Fletcher, who plays at Ballarat-Alexandra Croquet Club, defeated Dwayne McCormick from Norwood 25 hoops to 23 in the final, with the thrilling match continuing after the sun had set.
McCormick held the lead with only a few hoops to go, before Fletcher showcased why he is Australia’s national champion with a late comeback to snatch the title.
It is the second year in a row that McCormick has finished as the runner up in Rich River, after finishing second in 2021 as well.
While Fletcher and McCormick went head-to-head this week, the two will be teammates later this year with both selected to the Australian Croquet Association national squad.
Fletcher won six of his seven matches at Rich River to finish on top of Pool A, finishing ahead of Yarrawonga’s Kevin Beard on net hoops.
McCormick lost his first match in Pool B, but responded by winning six in a row to finish on top of his group, ahead of Trevor Bassett of Cooks River.
Bassett and Beard faced off in the other final, with Basset winning by 19 hoops to 17 to claim third place.
Players exhibited their top-class quality throughout the tournament with 13 triple peels over the two days of play, with Fletcher accomplishing an amazing quintuple peel.
Competitors came from across the country to take part in the even at the Rich River Croquet Club, with players travelling from the ACT, South Australia, NSW and across Victoria to compete.
In Division 2, Phil Wise of Norwood squared off against local Russ Smyth of Rich River in the final, with Smyth claiming victory 17-16.
Wise was ahead by three hoops when Smyth had his last turn, during which time expired.
Russ went on to make four hoops before an unlucky roquet by Wise during his time-on turn saw Smyth win by a single hoop.
The Rich River Anzac Classic spanned six days, with Division 3 and 4 competing on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Division 3 winner was John James of Deniliquin who won all four of his games and had a net hoop score of 36.
The runner up was Lyn Norwood of Rich River who won two games with a net hoop score of three, just 11 hoops ahead of Trish Pedrotti of Shepparton.
In Division 4 the result came down to the last game between Irene Murdoch of Quarry Hill and Dave Maher of Rich River, who were tied on games and only two hoops apart. Murdoch came through to win eight hoops to three.
The club thanked Marjorie Grant for her hard work in putting together such an enjoyable tournament and to her band of helpers, in particular Bev Floyd, Sandra Retallick, Ian Grant and Russ Smyth.
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