The Victoria Park-based team is just one win away from completing a rags-to-riches story — just two years ago it was playing in division two.

Koroit Blue ended the Warrnambool Gold-City Memorial Red grand final stranglehold when it eliminated the latter in their preliminary final showdown at Dennington.

The 90-78 win ensured it will play Warrnambool Gold — the team which inflicted it’s 59-shot second semi-final loss — on the big stage at Port Fairy next weekend.

Koroit Blue skipper Shane Cashill said the club was unsure if it had ever had a team in the division one grand final.

“We were talking about it last night and Jack Murnane has been hanging around Koroit since 1956 and he doesn’t remember it happening in that time,” he said.

“It goes back a long time if it has happened before.”

Cashill said hard work and dedication were the catalysts for Koroit’s rise up the WDBD ranks.

Its division two Tuesday pennant side will play in the top grade next season after winning the division two flag last month.

“It shows what the club has done over six or seven years to go from 40 members to 100 members,” Cashill said.

“A lot of different people put in a lot of different work in that time and have grown the club to what it is.

“It is a great achievement, seeing as two years ago we were in division two.

“We got a few extra players when we (Saturday pennant) went into division one but the majority is home-grown talent.”

Koroit Blue won three of the four rinks against City Memorial Red.

Barry Padgham edged out David Wells 23-20, Brendan Keane defeated Kevin McMahon 26-22 and Murnane was too strong for Kevin O’Keeffe 28-18.

Cashill lost to David Clements 18-13.

Keane credited Koroit Blue’s resilience with the hard-fought win.

He said the team’s ability to put its horror semi-final result aside showed maturity.

“It was a good win. We knew it would go right to the end but we had to keep in there and keep the pressure on them and that’s what we did,” Keane said. 

“It was very exciting. My rink was the last to finish.

“It was an 11-shot deficit and Kevin McMahon decided not to play the last end because they couldn’t get the numbers.”

Keane said Koroit Blue would train at Port Fairy this week as it prepares for the grand final.

“We have had a pretty hard run home — all the top four sides and in the finals,” he said.

“Last week something had to crack and hopefully we’ve had our one little hiccup now.”

justine.mc@fairfaxmedia.com.au