By David Nagel
The cover of darkness has failed to camouflage the top team in the South West Gippsland Dart League after Snipers suffered a shock round-five loss to the previously winless Generals.
The 8-7 result shoots Snipers down to second place on the ladder; replaced by Cheers who remain the only undefeated team in the competition.
Generals have had a tough start to the season, losing to Dart Devils, Cheers, Predators and 26ers over the first month of the season; but this stunning upset gets their campaign back on track.
They could make it two in a row in a round-six engagement with bottom-placed Dart Attack.
Rob provided the match-highlight for Generals, producing a classy 70 peg-out.
The individual highlight in round five came from the in-form Liam Edwards from Cheers; who threw his first 180 for the season in a 12-3 thumping of Dart Vaders.
Edwards has been in terrific touch of late, throwing seven, eight, six and six tons over the last four weeks.
Cheers have been super-impressive to this point of the season; winning 13-2, 11-4, 12-3, 10-5 and 12-3 across their first five rounds and have emerged as the early-favourite for this year’s title.
Predators are also one of the form teams in the competition, making it four straight wins with a 9-6 victory in a high-standard game against Mud Rats.
Some great darts were thrown in this one, with Jordan Gray producing a 101 peg-out for Predators and Michael Tuck also closing a key leg with a 98 finish for Mud Rats.
Ricki Beath stole the show as Just Social bounced back to the winners’ list with a hard-fought 10-5 win over Gembrook.
Beath matched the best checkout of the season; matching the 110-benchmark set by Snipers star Tim Williams in round four.
The win of Just Social showed the character within the side; bouncing back from a terrible 12-3 loss to Snipers.
The fightback of 26ers has continued with a 12-3 triumph over Dart Attack.
After three-straight losses to begin the season, 26ers have now defeated Generals and Dart Attack in quick succession to move to ninth place on the ladder.
And AAA Dartz have also made it two straight wins with a 9-6 success over Bullseyes.
AAA faced a tough start to the season; losing to Snipers and Just Social early, but wins over Gembrook and Bullseyes will boost confidence levels heading into the middle rounds of the competition.
The race for most tons is really heating up with Dean Gibbs maintaining his lead at the top with six tons for Snipers.
He now has 31 tons, four clear of Edwards; while Gray has moved to 24 tons for the season after a round-high eight century-plus scores for Predators.
SWGDL SUMMARY – ROUND 5
RESULTS
Generals 8 def Snipers 7, Cheers 12 def Dart Vaders 3, 26ers 12 def Dart Attack 3, AAA Dartz 9 def Bullseyes 6, Predators 9 def Mud Rats 6, Just Social 10 def Gembrook 5. Bye: Dart Devils.
LADDER
Cheers 20, Snipers 16, Predators 16, Dart Devils 12, Mud Rats 12, Just Social 12, AAA Dartz 8, Dart Vaders 8, 26ers 8, Bullseyes 4, Garfield Generals 4, Gembrook 0, Dart Attack 0.
FIXTURE – R6
Gembrook (12) v Snipers (2), Dart Attack (13) v Generals (11), Bullseyes (10) v Just Social (6), Mud Rats (5) v 26ers (9), AAA Dartz (7) v Dart Devils (4), Dart Vaders (8) v Predators (3). Bye: Cheers (1).
MOST TONS
Dean Gibbs (Snipers) 31, Liam Edwards (Cheers) 27, Jordan Gray (Predators) 24, Shane Barnett (Cheers) 19, Shane Van Eyk (Predators) 18.
180s
Michael Tuck (Mud Rats) 2, Bill Richardson, Chris Richardson (Snipers), Liam Edwards (Cheers) 1.
TOP-THREE PEG OUTS
Tim Williams (Snipers), Ricki Beath (Just Social) 110, Fred Dewart (Dart Vaders), Jordan Gray (Predators) 101.
