Sport
13 February, 2026
Highland Gold secures last midweek finals spot
Despite facing immense pressure from three teams attempting to steal their top four place at the death, Highland Gold never faltered, booking their golden ticket to next week’s semi-final.
Heading into the final round with control of their own destiny, Highland Gold knew if they swept finals hopefuls Avoca, they would make the finals regardless of other results.
Needing a victory to have any chance of making the top four, Avoca covered some ground with Loralee Field drawing 18-18 with Dennis Prosser.
Gregory Long and Adrian Masterman-Smith ensured Avoca never got into Highland Gold’s top four territory, with Long trouncing Ann Loosmore 31-13 and Masterman-Smith overpowering Ian Proctor 22-14.
Highland Gold’s 71-45 victory not only eliminated Avoca, but also removed Talbot from the finals equation.
It wasn’t all excellent news for Highland Gold, as their rink draw meant Carisbrook could go level on points and potentially past them with a demolition of Talbot.
Unfortunately for Carisbrook, Talbot’s Chris Crossley and Ray Prentice quashed those aspirations, with Crossley conquering Roy Pickering 19-15 and Prentice overcoming Cameron Taylor 22-18.
Ross Gregory allowed his team to end on a high note with his 28-14 victory over Barbara Crossley giving Carisbrook a 61-55 win, but it wasn’t enough to claw their deficit to Highland Gold, forcing them to watch next week’s semi-finals from the sidelines.
Speaking of semi-finals, Highland Tartan was triumphant in their double chance semi-final preview against old foes Dunolly Blue, winning 56-43.
The reigning premiers will enter next Tuesday with an extra pep in their step after Greg Shay bested Chris Williams 19-15 and Garry Coburn thwarted Tony Galofaro 20-14. Harvey Pearce completed the Tartan sweep by defeating Alan Weir 17-14.
Fellow semi-final participant Maryborough Golf faced some drama to end their home and away season, but managed to overcome Dunolly Gold 79-40.
Dunolly Gold’s Wayne Stephens caught Golf slightly off guard by overcoming Kort Gay 22-16. Even with Stephens’ success, Golf comfortably got over the line thanks to Graeme Orr trouncing Fabio Delconte 33-11 and Francis Smith taking a commanding win against Raeleen Mebbrey 30-7.
The 2025/26 midweek pennant home and away season was an enthralling affair filled with twists and turns, but that was only the appetiser for what’s expected to be a gripping finals bracket.
After ending the regular season against each other, the historic rivalry between Highland Tartan and Dunolly Blue will receive another chapter, featuring a major footnote with a Grand Final berth at stake.
Despite the two teams remaining evenly matched, Tartan has had Dunolly Blue’s number in recent memory, winning the last four encounters, including last season’s semi-final on their way to back-to-back premierships.
In the other semi-final, last season’s runner-up Maryborough Golf will attempt to avenge recent shortcomings, starting against the sister team of the side that defeated them for the 2024/25 title in Highland Gold.
After missing out on the finals by nine points thanks to Maryborough Golf coming fourth, Highland Gold have broken through the top four barrier, assisted by taking two points against Golf in their round 10 encounter, which Golf won 61-51.