SWAN Hill Bowls Club President Brian Richardson is hoping that their Division 1 Weekend Pennant team can complete the hat-trick when they matchup against Murray Downs this weekend.
After besting their opponents in the last two grand finals, that have needed to go to extra ends to split them, he is hoping that lightning can strike a third team.
All the weekend pennant grand finals are set to be held at the Swan Hill Bowls Club and Richardson is looking forward to hopefully welcoming in a big crowd.
“The iconic Swan Hill Bowls Club facilities are in fantastic condition,” he said.
“We invite everyone from Swan Hill and surrounding districts to head down this weekend and watch these classic opponents face off.”
The next chapter in this budding rivalry will kick off at 1pm, and if history repeats itself the match will go down to the final ends of the match.
Swan Hill Bowls Club Coach Brian Mansbridge is hopeful that the team can finish off the year on a high after another remarkable season.
“To make the grand final again is a massive achievement,” he said.
“We have six players who played in last year’s win not playing this year.”
Swan Hill have had a similar year to last year, where they finished the regular season in third place behind Murray Downs and Racecourse.
Their matchup against Racecourse on the weekend was at one point looking to be the end of their season, before a late match revival spurred them into the grand final once more.
The club has twice the reason to celebrate, as their Division 1 Midweek Pennant team has also qualified for the grand final and will play Racecourse at Racecourse on Tuesday.
Skip Judy Husson was extremely excited to be playing in the grand final, and the team is riding high after a couple of strong wins leading to the grand final.
“We are very pleased to be in the grand final,” she said.
“We beat the top team to book our place.”
Swan Hill finished second on the ladder to Lake Boga and then beat the side 6-2 in the semi-finals to qualify for the grand final.
Lake Boga would then go down to Racecourse, as the second and fourth-ranked teams will play off for the premiership.
Swan Hill has had the upper hand the two times the sides have played against each other this year, the last time two sides played was in Round 10 that resulted in a Swan Hill victory 8-0.
Despite having the better of Racecourse this season, grand finals have a tendency to throw up different results and Husson is prepared for a close matchup.
“It is all about how you bowl on the day,” she said.
“Hopefully we have a good day, but we will see what happens.”
Having sides compete in both Division 1 grand finals is something that no other club has achieved and Richardson is hoping that they can have some success across the matches.
“It is very satisfying to have both teams in grand finals,” he said.
“We wish both the Tuesday and Saturday teams the best of luck.”
