All roads led to the Oxley hall where 23 players arrived on the ‘knocker’ at 7pm, to ‘tear up’ the tables at the weekly social table tennis competition last Monday night.

First out of the blocks, ‘footloose’ Debbie Brunken and ‘stretch’ Gary Coad lined up against ‘irrepressible’ Cheryl Coad, and ‘indefatigable’ Neil Spurgeon.

With each player complementing their partner’s strengths, in thought and deed it was a game of no gimmes, but plenty of ‘gotchas’.

Gary’s long skimming serves, Debbie’s accurately placed wide returns, Cheryl’s ‘total court coverage’, and Neil’s backhand and forehand slippery drives, all added up to every point taking many shots to win or lose, however, it was Cheryl and Neil who won by a whisker.

‘Ruthless’ Ruth Shalders and fully focussed Jason Mullins were in ‘go get ’em’ mode when they took on ‘bat whisperer’ Graham Stephens, and ‘ducking and diving’ David Harris, in a game where each player put their shoulder to the wheel, with grit and determination from the first point.

Long, short, wide, narrow, lucky and unlucky strokes led to all four players delivering and receiving powerful shots, which brought sweat to the brows of everyone, as they worked tirelessly to gain the upper hand.

Final scores saw both pairs winning the tie-breaker.

When ‘man of the moment’, Manni Poulos, teamed up with ‘young goer’ Olivia Strack, to play against her friend and foe, Harriet Day, and ‘full of fun but deadly earnest’ Ernie Menichelli, each pair was ready, willing, and able to give the other a real ‘run for their money’.

While the fellas had age and experience under their belts, each were completely confident of their partner’s skilful and competitive support in every facet of the game.

And it was this all-round confidence that allowed everyone to bring their best game to the table.

No final scores recorded, but everyone finished ‘on top of the world’.

When the ‘irresistible force’, Sharon Gervasoni, teamed up with the ‘immovable object’, June Uebergang, to play ‘on your mark’ Cheryl Coad, and the lithe, and ‘lickety-split’, Lyla Porter, everyone was prepared to give their all for the sake of the team.

And with this strategy in mind and body, everyone was prepared to go the extra mile in their quest to strike the final blow on every point.

After some great stroke-making, mixed with a few ‘scrubbers’, it was Cheryl and Lyla who took the honours.

‘Games’ aspirants of the future, Hugh Spring and Ryan Van Der Poel were right in the groove when they lined up ‘here he is again’, Theo Poulos, and Ryan’s dad, Steve Van Der Poel, in a test to determine the width of the generational gap.

With all well-armed with abundant power and precision in attack and defence all across the table, there was never a dull moment, in the action-packed encounter from beginning to end.

And after the scores had ebbed and flowed throughout, big smiles and hearty handshakes, and an immediate call for a replay, indicated the ‘generational gap’ had narrowed.

If, as they say, laughter is the best medicine, Lucy Uebergang and Richard Morgan, and William Bonwick and Mick Gervasoni were ‘well dressed up’, when they paired up to test the mettle of their opponents in a fun-for-all game, displaying many talents.

Getting off to a fast start, Lucy and Richard put William and Mick under constant pressure, which led them to holding an early six-point lead.

But after pulling up their socks, William and Mick changed their approach, and slowly but surely equalled the score at 10 all.

From there on it was no laughing matter, as each pair put their ‘best foot forward’ with some rattling drives, and crafty sliced, wide angled drop shots, which then led to a ‘cinema slam’ final point, leaving one pair grinning from ‘ear to ear’.

After the action-packed contests where everyone played with, or against each other, everyone enjoyed a cuppa and supper, while catching up with local news.

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

Bring your own bat, $2 entry, and a plate to share.