The weather was a warm 32 °C with good cloud cover and a gentle breeze.
Before play commenced, the team gathered and president Niels Hilton congratulated 11 year-old Mason Glenn on his selection to the Division 2 side.
With RSL winning the mat, the debutante proudly rolled his first kitty for The Diggers.
His brother Jake Glenn, Neville Austin and Hilton on the ditch rink had a great start at 6-3 by the fifth end.
Over the next five ends, both teams added three shots to be 9-6.
By the 16th end, RSL had added nine shots to Rich River’s two, so on 18-8 they looked safe.
Rich River then added six more shots to the card in the last five ends to RSL’s one shot, but time had run out for the home team and the Diggers won 19-14.
The Glenn brothers both played well, but the opposition said Mason stole the show.
On the neighbouring rink, Craig Taylor’s team of Al Hodges, Jo Chick and Archie Webster had a ripper day out.
With a head start of 12 shots by the sixth end, Rich River finally scored a single.
At the 8th and 9th end, they scored two more singles to tally three, and didn’t score again until the 17th end.
Diggers had stacked on 10 more shots by then, showing 26-4 on the scoreboard.
Over the last four ends, both sides added two a piece, and the final score was 29-6.
Chick and Taylor were both in champion form, and Taylor commented that he was thrilled with his teams' performance.
Unfortunately, Rod Reid’s team of Chris Frampton, Ian McKenzie and Miro Peterman went down by just one shot.
At times struggling with weight or grass, or lack thereof, they held their ground and were up 6-3 after the fifth end.
They added four more singles to Rich River’s two by the 10th end.
At 10-5 they looked in control, however their opposition didn’t allow them to score for another five ends.
Suddenly, the gap was closing and at the 14th end the card showed 10-9.
The Diggers only won three more ends, with a total of six shots, while the home team added eight shots, giving them the win. The final score was 16-17.
Overall scores were 64-38 after 63 ends.
The win, plus two rinks, gave RSL 14 points, cementing them in the top four on the Division 2 ladder on 95 points.
Rich River remains in 5th spot on 36 points and are no threat to the RSL's finals ticket.
The Diggers now have their sights set on third position, where Echuca sit currently on 103 points.
For tomorrow’s Weekend Pennant, the temperature, is predicted to be 39°C on Saturday.
The Diggers will travel to Rochester for round 12.
Start times will be dependent on weather, and were not confirmed at the time of going to print yesterday.
26°C