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THE dream draw of Lee Schraner v Darren Burgess highlights the skipper match-ups in Sunday's BBD weekend pennant division one grand final between Bendigo East and Eaglehawk.
The Beasties and Hawks have been the BBD's two powerhouse sides, with all paths leading to this grand final clash from early in the season - albeit Eaglehawk only just scraped past Bendigo by five shots in the preliminary final last week.
Among the match-ups set for Sunday at South Bendigo is a mouth-watering contest between East's Schraner and the Hawks' Burgess - the two top-ranked rinks in the competition.
Schraner's only loss has been a five-shot defeat to Burgess in round 14.
Adding some extra spice to the contest is Burgess' successful history with Bendigo East where he is a three-time premiership skipper.
The Eaglehawk rink of Simon Carter has a big challenge on its hands with it drawn to play East's Aaron Tomkins.
While Schraner's rink has garnered much of the headlines throughout the season, Tomkins ranked No.3 on the skipper's ladder and has won his past three games by a combined 28 shots.
Of the eight rinks competing, Carter's was the only one not to end the home and away season ranked in the top 10, coming in at No.24, but it did find some form with three-straight wins by 22, 10 and 22 shots in rounds 11, 12 and 13.
A return to that form would be massive for the Hawks' chances of going back-to-back.
Also pivotal will be which rink can get back up and about in the tussle between East's Marc Smith and the Hawks' Brayden Byrne.
Smith has lost four in a row, while Byrne's rink is 1-3 in its past four matches.
The other contest will feature the East rink of Brad Marron taking on the Hawks' Dean Carter.
The Hawks largely have Carter's rink to thank for avoiding a massive choke last week as he was the only winning skipper in the escape against Bendigo, while Marron's rink has performed solidly in the back half of the season following a slow start.
Bendigo East and Eaglehawk have met three times this season, with the ledger 2-1 in favour of the Beasties, with just five and six shots the difference in their past two encounters.
This is the 20th consecutive year the grand final has featured either Bendigo East or Eaglehawk.
RINK MATCH-UPS:
Lee Schraner (East) v Darren Burgess (Eaglehawk)
LEE SCHRANER
Points: 27 Shots: +159
Record: 13-1-1
Avg. for: 28.1
Avg agst: 16.7
Past 4: +11, -5, +12, +26
BBD rank: No. 1
The team - Rod Pearce, Peter Huggard, Rob Clough, Lee Schraner (s).
.….…………………….
DARREN BURGESS
Points: 23 Shots: +99
Record: 11-4-1
Avg. for: 27.5
Avg agst: 20.9
Past 4: -1, +12, +5, -5
BBD rank: No. 2
The team - Russell Simmonds, Steve Carn, Tony Ellis, Darren Burgess (s).
Brad Marron (East) v Dean Carter (Eaglehawk)
BRAD MARRON
Points: 15 Shots: +36
Record: 7-7-1
Avg. for: 23.3
Avg agst: 20.7
Past 4: -12, +14, +15, +28
BBD rank: No. 8
The team - Graham Murphy, Paul Vlaeminck, Graham Edwards, Brad Marron (s).
.….…………………….
DEAN CARTER
Points: 22 Shots: +74
Record: 10-4-2
Avg. for: 24.7
Avg agst: 19.8
Past 4: +11, -11, +13, -1
BBD rank: No. 4
The team - Leigh Thurwood, Ray Rowe, Phil Godkin, Dean Carter (s).
Aaron Tomkins (East) v Simon Carter (Eaglehawk)
AARON TOMKINS
Points: 23 Shots: +88
Record: 11-3-1
Avg. for: 26.5
Avg agst: 20.2
Past 4: +8, +9, +11, -3
BBD rank: No. 3
The team - Martin Lord, Brian Griffin, Gary Ryan, Aaron Tomkins (s).
.….…………………….
SIMON CARTER
Points: 12 Shots: +6
Record: 5-9-2
Avg. for: 23.2
Avg agst: 22.8
Past 4: 0, -8, -9, +22
BBD rank: No. 24
The team - John Carter, Wayne Naughton, Terry Gilmore, Simon Carter (s).
Marc Smith (East) v Brayden Byrne (Eaglehawk)
MARC SMITH
Points: 15 Shots: +24
Record: 7-7-1
Avg. for: 24.4
Avg agst: 22.7
Past 4: -1, -13, -10, -1
BBD rank: No. 9
The team - Jack Clough, Tom Lester, Chris Randell, Marc Smith (s).
.….…………………….
BRAYDEN BYRNE
Points: 19 Shots: +23
Record: 9-6-1
Avg. for: 24.3
Avg agst: 22.8
Past 4: -5, +1, -14, -2
BBD rank: No. 5
The team - Con O'Shea, Spencer Ashman, Ken Rusbridge, Brayden Byrne (s).
SEASON MEETINGS:
ROUND 7
Eaglehawk 16-102 d Bendigo East 2-88
Darren Burgess 24 d Brad Marron 18
Brayden Byrne 25 lt Lee Schraner 30
Simon Carter 24 d Chris Randell 21
Dean Carter 29 d Aaron Tomkins 19
…………………………….
ROUND 14
Bendigo East 14-88 d Eaglehawk 4-83
Aaron Tomkins 28 d Simon Carter 19
Marc Smith 14 lt Dean Carter 27
Lee Schraner 15 lt Darren Burgess 20
Brad Marron 31 d Brayden Byrne 17
…………………………….
QUALIFYING FINAL
Bendigo East 14-93 d Eaglehawk 4-87
Brad Marron 18 lt Darren Burgess 30
Lee Schraner 24 d Dean Carter 13
Marc Smith 24 lt Brayden Byrne 25
Aaron Tomkins 27 d Simon Carter 19
SELECTIONS
Lee Schraner over Darren Burgess by 1
Dean Carter over Brad Marron by 2
Aaron Tomkins over Simon Carter by 6
Brayden Byrne over Marc Smith by 2
Overall - Bendigo East by 3 shots
SATURDAY'S GRAND FINALS
• DIVISION 2
Eaglehawk v South Bendigo at Bendigo East.
Last time - South Bendigo 100 d Eaglehawk 72.
…………………………….
• DIVISION 3
Bendigo East v Harcourt at Bendigo.
Last time - Bendigo East 95 d Harcourt 85.
…………………………….
• DIVISION 4
Strathfieldsaye v Woodbury at Kangaroo Flat.
Last time - Strathfieldsaye 97 d Woodbury 64.
…………………………….
• DIVISION 5
Marong v Dingee at White Hills.
Last time - Marong 97 d Dingee 68.
…………………………….
• DIVISION 6
Campbells Creek v Eaglehawk at Golden Square.
Last time - Eaglehawk 104 d Campbells Creek 85.
…………………………….
• DIVISION 7
Bendigo VRI v Marong at White Hills.
Last time - Marong 74 d Bendigo VRI 68.
…………………………….
• DIVISION 8
Strathfieldsaye v Campbells Creek at Golden Square.
Last time - Strathfieldsaye 53 d Campbells Creek 47.
…………………………….
Saturday's and Sunday's grand finals begin at 1.30pm.
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