East Maitland found its way into the upper echelons of the league’s ladder after benefiting from the bye last round, but was unable to keep its hold on fourth place in the face of a charge by the Alder Park Stallions, losing

5.5-9.5.

The Griffins shot off to an early lead at East Maitland Bowling Club on Friday, with team stalwart Eric Ryan again showing his skills in the single arena.

Ryan narrowly secured the first set 8-6 before gaining momentum to sweep his Alder Park opponent before him in the second set, 15-8.

The double pairing of Ben Trainor and Mark Janzandan failed to carry on with the winning form, faltering in the first set 4-9 before fighting back to secure a 10-all draw in the second.

The Griffins triples team tried to regain the momentum in its matches, but couldn’t quite reach the mark, being beaten 7-8 in its first set before the Stallions ran away with the second 3-13.

East Maitland slipped back into fifth place on the ladder with a total of 35.5 points after the completion of round four, while Alder Park fell from second to third place, despite its victory.

Nelson Bay pushed up into first position with a comprehensive 14-1 blitz of Charlestown, while Wallsend slipped into second.

Kurri Kurri furthered its chances in the competition, taking 10 points from the bye to launch itself from sixth into fourth position.The Cannons will look to cement their place in the top four next round when they host East Maitland on Thursday.