THE last time Port Fairy won a division one Tuesday pennant flag, Henry Bolte was in charge at Spring Street and John Gorton was ruling the halls of Canberra.
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The victory came in the 1968-69 season. Today the side will try to break its 45-year premiership drought when it faces Warrnambool Gold in the grand final.
The two clubs have already met three times this season.
The first was in round seven, when Port Fairy got the upper hand 71-63.
Warrnambool Gold turned the tables in round 14 with a 74-70 victory, before it forced Port Fairy to take the hard road in the search for an elusive premiership when it claimed the semi-final.
Port Fairy was undefeated until round 12 and finished the season on top of the ladder.
Warrnambool Gold had three losses and a draw to finish second.
Despite looking the favourite on paper, Port Fairy skipper Gill Phillips said her side would go in feeling like the underdog.
“Warrnambool Gold are a very experienced team. They know how to win,” she said.
“It’s been a long time coming for us. We have made finals in the past five season, but haven’t progressed.
“We feel like we are going in as the underdog, but everyone will be on their games.”
In their arsenal will be skipper Kay Miller, whose rink didn’t drop a game all season.
Phillips said the key to victory would be the number of bowls in the head.
“We need to get a good number of bowls in the head, not just one or two,” he said.
“We need to think positive and keep a clear head. That is what will be the difference, I think.
“Everyone is looking forward to it.
“We are going out to win.”
Warrnambool Gold skipper Maree Lynch said her side was settled and confident heading into today’s match.
“We have a good settled group and we are ready to go,” she said.
“We’re thrilled to be in the grand final.
“We are expecting Port Fairy to come out with all guns blazing.
“They have built a strong side and are going to be tough to beat.
“The last few times we have played them it’s been close, so we are expecting that again this time.
“We will need to concentrate as a group and play our best bowls.”
In other Tuesday pennant grand finals at the Warrnambool Bowls Club today, Mortlake will take on Lawn Tennis Green in division two and Terang will face Warrnambool Red in division three.