CITY Red's quest for back-to-back Western District Playing Area weekend pennant premierships came down to the final end.
The powerhouse Warrnambool-based club was pushed to the wire as exuberant newcomer Dunkeld fell short of a flag in its division one debut season.
City Red player Julie Dosser said it was nerve-racking watching the final plays in the hard fought 58-56 triumph unfold in front of a large crowd at Terang Bowls Club on Saturday.
"I honestly thought we would lose it because I thought they would put the jack in the ditch," she said.
"It was a surprise."
Dosser, who is City Memorial general manager, said Dunkeld's upbeat nature and celebrations encouraged City Red to follow suit as players soaked up sunny conditions.
"The louder they get then we try and get in on the act as well," she said.
"They are all very vibrant people and they're all a great bunch of guys as well and they deserved to be here."
City Red had a bumpy road to the final, making the flag even sweeter.
"We started off very, very slowly, especially our rink, but near the end (of the season) we started to come good and have some good wins," Dosser said.
Warrnambool Red's Deane Owen said its 68-45 victory over Dennington Mariners in division two was "a good team win".
He was thrilled with his rink's dominant 35-4 effort on the biggest stage of the season.
"I had a very good lead (Laurie McLaren) who got us in a great spot, second (Roger Hill) got us in an even better spot and third (Craig Rankin) did everything I asked of him and I just brought it home," Owen said.
"We had a good season, we won nine of our 14 games and lost the others only by a handful of shots."
A husband-and-wife rink featured in City Green's division three grand final win against Warrnambool White.
Alan and Valerie Hasell and Pauline and Owen Burleigh played together throughout the season.
Pauline Burleigh said City Green's 72-59 win was special, particularly given the family ties.
"They call us the family rink," she said.
"It was a really tough day, the greens were fairly slick so you had to concentrate the whole time to get there."
"Our rink had a fairly good win and we all had to put in - if one of us wasn't there, the others were there. It was a real team effort."
Lawn Green collected the division four flag courtesy of a 62-52 shot win over City Black in the morning session at Terang.
Dunkeld Blue was crowned division five premier after defeating Dennington Titans 49-35.
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Justine McCullagh-Beasy
Email: justine.mc@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Email: justine.mc@austcommunitymedia.com.au
