The first bout back after the Great Southern Slam saw second-placed Wild Hearses take on ladder leaders the Salty Dolls, who were on a winning streak of 10 bouts in a row. This was touted to be a close match-up between the top two teams, with the largest margin in previous bouts a measly 26 points.
The Salty Dolls took an early lead from the first jam before an 18-point power jam by Fast Twitch Hustle changed the lead, and the Wild Hearses didn’t look back. Fast Twitch Hustle was jumping the apex, The Ghan was powering through the pack and Turbo ‘The Rock’ Johnson was showcasing her skills to give the Hearses a commanding lead at half time, Wild Hearses 104 – 37 Salty Dolls.
The Salty Dolls came out firing after the break, with the first jam of the second half including jammer-on-jammer blocking and the Salties putting 19 points on the scoreboard.
Once again, the Wild Hearses took back control of the bout by adding an unanswered 21 points. With 15 minutes to play, the score was Wild Hearses 149 – 61 Salty Dolls and the Hearses did not look to falter. They continued with the pedal to the metal all the way to the finish line and a fantastic victory.
The final scores were:
Wild Hearses 191 vs Salty Dolls 81
Photo courtesy Martin Stanley