The Western District Bowls Division premier finished second at the West Coast Region finals day at City Memorial Bowls Club on Sunday.

Warrnambool Gold defeated Far Western premier Hamilton 97-50 but lost to Corangamite premier Colac 60-58 to finish with a 1-1 record after its two matches.

Colac defeated Hamilton 84-44 in the other match to emerge unbeaten and progress to the Victorian Saturday pennant finals at Barham on May 2 to 4.

Warrnambool Gold skipper Paul O’Donnell said his men were disappointed with the two-shot loss to Colac, having won three of the four 18-end rinks.

Neil Crisp defeated Will Collihole 15-11, Peter Pangrazio defeated Dan Donovan 16-15 and O’Donnell defeated Noel Paatsch 15-12.

But Brian “Blackie” Lenehan lost to Ron Dillon 22-12 — a lopsided contest which proved decisive overall.

“He had a big chance there in the second-last end. He was holding four but Ron Dillon came down and moved the kitty and we only ended up getting one,” he said.

“On the last end we needed three for a tie, which would’ve got us through because we were so many shots up overall. Unfortunately we only got one.”

O’Donnell said Warrnambool Gold could be proud of its season, highlighted by a second consecutive win against City Memorial Red in the WDBD grand final.

“It has been successful in a lot of ways because of the changes we’ve made,” he said.

“But we were pretty confident we could handle the games yesterday. We were all pretty disappointed.

“After this week you settle down and say we’ve won a premiership, which is what it’s all about.”

The WDBD will have one pennant side take on the best in Victoria, with Tuesday pennant champion Warrnambool Gold still in contention for state success. Warrnambool Gold backed up its WDBD title by taking West Coast Region honours three weeks ago and will chase state success at Barham on May 6 and 7.

Meanwhile, West Coast Region’s representative women’s side reached the semi-finals of the Victorian Region Sides’ Championships at Murray Downs last week.

The side topped its section with a 2-1 record but a 44-39 defeat to eventual champion Northern Gateway ended its title hopes.