Geraldton Gold consolidate at the top of the ladder as Denison maintain their grip by their fingernails

Geraldton Gold will go into the Christmas break on top of the Batavia League ladder after crushing Denison Blue on Saturday.

Having taken the lead at the top of the comp last week due to Wonthella’s struggles, Geraldton Gold quickly asserted their dominance with a 28-6 first-rink drubbing of Denison.

There was never really a way back from there as they extended their shot lead in the second with a 24-11 and completed a clean sweep with a 22-14 final rink to record a 74-31 shot victory to not only take home the six points but give them a hefty percentage bump as well.

Wonthella Gold did manage to stop their slide and halt Geraldton Red’s charge up the ladder with a 68-42 shot win taking out all three rinks.

The closest Red got was a 19-17 loss in the final rink in what was a missed opportunity for them to jump into second place at Gold’s expense.

It allowed Wonthella Maroon to close to within three points of the Reds though they had to work hard against a defiant Denison White.

Despite being bottom of the ladder White have been competitive in recent weeks and it showed as they eked out a 19-18 first-rink victory before a more comfortable 23-18 second-rink win.

But not for the first time this season they were undone by one bad rink as they lost the final 24-16 and saw Maroon steal three match points by two shots 60-58.

A similar scenario played out for Mullewa against Wonthella Green as they also had close victories in their first two rinks 22-19 and 18-16 but lost the match as they were beaten 23-15 in the final rink to lose the match by three shots 58-55.

Northampton suffered the reverse fate battling back after losing the first rink convincingly 28-11 to win the next two 24-23 and 19-11.

However they just couldn’t make up enough ground coming from so back and still lost the match 62-54 as Geraldton Blue moved to within a point and a half of finals.

In the women’s league Denison held on to their spot at the top of the ladder by the slimmest of margins as they went down 68-45 to Wonthella Maroon.

The two sides have been streets ahead of the other two in what was likely a rehearsal for the grand final.

Wonthella dominated the first and third rinks winning 25-13 and 25-10 respectively but Denison won the second 22-18 and that single point was enough to see them stay top over Christmas by just half a point.

Geraldton Blue had a comfortable win over Northampton, blowing them away in the first rink 24-13 before consolidating in the second 19-16.

Northampton won the third 18-16 to make sure they came away with something but the two sit more than 12 points back of Wonthella and Denison.

The clubs also held their champion of champions event on Sunday. Denison took home the win in both categories, with Anne Doy and Gloria Nelson winning the ladies and Peter and Joel Leeson taking out the men’s honour.