Families on cue for grand final effort

FAMILY ties will dominate Sunday's Warrnambool Eight Ball Association division one grand final when the Royal Rebels clash with the Cally Raiders.Father-son combination Garry and Ashley Watts and brothers Jamie and Darren Keen will cue off for the Royal Rebels who are keen to take the champions' crown after finishing the summer home-and-away season in third spot.The Raiders, who were minor premier, also have a father-son combination in Kevin and Terry McMahon.Neil O'Malley, of the Raiders, and Rebels captain Garry Watts, who has pocketed five premierships with his side in the past five years, both expect the game to be close.``We beat them in the second semi-final 8-5, but they have been the in-form team all year,'' said Watts, who began playing in the early 80s.``Everybody played back then.``You would just go and have a hit at the pub.``It's better now, just because there are better players.''Association president Neville Wickham expected the better players to attract numerous spectators to the Shamrock Hotel competition on Sunday.``Crowd numbers are always up in the grand finals,'' he said. ``This one will probably get between 150 and 200 people, which is not bad for a small competition.''The division two final will be contested by the Cally Wobblies and Shamrock Thornes, which both edged out ladder leader Warrnambool Cs for a spot in the match. The Wobblies finished in second position, just three points ahead of the Thornes.The last time the teams met in round 12, the Thornes were too strong, winning 10-5.The division two final starts at 10.30am with division one to be played at 1.30pm.Wickham said presentations will also take place during the day, with individual awards such as best players for each team, top point-scorers in both divisions and players of the day being presented.