The fifth round of the Bowls North Premier League began earlier than usual thanks to Kings Meadows and Invermay playing on Friday Night on the Kings Meadows Indoor Centre.
The match was live streamed on Facebook to a wide audience and would easily be the game of the round as both teams were level playing the final end.
The Josh Appleyard rink for Kings Meadows continues to prove why they are the best in the competition at the moment. After a slow start, Appleyard and his rink lifted to run home convincing victors, 31-22 over Invermay's Bec Van Asch.
Rae Simpson and Maureen Zoon had a great leads battle and with both Shane Davern and Gene Ayton fighting it out as skips neither side would budge an inch with their final score locked at 21 shots apiece.
This left the Aaron Page and Dennis Bassett contest as the final rink left on the green with the latter leading by nine heading into the final end. With the overall scores tied, Judy Gurr and Don Campbell would step up to deliver outstanding front end bowls for Kings Meadows.
Bassett was unable to convert the head and Kings Meadows pinched a two-shot overall victory in front of a sell-out crowd.
Deloraine hosted Longford with an early kick-off and challenged the ladder leaders for the majority of the game.
The stacked rink of Shaun Donohue nearly got the home side over the line but unfortunately for them they would lose a large multiple in the dying stages to draw with Longford's Chris Roach who replaced Mark Strochnetter as skip this week.
Rowan Donohue held his lead over Daniel Baker thanks to some telling bowls of his own toward the end of the match. The three-shot margin would place the home side in a strong position.
Unfortunately for Deloraine, Jarrod Howard's rink would once again carry the team with a 12-shot margin over Corey Bowerman in what could have been even more, as the Tigers extended their lead at the top of the ladder.
Cosgrove Park looked to challenge East Launceston but it was not to be as the visitors stormed home in the second half to snatch victory.
Kane Walker was the shining light for Cosgrove as he dismantled Drew Berwick to the tune of 11 shots. It was all downhill from there, however, as Byron Slater in his return game to skip would surrender an early 14-2 lead over Sam Springer to go down 23-26. David Minns' rink was the difference with a monster 33-9 scoreline over David Murfet.
Launceston hosted Bridport and recorded an important early season victory thanks to Rob Antel's efforts in his rink's 14-shot margin over Eddie Walker.
The addition of Ray Batten as number two in the rink appears to be paying dividends.
Ian Edwards was handed the keys to the skip position and held on to a narrow two-shot victory against Chris Walker. Maxine Monson salvaged a rink win for Bridport but it wasn't enough to trouble the overall margin as she accounted for Kevin McLean by five.
Trevallyn were the biggest winners of the round with their 44-shot overall win at the hands of Beauty Point.
Lachie Sims' rink once again led the way on home soil as the front end class of young star Chase Kubacki and seasoned veteran Nathan Rutherford would set up Rhys McDougall and Sims on their way to a 27-shot win over Bruce Howard.
Sims' brother, Michael, had an ordinary game but with consistent bowls from Collin Burns, Rodney Murray and Graeme Hemingway still managed a 14-shot win over Adrian Brown. Hayden Cannon's rink secured the final two points on offer for Trevallyn with a slender three-shot win over Paul Filgate.
Results: Trevallyn 99 d Beauty Point 55; Kings Meadows 71 d Invermay 69; Launceston 78 d Bridport 67; Deloraine 69 lt Longford 78; Cosgrove Park 60 lt East Launceston 76
