh.
Lockington’s Division Five campaign came to an end with a 14-49 to 0-28 loss to Moama.
John Whiteside pushed Stuart Sutton before losing 20-18 and Lloyd Buchanan was defeated 29-10 by Peggy Bell.
Lockington finished the season in fifth spot.
Elmore finished a tough season in style, defeating Tongala 12-45 to 2-36.
David Andrews defeated Tom Booth 25-15, while Wayne Billett played out a cracking contest against Betty Ozols, losing 21-20.
Despite the win, Elmore claimed the wooden spoon.
Gregor Mactaggart is the editor of the Riverine Herald.