Kyabram suffered its third defeat in four rounds in the Campaspe Playing Area midweek pennant but put in a good performance against the league leader Moama in round six.
Ky battled the unbeaten Steamers at Moama Bowling Club last Tuesday and pushed the current favourites to their limit
Joe Greco’s rink resulted in a big win for the visitor, 24-12 as his side including Noel Reddrop, Graham King and Jack Portia ensured their side came away with some of the points.
However, the Steamers had the advantage in the other rinks, with Jock Linehan leading a 22-8 win over Mary Greco and Matt Robertson skipping a 19-12 victory over Bob Mason.
The final score saw Moama on top, 14-53 to 2-44.
Stanhope surged within two points of the top four with a 15-53 to 1-47 win over Rich River.
The Stanhope skips scored consistently across the greens in a tight contest in all three rinks.
Geoffrey Mulcahy earned an 18-14 win, his four shots the biggest gap between the sides as Peter Myers earned Stanhope’s second victory 17-15.
Stanhope’s Jennifer Crilly and Rich River’s Elizabeth Easther couldn’t be separated in the remaining rink, both squads putting up 18 shots as Stanhope claimed the win, 15-53 to 1-47.
Moama is still the clear leader and Echuca has now opened up a gap in second.
Kyabram, Stanhope and Deniliquin are all clustered around the remaining finals places.
Lower divisions
In division two, Kyabram won all three rinks over Rochester, 16-67 to 0-50.
In division three, Tongala got the best of Ky Valley View, 12-45 to 2-33 while Deniliquin dominated Kyabram 14-57 to 0-22.
In a closely-fought division four, Tongala took down Echuca 12-43 to 2-34 and Kyabram beat out Moama Black 12-40 to 2-33.
Moama Green defeated Lockington 12-40 to 2-32, while Stanhope was the only side in the division to win both rinks, 14-64 to 0-18 over Rich River.