Round 5 Report: De Losa Crowned Aussie Champ

New South Welshman Brad De Losa has claimed the STIHL Timbersports Australian Championship with a spectacular stocksaw showdown.

In front of his friends and family in Bathurst, NSW, the lumberjack from Lithgow was tied with Victorian Brayden Meyer on 35 points at the end of the fifth and final round.

Until the pair had been separated, no winner could be declared for the day or the series.

This forced a sudden death stocksaw shootout, where De Losa notched 14.33 seconds.

Under pressure, Meyer could only manage 14.71 seconds, handing De Losa the round win and the STIHL Timbersports Australian Championship.

"It is phenomenal and pretty relieving. It has been a stressful day and mentally draining so I'm happy it is all over and I couldn't be happier with the result," De Losa said.

"I was only one point off winning it last year and it has been a long 12 months.

"I have thrown a lot more into it this year, trained really hard and even the last few weeks I have been putting a lot into it."

As the STIHL Timbersports Australian Championship winner, De Losa has gained automatic selection as the individual representative at the 2016 STIHL Timbersports World Championship in Stuttgart, Germany on November 10-11.

He is also part of the Chopperoos team aiming to claim a third-straight world title, with Meyer, Laurence O'Toole (VIC), Jamie Head (QLD) and Mitch Argent (QLD).

While the top four spots were allocated in round four, Argent earned the remaining ticket to Germany with a third placing at Bathurst.

"It was a good end to what has been a bad year performance-wise," Argent said.

"I am really happy to get back on the team and head to Germany with the boys to defend our title."

Behind De Losa, O'Toole, and Meyer rounded out the top three on the VW Amarok Championship ladder, the trio automatically qualifying for the 2017 STIHL Timbersports Australian Championship.

The remaining five will have to go through the 2017 Pro Tour Qualifying round, at Homebush, NSW in December against all the State Champions.

Final VW Amarok Championship standings:
1. Brad De Losa (NSW) 34
2. Laurence O'Toole (VIC) 33
3. Brayden Meyer (VIC) 32
4. Jamie Head (QLD) 29
5. Mitch Argent (QLD) 15
6. Matt Gurr (TAS) 13
7. Kody Steers (TAS) 12
Brodie Dingle (QLD) 12