RSL-Colts has one foot in the RSL-Pinnington Cup grand final after holding off CYMS on Saturday.
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After posting an imposing 6/257 on day one of the second grade clash at John McGrath 1 the men in red were made to work but got the job done on Saturday, dismissing CYMS for 229.
The victory means Colts are 11 points clear at the top with just one round remaining, meaning the minor premiership and automatic progression to the decider is all but certain.
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Colts started well on Saturday, Preston Beauchamp knocking over both Heath Larance (24) anbd Matt Ellis (17) after Jakke Gardiner had removed Yogi Chawla (5) early on.
CYMS knuckled down from there and while the required run rate was always a question, Nathan Hawke and captain Ben Williams kept things ticking over.
The pair added 106 for the fourth wicket as CYMS hunt for a top three spot started to gain real momentum.
But then, day one centurion Nathan Jones picked up the big wicket of Hawke for a well-made 72.
Williams tried to lift the run rate late on but it proved too much as he was caught in the deep for 53. The end then came soon for the Cougars.
Jones capped off a fine individual game with 4/63 while Sam Bass chimed in with 3/27 late on.
Newtown was also made to work for its win at John McGrath 2 after posting a strong day one total.
Defending 226, the Tigers came up against a stubborn Rugby lower order on Saturday.
At 5/62 early on it seemed Newtown was headed for a convincing victory, but Rugby youngster Nate Ambler led the fightback.
Ambler went on to make a hard-hitting 64 while he received solid support from Mitch Rosenbaum (31) late on.
Greg Kerr knocked over Ambler in his lone over for the day as Newtown went on to bowl out Rugby for 196.
Dale O'Donnell was a standout with the ball and claimed 4/44 in the victory.
The Tigers remain second, 10 points clear of Rugby.
The final match of the round wasn't as close, with South Dubbo scoring a dominant win over Macquarie.
Souths made a massive 359 on day one and with that in mind, the Macquarie batsmen had to come out swinging.
But that worked just played into Souths' hands, and spinner Justin Knudsen capitalised in a huge way.
Richard Hawker did his best and banged 43 early on but there wasn't many other meaningful contributions from the Blues batsmen as Knudsen produced a demolition job.
Knudsen went on to finish with 6/59 from 15.2 overs as Macquarie was dismissed for just 162.
Macquarie meets Colts in the final round while Souths takes on a Rugby side which needs a win to hold off fourth-placed CYMS.