The Victorian, who honed his craft on the famous Melbourne Sandbelt, had only one bogey at Warragul Country Club to take a huge step to guaranteeing his place in the top 24 players who will advance to Sunday’s sudden-death six-hole matches.

At 11-under, he leads a trio of players by one shot heading into the final round of strokeplay, with Queenslanders Jake McLeod and Lawry Flynn matching John’s 64 on day two, while last season’s Challenger PGA Tour of Australia Order No.3, Victorian Andrew Martin, shot a steady 66.

First-round leader Braden Becker (69) and Victoria’s Kyle Michel (66) share fifth place at 9-under.

John, who is chasing his first win on Tour since joining in 2018, is getting back to his best form after the surgery earlier this year.

This is his fifth tournament back after not being able to play any Tour events at the start of 2023.

“Yeah it’s been challenging, but also I think a good thing,” he said.

“I had a bit of time to rest my back… I’ll take all the positives I can out of it but yeah it’s good to be back.”

John’s first 36 holes at Warragul could have been better but for the long par-4 13th that he has bogeyed on both days.

“The course has been as good as I’ve seen it. It’s a little bit softer than previous years which is nice,” he said.

“I felt like there were a couple of holes where you could get caught out with the wind if you weren’t thinking about it… that made me use my brain a little bit more.”

Both McLeod and Martin shot to the top of the leaderboard early on day two, taking advantage of the still morning conditions.

After making use of the overseas exemptions he received thanks to his top-three finish in last season’s Order of Merit, Martin is making just his second appearance on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s 2023/24 schedule.

He looks like he’s finding his game ahead of the two Australian majors which double as the first two tournaments on his 23/24 DP World Tour schedule, another reward from last season’s strong performances at home.

“It’s been pretty quiet for me, couple of pro-ams in Vic, at then I went over to the Dunhill (Links Championship) and that was my last one,” he said

“I’ve just got the itch since the tournaments have come back on. Being a bit older now I know how busy my schedule going forward, 2024, could be.”

The top-50 and ties progress to round three tomorrow, with the cut coming at one-under.

Players will have the eyes squarely on the pointy end of the leaderboard tomorrow, as only the top-24 progress to the six-hole medal matchplay shootouts on Sunday.

The final two rounds of the Gippsland Super 6 will be broadcast live on Foxtel and Kayo from 4pm Saturday and 2pm Sunday AEDT. The Gippsland Super 6 coverage is also included in Kayo Freebies.

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