Chisholm Links passed their litmus test in style when they upset the Otago Bombers at Balmacewen on Saturday to regain the lead in the Metropolitan Senior A pennant series.
The Saints moved into third after demolishing Island Park in Waldronville, and their counterpart Devils beat the B52s up at St Clair.
The Links embraced the blustery conditions with a 4-2 victory, sending a message to the rest of the competition that they are the real deal.
Links veteran Matt Heaton thumped Josh Tasman-Jones 8/6 to get the visitors off to the perfect start. John McIntee (Links) secured a second win over Willis McNaughton to put the visitors in pole position for an upset.
But the rest of the games all went to the 18th, with Duncan Croudis defeating Jason Pegler to get the Bombers on the board before the match between Ricky Stewart and Kai Koni was halved — leaving Chisholm one game short of the upset.
Links No 4 Mike Weastell staved off a late challenge from Brandon Hodgson to win 1-up and give Links the victory, while Mackenzie Gibson came home strongly to halve with Ben Patston to add the extra half a point.
Despite blustery conditions across town at Island Park, the home side battled against the class of the Saints, falling 5-1 in beautifully mild conditions.
Saints tailenders Jacob Bellamy and Cody McMullan were too powerful for Kelly Adam and Mike Wray, recording early wins, before Connor Howes finished strongly over Josh Kalweit to grab at least a half.
Michael Minty scraped home against Scott Mitchell to give Island Park its sole win, while Conor Jamison sealed the win for the Saints and Parker Aluesi (Saints) beat Joey Hancock in a high-quality match.
At St Clair, the Devils backed up last week’s sterling effort by beating the B52s 4-2 to jump off the bottom of the table ahead of Taieri, which had a bye.
The Devils bagged early margin wins through Jake Bleach, Callum White and Phil Bungard to ensure a loss was out of the question.
Howard Maxwell earned the B52s’ first points over Conor Ross before Logan Clarke clinched a much-needed victory, while Matt Weir (B52s) got a consolation game as he inflicted a first loss on Steve Hitchcox.
— Michael Minty
