Melton enjoyed an upset win over Werribee in Bowls Victoria’s pennant competition on Saturday.
Despite sitting three places lower than the second-placed Bees on the division 1, section 2 ladder, a fired-up Melton claimed the points 16 (87)-2 (66).
The result means Melton is now the hunter heading into the final three rounds of the season.
After being in and out of the top four for most of the first half of the season, Melton is in fifth spot on the ladder after 15 rounds, four points behind fourth-placed Essendon.
Melton bowls director Stephen Sullivan says the win has given his club a clear path for the rest of the season.
“It was a really important win for us,” he said.
“It means we have avoided relegation and now we have a clear vision to the finals. We’ll definitely strive for third position with the three games we have left.
“It was definitely mentioned [before the match] how important it was. With relegation still a possibility, we needed to come away with the win on the day.
“Now we can look towards finishing in the top four.”
Melton will try to keep its winning run going when it takes on seventh-placed Donvale this week.
Last time the two sides played, Donvale won by 12 shots.
“It’s been that sort of competition where it can be a toss of the coin with one side knocking off another,” Sullivan said.
“We don’t feel like there’s anyone we can’t beat and we’re still yet to click 100 per cent.”
Meanwhile, Werribee now turns its attention to a crunch game against third-placed Eltham this week.
Although 22 points separates the two sides on the ladder, a loss could put the Bees’ home final in jeopardy.
Werribee has won only one of three matches since Christmas and is now five games behind top-of-the-table Altona.
Skipper Snowy Barker says his side needs to find consistency.
“It’s a game we should win and we expect to win it if we’re going to play finals,” Barker said.
“We need to win those home games. We need to win to keep our home final.
“We’ve been pretty ordinary since Christmas and to get beaten at home the other week was terrible.
“We need to try to claw our way back to some sort of form and be more consistent.”
