Yates was on debut for the side after recovering from injuries sustained in the Newcastle and Hunter Rugby League competition.

After making a solid 45 runs, Yates was run out and subsequently suffered the injury. The loss of a player the calibre of Yates is a blow to the Bushmen.

"I don't think he'll play again this season, he was a great addition heading into the finals," club president Matthew Higgins conceded.

"But we're not throwing it in just yet because we've got ourselves this far (co-leaders of the competition)."

Sweltering conditions weren't going to stop the game.

"It was 44 degrees but we were keen for a game," Higgins said.

"We had to umpire the game ourselves so because we didn't have a time limit we had extra time for drinks."

The Bushmen won the toss and elected to bat. The Great Lakes bowling attack tore through the Bushmen, with Yates, James McLeod (13) and Harrison Earl-Broadley (11) the only batsmen to reach double digits.

The side was dismissed for 106 in the 26^th over.

Led by Jye Barkwill (4/29) and Ken Wamsley (2/26), Gloucester remained right in the contest during Great Lakes' reply. Lakes eventually chased down the target to win by two wickets.

Despite the heat, both sides were keen to take the field. They last played on December 14 due to the Christmas/New Year break, Australia Day long weekend and a washed out contest.

The Bushmen ensured they wouldn't return to the field rusty.

"We trained a few times during the Christmas break," Higgins said.

There's now a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard. The Bushmen, Old Bar and Great Lakes all have 33 points but the latter has top spot due to a superior run rate percentage.

Meanwhile, both Manning sides suffered defeats in round 15 of the Mid North Coast Cricket Premier League competition.

Wauchope RSL defeated Taree West while Rovers bested United in the top of the table clash.