By Marcus Uhe
A fourth-consecutive win in the South West Gippsland Dart League has seen Mud Rats fight off another challenge for their spot in the coveted top four for yet another week.
One of the League’s form sides, the Mud Rats were pushed this week by a fellow team on the rise in the 26ers, on a run of four consecutive wins of their own.
The match took on an elimination final level of significance, despite being just halfway through the season, given the impending ladder ramifications.
A Mud Rats loss would have left them vulnerable to falling outside of the top four, and given their weaker percentage than the three sides below them, in Dart Vaders, Just Social and 26ers, the jostling for seeding would have become even more difficult as the finals neared.
But the 8-7 result keeps them a game clear of Dart Vaders, who also defeated Fore by the same margin.
Cheers completed the seventh shut-out of the season with a 15-0 win over Gembrook, powered by six tons from Liam and five from Shane, and Predators followed with number eight, demolishing Dart Attack.
The highest scoring team in the competition, Predators average 12.3 points per contest and boasts a far greater percentage than the ladder-leading Snipers, but trail by one match on the back of round 11’s top-of-the-table showdown.
Despite their main duo in Dean and Chris not throwing for major scores, Snipers made it 15 consecutive wins with an 11-4 win over Railway.
It was an encouraging performance from Railway, which only averages 4.8 points per round, yet managed to fall just below its scoring average for the season against the ladder leaders.
Results R15: Cheers 15 v Gembrook 0, Dart Vaders 8 v Fore 7, Mud Rats 8 v 26ers 7, Just Social 12 v Bullseyes 3, Predators 15 v Dart Attack 0, Snipers 11 v Railway 4, Generals 9 v Hoodies 6.
Ladder: Snipers 60, Predators 56, Cheers 52, Mud Rats 44, Dart Vaders 40, Just Social 36, 26ers 32, Gembrook 32, Fore 20, Generals 16, Railway 16, Bullseyes 12, Dart Attack 4, Hoodies 0.
Fixture R16: Mud Rats (4) v Bullseyes (12), Just Social (6) v Predators (2), 26ers (7) v Snipers (1), Dart Vaders (5) v Dart Attack (13), Hoodies (14) v Railway (11), Gembrook (8) v Fore (9), Cheers (3) v Generals (10).
