City Memorial capped off a dominant Western District Playing Area season at home on Saturday, winning three of five weekend pennant premierships, including the coveted division one flag.
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City Red held its nerve against a valiant Mortlake Blue to triumph 66-61 in a thrilling top-grade grand final that went right to the wire.
Mortlake managed to record wins in two out of three rinks however it wasn't enough as the final rink, skippered by Red's Bryan Sheehan, went the home team's way 30-14.
Sheehan, no stranger to flag success, was delighted to see his side prevail.
"It's pretty awesome, we put a lot into it," he told The Standard.
"It's a long season, it's nearly six months. You do put a lot into it. We finished top of the ladder, lost the first final to Mortlake. We had to go back, beat Warrnambool Gold then come back and have a go at Mortlake again.
"It got pretty tight and we were very lucky to get over the line there. They're a good team Mortlake."
Sheehan was relieved his side took advantage of a rare opportunity to win a premiership on its home green.
"Grand finals are rotational, you get them here every seven years," he said.
"I don't believe we have a great advantage here but you don't want to get beaten on your home green either. It's been a great day for the club."
Meanwhile, Terang Blue earned a 61-50 victory over Warrnambool Red in division two, winning two of three rinks.
Blue's Grame Downie was proud of his side's effort in the decider and across the whole season.
"It was a tough battle but it was really good," he said.
"All the rinks played well all year. We've covered one another, when one rink's been down other rink's have come up. It's been a really top team effort through the whole season."
Terang Red's bowlers weren't as fortunate as their Blue clubmates, going down comfortably 58-38 to City Green in the division three decider.
Green's Andrew Body said it was "a great feeling to win" after finishing the regular season as the minor premiers.
"We had a pretty good year, finished on top of the ladder but of course the finals are a different beast," he said.
"Everyone's keen to win them so everyone came to play and lucky enough City came out on top."
Koroit Green upstaged the highly-credentialed City Orange 54-39 in division four, much to the delight of the smaller club.
Green's Alan Becker made sure to give special praise to everyone that represented the side throughout the successful campaign.
"It is a team effort," he said.
"There are these people here now but there's still a number of people that played throughout the season that got us into a position where we could play this game."
In the remaining fixture, the division five decider, City Purple defeated Dennington Thunder 48-33.
Purple's Leo Williams was happy with the way his side rallied after trailing across both rinks early.
"It was a hard-fought win," he said.
"Both rinks were down a fair way early, they were playing very well and we picked up our game and they started to drop off in both rinks.
"15 shots is a pretty good win in a grand final."
Matt Hughes
Matt is a sports journalist at The Standard.
Matt is a sports journalist at The Standard.
