Leitchville-Gunbower has proven that it has moved up a tier in the McMahon Shield and is in the mix for finals after taking care of business against former contemporary Tongala in round six.
The Blues won the toss and sent L-G in to bat, putting pressure on it to set the tone for the match on a seemingly bowler-friendly track.
This appeared to be the case when opener Billy Hawken fell to a Lachlan Caldwell beauty in the fourth over that beat him all ends up for a duck.
Co-captain Joshua O’Shea and Jed Brereton toiled for a while before Brereton was caught off Caldwell’s bowling for nine.
Josh O’Shea then partnered with Josh Hakwen in an attempt to build some composure in L-G’s innings, moving past the team’s half century before he was caught by Alex Williams for 26.
Josh Hawken wasn’t far behind his captain when he was on the receiving end of a ripping delivery by Jessie Johnstone that bowled him for 12.
At 4-62, L-G was in a perilous situation against a hungry Tongala side looking to crawl out from the bottom of the table.
However, Simon Tatt and Harry Wright had other plans.
Tatt, ever the clutch player, combined with Wright to pass the team’s 100, dragging L-G to 116 before his 35-run innings came to an end when the ball found Mackenzie Cowley’s gloves.
Harry Wright continued on with Riley Keath in tow until he was caught by Matt Ohlsen for 28 while attempting to accelerate in the 43rd over.
Co-captain James Keath was the last wicket to fall for the innings, Alex Williams striking once more through a Jayden Tucker catch.
Tongala required 159 for victory.
The Blues got off to a better start than L-G did, tallying 30 when opener Hudson Kellett was caught off Blake Gibson’s bowling for 11.
Just nine runs later, Gibson struck again, this time claiming the scalp of captain and fellow opener Alex Williams after bowling him for 15.
Keagan Miller and Jayden Tucker were able to build some consistency in the middle, adding 27 more to the total before Miller departed for 22.
Tonny’s big partnership developed between Tucker and Adam Nunn, who carved out 57 runs for the fourth wicket.
The pair looked poised to bat on until L-G’s Jed Brereton stepped up when it mattered most along with Billy Hawken, who caught the fiery number five for 32.
With a new batsman at the crease, Tonny appeared unsettled and couldn’t return to the flow Tucker and Nunn had developed.
This was evident when Mackenzie Cowley was run out for just four runs thanks to the teamwork of Simon Tatt and Harry Wright.
The mix-up between the wickets proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back as the in-form Tucker departed just two balls later for 27.
Stephen Townsend was the only other batsman after Tucker to contribute anything, his 17 at number eight being the only bit of fight the Blues had left.
Tonny ended up being all out for 155 in 43.2 overs, just four runs short with 10 balls to go in the innings, a bitterly close loss that will sting the bottom feeder who is yet to notch a win this season.
Meanwhile, the win means that L-G continues its miraculous turnaround from wooden spooner last year to a freshly minted top-four side.
The Game
Tongala 155 (Adam Nunn 32, Jayden Tucker 27, Simon Tatt 3-22) lost to Leitchville-Gunbower 7-159 (Simon Tatt 35, Harry Wright 28, Alex Williams 2-24)