Tongala has been crowned the Campaspe Playing Area weekend pennant division one premier for a second consecutive year after a thrilling come-from-behind win, defeating Rich River 62-55.
Skip Steve Hammond continued his superb finals series display, leading Tongala to a massive 31-8 shot win in the first rink over Rich River skip Peter Nesbitt, which ultimately proved the difference.
As was the case in the first semi-final, Tongala only won one rink, yet this time around the result was much more emphatic, with the 23-shot differential unable to be clawed back by Rich River in the remaining two rinks.
Sam Lyon, who played in the Jarryd Tinning-skippered rink, said Tongala always believed it could win despite the overall board not being in its favour until quite late in the match.
“The overall board wasn't looking too good. They got a bit of a gap on us and broke away, but we always kept the never die attitude during the game,” Lyon said.
“It got to about halfway or nearly three quarters of the way through and there was still a big sort of shot difference on the overall board, but we just knew that if we played our best and had a good little run, that our best was good enough.”
Sure enough, the scoring came late for Tongala, who managed to gain 17 shots to Rich River’s two in the final nine ends, doing just enough according to Lyon.
“We've managed to pinch it right at the end. I think the, well, the game goes for 63 ends overall, and for 61 of them we were down. So, yeah, we managed to hit the front with two ends to go and held on.”
Rich River claimed the second rink, as skip Jason McCloy powered his side to a hard-fought 21-15 win, and Stan Barker, ranked as the second best skip this season, overcame Tongala’s Bradley Tinning, the number one skip in division one, to claim the third rink 26-16, although it wasn’t enough to claim the overall win.
The overall seven-shot victory for Tongala was a reversal of the result in the first semi-final two weeks ago, when Rich River ran out a 61-54 victor.
Tongala’s win marks back-to-back flags for the club, having triumphed over Echuca by one shot last year, while Rich River’s division one premiership drought will extend to 24 years.
Division two
Echuca claimed a tense victory in the division two grand final over Rich River, earning a 68-62 triumph.
Rich River, led by skip Gerry Devlin, enjoyed a six-shot win in the first rink, claiming a 29-23 win over the Echuca foursome led by skip Michelle Cunnington, as it looked to repeat the performance from its crushing preliminary final win over minor premier Moama.
The momentum swung massively in the second rink, as skip John Brown regained the lead for Echuca with a pivotal nine-shot win over its cross-border rival, with skip Barry Brown and his Rich River side unable to prevent the 24-15 loss.
Skips Wally Fehring (Echuca) and Tim Noar (Rich River) ensured the battle remained close with a tight contest in the third rink, however Echuca prevailed to take the win 21-18, and with it the division two premiership.
The loss compounded a disappointing day for Rich River, which was unable to claim a premiership with either of its sides that were contending a decider.
Division three
Minor premiers Moama cruised to the division three premiership, defeating Lockington 70-52 in a repeat of the first semi-final.
Steamers skip Barry Cuttriss put Moama in the lead with a five-shot win in his rink, however it was skip Keryn Awty who really proved the difference, claiming a 32-18 win over the Leanne McInnes led Lockington to emphasise the advantage.
Graham Turner was valiant for Lockington, earning a win in his rink, however the one-shot win wasn’t enough to overturn the damage already done.
Division four
Moama earned its second weekend pennant premiership this season as its division four side defeated Deniliquin RSL by 17 shots.
Darren Yates and Terry Thompson were inspired as skips for the Steamers, as Moama won both rinks to cruise to a comfortable 47-30 overall win.
Division five
Deniliquin RSL claimed the division five premiership in a reversal of the division four decider, holding off the Moama Steamers to run out seven-shot winners, 47-40.
Bruce Ferry skippered Deniliquin to a 15-shot lead in the first rink, before Peggy Bell fought back to claim a win for Moama in the second rink, although the 25-17 shot win wasn’t enough to overturn the deficit.