By Marcus Uhe
Jostling for second place and to be in best position to pounce on any slip-up from Just Social continues in the South West Gippsland Dart League.
All three of Warriors, Snipers and Paky One recorded wins over their lower-ranked opponents in round 18, with only percentage separating the three, locked-up on 52 points each.
Paky One recovered from last week’s loss to Just Social by thrashing Fore 13-2, Snipers held-off a plucky Rebels 10-5 and Warriors laid waste to Hoodies in a 15-0 whitewash.
The trouble for these teams? Just Social continue winning.
Seven wins from their last eight starts, with their only loss coming in a narrow 7-8 result against Rebels, has them in red-hot form with four rounds remaining before finals.
Against 26ers in round 18, a side desperate to stay within striking distance of the top four and finals qualifications, a 180 from Jamie and a 150 from Terry powered the ladder leaders to an 11-4 victory and maintain the four-point buffer at the top of the pile.
Elsewhere, Mud Rats and Bullseyes played out a thrilling 8-7 contest in favour of the Rats – despite a 180 from Stephen and 164 from super-sub Doug – Bullseyes fell agonisingly short of a sixth win.
The result brought Mud Rats closer to Bullseyes’ eighth spot and closed the gap on a potential spot in the Don Brown Memorial Trophy Finals equation, but they have work to do to close the eight-point buffer.
Results R18: Paky One 13 v Fore 2, Mud Rats 8 v Bullseyes 7, Warriors 15 v Hoodies 0, Snipers 10 v Rebels 5, Just Social 11 v 26ers 4. Bye – Gembrook.
Ladder: Just Social 56, Warriors 52, Snipers 52, Paky One 52, 26ers 44, Rebels 36, Gembrook 24, Bullseyes 20, Mud Rats 12, Fore 12, Hoodies 0.
Fixture R19: Gembrook (7) v Just Social (1), Warriors (2) v Paky One (4), Bullseyes (8)v Rebels (6), Hoodies (11) v Mud Rats (9), Fore (10) v 26ers (5). Snipers (3) – Bye.
