Port Fairy held onto fourth spot on the Western District Bowls Division top grade ladder and will enter its fourth finals campaign in five years this morning.

Phillips will skip alongside Gavin, who plays second in the same rink.

The duo’s position on the Dennington green today is much like their setup in Toolong.

“We’ve been neighbours for about 42 years,” Phillips laughed.

“She walked into the bowls club and then a couple of weeks later she said I should come along.

“That was 11 years ago.”

Also in Phillips’ rink is third Jan Norton and lead Anne Mallett.

But the bright skipper, who is in her second season at the helm, rarely needs to offer guidance.

“We’ve been going OK this year,” Phillips said.

“They’re all good to play with and they know what they need to do.

“Hopefully we can bowl well tomorrow because it’s so important.”

Phillips, who played tennis and squash before turning her attention to bowls, said she embraced the companionship and competition in the sport.

She is also proud of Port Fairy for matching it with the association’s powerhouses such as City Memorial and Warrnambool.

“It’s a good effort to make the top four,” she said.

“Other clubs have so many players to choose from so it’s an achievement for us to just get this far.”

Of course, Phillips wants to see Port Fairy go further than today’s first semi-final against third-ranked City Green.

“City Memorial is a very strong club,” she said.

“Everybody is looking forward to the game. We’ll just have to see how we go.”

Meanwhile, top sides Warrnambool Gold and City Gold will challenge for a grand final spot, also at Dennington.

In division two action, Dennington battles City Pink for a ticket to the decider, while Mortlake plays Warrnambool Green in the knockout semi.

Both division two finals will be held at Terang today.

Warrnambool Red confronts St John’s Red for a place in the division three grand final and Port Fairy and St John’s White fight for survival. The division three finals are at Dennington.