Tongala sits outside the top four of the Campaspe playing area Division one weekend pennant competition after its second loss of the three-week-old delayed 2022-23 season.
A six-shot opening-round loss to Rich River was followed by a return to form with a crushing 42-shot win against Mathoura before a 28-shot loss in the grand final replay with Echuca.
Greg Lyon and his rink had a rare off day as they were suffered a 27-shot defeat, the major influence in the 2-14 (51-79) defeat.
Lyon was ranked the third-best performed skip at the end of the 2021-22 season, but lost to the seventh-ranked skip James Ferrier on Saturday.
Coupled with the 11-shot loss of Jarryd Tinning there was nothing the remaining skip Brad Tinning could do to influence a Tongala victory.
His rink won by 10 shots, 23-13, as Wayne Cowley, John Riedell and Barry Tinning combined to support the top-ranked skip of last season.
Brad Tinning has won all three of his matches this season, ranked ahead of Mathoura’s Rochester recruit Peter Holzer and Moama’s Robert Young on the skip’s ladder.
Tongala has no respite this weekend, although it returns to its home rink for the final match before the Christmas break against Moama Steamers.
The Steamers are fresh off a 16-shot win against Rochester, where Premier League star Kevin Anderson was a surprise inclusion.
In the opening round the Steamers beat Deniliquin by 18 shots, having a second-round bye.
– Tongala’s Division two team sits on top of the ladder after a percentage-boosting 37-shot win against Deniliquin.
Peter O’Brien, Steve Tinning and Phil Cooper all collected wins in the 16-nil (78-41) win. To finish the pre-season component of the draw the Tongala team now faces bottom of the ladder Mathoura this weekend.
Tongala beat Rich River by 29 shots a week earlier after opening the season in disappointing fashion against Echuca.
Since then Echuca has lost successive matches to Rich River and Mathoura.
O’Brien led Greg Higgins, Michael Wearden and Noel West to a 19-shot win, while Steve Tinnings’ 14-shot win came in tandem with Geoff Vistarini, Lee Turner and Kim Harrison.
– Tongala remains winless in its Division four season after a 14-shot loss to Echuca on Saturday.
Its best chance of the season comes this weekend against seventh-ranked Rochester, which is also without a win this season.
Tongala faced second and third-ranked, Moama Steamers and Rich River in its opening two rounds of the season.
Beth Vistarini lost by just three shots on her rink, but the 11-shot loss of Elaine Hosking saw the team lose overall 31-45 (0-14).
– Ky Valley View sits third on the Division five ladder after a 10-shot win against Lockington.
Last season Valley View won just four games, but is already half way to that tally after three matches.
It has beaten Elmore and Lockington in sucessive weeks after losing the opening round to Tongala.
Saturday’s win came on the back of a 12-shot win from Graeme Topp, who has won all three of his matches and sits as the second-ranked skipper in the competition.
– Kyabram’s Division five team leads the Campaspe Divison-five competition after securing its third win of the season against Elmore on Saturday.
The 34-shot win came on the back of a 21-shot Brad McIntosh win and a 13-shot John Fanning victory.
It follows a 39-shot win and a 22-shot win to start the season. In the final round before Christmas Kyabram has a local derby against Ky Valley View.