The stage is set for a thrilling finish at both ends of the Bowls Victoria division 1 ladder.
The common denominator in the promotion and relegation fight is Werribee.
How the Bees perform on the final day of the season will impact both.
Werribee has been dragged back into the relegation fight after a stunning turn of events in the penultimate round.
The Bees went down to Sunbury 88-60, banking two points for securing a rink, but giving the other 16 to the hosts, a result that was not too surprising given the two sides’ positions on the ladder.
What left the Bees gobsmacked was a result coming in from one of the other venues.
Second-last side Altona Sports, loser to the previously winless Preston-Reservoir the week before, turned its form around for a shock 86-65 win over Glenroy, with Altona Sports picking up 16 priceless points in the process.
Werribee’s 14-point gap over Altona Sports was suddenly down to one.
So whichever club gains the most points in the final round out of Werribee, which will host Essendon, and Altona Sports, travelling to Melton, will survive.
The other will be relegated to division 2.
“They’re pretty steady, they’re good, they were just too good on the day,” was how Bees skip Snowy Barker described Sunbury’s winning effort against his team.
“My rink was getting a hiding all day, but the others were close.
“We were more shocked when we got off the green and were told Altona Sports had beaten Glenroy.”
Werribee will not be handed anything on a platter in the final round.
The Bees’ opponent, Essendon, is clinging to fourth spot and probably needs to win to play in the finals.
“It’s just as big a game for them as it is for us,” Barker said.
“If we beat them, they miss the finals, if we win, we obviously avoid relegation.
“We could still avoid relegation with a loss, but we don’t want to punt on Altona Sports getting less points than us.”
It’s an illustration of how valuable a single rink can be in the context of a whole season.
Mick O’Neil managed to snare two valuable points through a rink win against Sunbury on Saturday, which was enough to see the Bees avoid the relegation zone for a week at least.
“It magnifies it doesn’t it?” Barker said. “It was a huge rink to get.
“Every shot, every end on the weekend is crucial.”
