By David Nagel
Two fantastic contests provided the highlights of round five of the South West Gippsland Dart League with Gembrook and Generals scraping in by the skin of their teeth.
Gembrook had a huge 8-7 victory over perennial league powerhouse Just Social, consolidating fourth spot and moving two games clear of their opposition; who now slip to an unfamiliar seventh place on the ladder.
In such a tight game it was important for someone to stand up and be counted, and Steve from Gembrook answered the call with a brilliant 104 peg-out.
The challenges keep on coming for Gembrook, who face second-placed Predators in the highlight match of round six.
The other close one this week went to Garfield-team Generals, who denied Dart Attack its first victory of the season with a nail-biting 8-7 victory.
The Generals have now won two games in the opening five rounds after a round two victory over Hoodies.
They’ll have their improvement put to the test this week against a dangerous and rebounding Just Social.
Dart Attack is still searching for its first win, but it may come against a struggling Railway in round six.
The individual highlight of round five came from Chris from Snipers, who threw the highest peg-out of the season (140) in a 14-1 thumping of Bullseyes.
The Snipers currently sit on top, but equal on points with Predators and Cheers, who had easy victories over Dart Vaders and 26ers respectively.
In the two remaining games; Fore moved to ninth spot on the ladder with an 11-4 victory over Railway, while Mud Rats consolidated fifth position on the ladder with the same scoreline over Hoodies.
Five players have scored 20 toms or more for the season, with Steve from Predators leading the way on 30, with Dean from Snipers hot on his tail with 29.
Three players from Cheers are next best, with Ant (25), Shane (23) and Liam (22) all in winning contention.
Liam scored the most tons this week with seven.
Gembrook v Predators and Cheers v Mud Rats are the standout matches scheduled for round six.
Results R5: Mud Rats 11 def Hoodies 4, Predators 14 def Dart Vaders 1, Snipers 14 def Bullseyes 1, Gembrook 8 def Just Social 7, Cheers 10 def 26ers 5, Generals 8 def Dart Attack 7, Fore 11 def Railway 4.
Ladder: Snipers, Predators, Cheers 20, Gembrook, Mud Rats 16, Dart Vaders 12, Just Social, 26ers, Fore, Generals 8, Railway 4, Hoodies, Bullseyes, Dart Attack 0.
Fixture R6: Bullseyes (13) v Dart Vaders (6), Hoodies (12) v Snipers (1), Gembrook (4) v Predators (2), Cheers (3) v Mud Rats (5), Generals (10) v Just Social (7), Fore (9) v 26ers (8), Railway (11) v Dart Attack (14).
