IN fine, but chilly conditions, 24 players were all fired up when they arrived for red-hot action, where everyone played with or against each other at the Oxley social table tennis competition last Monday night.

Ripping straight into gear, Gary and Cheryl applied their combined ‘Coad of conduct’ when they lined up against the ‘ever-ready’ Richard Morgan and the ‘milkman’ Graham Stephens, in a very evenly contested game that continued ‘till the cows come home’.

Mixing crafty short and shapely placements with speedy shots that went ‘pasteurise’ in a blink, it was a game enjoyed by players and left spectators breathless.

No scores recorded, but high fives and hearty handshakes indicate it was a drawn game

A very skilful game was toughed out when Janet and Don Heath took on Katie Woodberry and June Uebergang in a game for ‘all seasons’.

From the first point it was obvious Janet and Don had done their homework, as they repeatedly put the hard questions to Katie and June in their long contest of brains and brawn.

Capitalising on their combined strengths, the Heaths got off to a runaway start, and held on until the halfway mark of the game, after which Katie and June slowly reduced their deficit until finally pencilling in the win.

Sharene Gervasoni and Paul Lawrence were ready for business when they locked horns with the equally prepared Lucy Uebergang and Martin Butcher in a game of purposeful attack and defence.

While the girls handled the placements, the boys threw in the power, in a game where each pair held the lead intermittently from start to finish.

After a very long encounter of give and take, one pair finally stood high on the podium after the tie-break victory.

Fresh as a daisy after walking to the hall, Debbie Brunken paired with ‘wordsmith’ Phoebe Morgan in an entertaining tussle against the youthful Millie Bosley and her grandma, Susan Bull.

As each player capitalised on their own strengths, while playing shoulder-to-shoulder with their partner, the game was evenly contested with long, short, wide-angled, and tricky shots being delivered and returned in fine style.

While Millie and Susan used their individual generational styles, Debbie and Phoebe operated on the same game plan, until final scores revealed one pair had won by an inch.

A closely fought ‘exhibition’ match was on show when the man with a plan, Neil Spurgeon, and ‘Manni’ talented Poulos took on ‘new boy on the scene’ James (Jimmy) Coles, and ‘on the go’ Mick Gervasoni.

In a game where each player threw his all – and a bit more – into ‘fighting for the cause’, each player was seen continually wiping the sweat from his brow in a game that when on for what seemed forever.

Although new to the weekly event, James was certainly not new to the game, as he and Mick attacked and defended Neil and Manni’s onslaught all over the table.

As expected, final scores were very close, with one pair winning with a ‘grand slam’.

When in their umpteenth game for the night, ‘out of towners’ Adam Bosley and ‘cue-ball pro’ Theo Poulos took on local lads Jason Mullins and William Bonwick, it was time for spectators to hold onto their hats.

With ‘molly dookers’ Jason and Theo dominating down the left side, Adam and William tramped their shots hard and fast down the right side, which led to the table getting a belting from all points.

Tough to play and exhausting to watch, one pair came home victorious.

With the kettle on the boil all evening, everyone whet their whistles and dined on fine foods as they recuperated between the many sets contested.

Adults and secondary school students of all ages and abilities are welcome to join the group which meets every Monday night, beginning 7pm at the Oxley hall.

BYO bat, $2 entry, and a plate to share.