Allan Matheson Shield | Gallery | Bulldogs rally late to secure third spot

But the home side didn’t panic, regrouping to claim two pivotal rink victories courtesy of coach Brendon Boyd (26-21) and Peter Le Sueur (29-17), as Tatura Hill-Top’s experienced bowlers came up big in the clutch moments.

Boyd said he was incredibly proud of how his team rallied to overcome the early deficit and secure the pivotal victory.

“Halfway through we were down by a fair few shots, so I just pulled the guys and girls together and basically tried to get back to the basics, get some bowls in the head and move from there to give our skips the opportunity to convert and it started to turn around,” Boyd said.

“It got quite tense towards the end watching on, but we got a bit of a buffer and just played some good bowls and controlled the situation quite well in the end.

“I am very proud of the team’s efforts overall, once upon a time when you are down by that much you get very negative and give up, but all the players really dug deep, and you can’t be any prouder of what they produced.”

For the Bulldogs, attention now turns to the start of the finals series, where Boyd said his team would be looking to ruffle a few feathers.

“Coming in (to the finals) with a couple of wins definitely helps, we know we have to take it up another level now and yesterday’s game was to get us in there, so now a new season starts and we cannot wait,” he said.

“For us it is going to be all about bowling our best, because we know when we do that we can compete with any team.

“Our goal is to go in there and make an impact, because if we get the right match and play our best anything can happen.”

Shepparton Park and East Shepparton finished their campaigns with a thrilling draw at Shepparton Park Bowls Club.

Needing a Tatura-Hill Top loss and a win to sneak into the top four, neither side gave an inch in what was an enthralling contest from start to finish.

Splitting the rinks, Paul Nichols was the star for the home side registering a dominant 34-17 victory in rink two, before Brent Reiner returned serve for the Eagles, continuing his great run of form with a 28-14 win in rink three.

With the game going right down to the wire, it would be Josh Warren who stood up for Park, producing a clutch 29-22 win in rink four to tie up the scores at the finish.

Shepparton Golf made a major statement heading into the finals, destroying an out-of-sorts Kyabram 18-118 to 0-59 away from home.

A dominant performance from start to finish, Brett Foley was particularly impressive in rink one inspiring a crushing 31-13 victory, while coach Brad Orr was back to his best registering a convincing 31-15 win in rink three.

Kyabram was only competitive in rink three, with Paul McInnes taking Connor Trewren right to the end, falling 22-21.

Falling into fourth spot with their third straight loss, the Bombers will need to find a spark during the week if they hope to recapture the early season form that had many dubbing them as contenders.

Tallygaroopna continued its hot form with a brutal 18-105 to 0-73 win over Euroa.

Sweeping the rinks, Liam Crapper (26-13) and David Daws (31-19) starred for the Redlegs as they continue to round into peak form heading into the finals.