FOR the second time in three seasons Bendigo and Bendigo East will lock horns in the Bendigo Bowls Division pennant grand final.
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The two sides will battle for the division one title at South Bendigo on Sunday from 2.30pm.
When they last met in the 2013 grand final, Bendigo won by four shots to snap a 33-year premiership drought.
“It was a great day a couple of years ago to win that first flag in 33 years, and this Sunday is all about backing it up again,” Bendigo skipper Andrew Brown said on Friday.
“We were disappointed last year to get knocked out in the elimination final and we’ve had a real focus on trying to get some respect back.”
Bendigo ended the home and away season second on the ladder with a 10-4 record, before toppling minor premier Eaglehawk 98-80 in the qualifying final a fortnight ago to advance directly to the grand final.
“We made a few changes over the mid-season break and our last month has been really good,” Brown said.
“We’ve got all our rinks gelling well and we’ve really set ourselves for Sunday.”
As well as Brown, Bendigo - which has won 31 division one premierships - will also be skippered by Ian Ross, Gary Carberry and Barry Anset.
Brown, Ross and Carberry were all skippers for the 2013 premiership win, while Anset is in his first season at Bendigo after crossing from Golden Square.
Bendigo East has endured an inconsistent season - at one stage losing three games in a row - but has hit form at the right time to qualify for its fifth grand final in the past six years.
Having ended the home and away season third, East has eliminated reigning premier Golden Square by 18 shots and minor premier Eaglehawk by one shot to set up Sunday’s tilt at what would be the club’s 13th division one flag.
“There has been a lot of hard work over the past couple of months trying to build towards this and now we’ve got the chance, we have to make the most of it,” Bendigo East coach Brad Holland said.
East has lost to Bendigo in both meetings this season - by 13 and 26 shots.
“They have had the wood on us this season, so the challenge is obviously there to turn it around, but we’ve just got to play better... simple as that,” said Holland, who delivered the match-winning bowl in last week’s gripping one-shot preliminary final win over Eaglehawk.
As for the club’s record of five grand finals in six years, Holland - who will also skip with David Keenan, Paul Moller and Liam Crapper - says there’s a strong camaraderie among the team.
“The guys enjoy winning, love playing with each other and relish the challenge of trying to get to the top each year,” Holland said.
Prediction: Bendigo by 5.
• BBD PENNANT GRAND FINALS ON SATURDAY:
Div 2 - Eaglehawk v Bendigo East (Golden Square Front Green)
Div 3 - Bendigo East v Bendigo (Golden Square Back Green)
Div 4 - Serpentine v Heathcote (Bendigo East Front Green)
Div 5 - Strathfieldsaye v Golden Square (Bendigo East Back Green)
Div 6 - Campbells Creek v Inglewood (Bendigo Yarrington Green)
Div 7 - Marong v Bendigo VRI (Eaglehawk Kelly Green)
Div 8 - Marong v Bendigo (Eaglehawk Read Green)
Div 9 - Kangaroo Flat v South Bendigo (Eaglehawk Read Green)
• Meanwhile, Sunday’s division one grand final will be preceded by Inglewood and Bendigo East playing in the division one midweek pennant grand final from 9.30am.
SEASON RESULTS:
BENDIGO
Rd 1: 115 d South Bendigo 82
Rd 2: 75 lt Inglewood 105
Rd 3: 116 d Kangaroo Flat 65
Rd 4: 96 d Golden Square 81
Rd 5: 88 d Bendigo East 75
Rd 6: 94 lt Castlemaine 101
Rd 7: 95 d Eaglehawk 83
Rd 8: 90 d South Bendigo 76
Rd 9: 105 d Inglewood 91
Rd 10: 87 d Kangaroo Flat 82
Rd 11: 90 lt Golden Square 107
Rd 12: 101 d Bendigo East 75
Rd 13: 102 d Castlemaine 79
Rd 14: 85 lt Eaglehawk 107
Qual final: 98 d Eaglehawk 80
BENDIGO EAST
Rd 1: 98 d Inglewood 74
Rd 2: 109 d South Bendigo 84
Rd 3: 99 d Castlemaine 76
Rd 4: 102 lt Kangaroo Flat 105
Rd 5: 75 lt Bendigo 88
Rd 6: 80 lt Eaglehawk 99
Rd 7: 92 d Golden Square 90
Rd 8: 93 d Inglewood 87
Rd 9: 104 d South Bendigo 69
Rd 10: 79 lt Castlemaine 117
Rd 11: 98 d Kangaroo Flat 70
Rd 12: 75 lt Bendigo 101
Rd 13: 113 d Eaglehawk 82
Rd 14: 78 lt Golden Square 88
Elim final: 109 d Golden Square 91
Prelim final: 91 d Eaglehawk 90
THE TEAMS:
BENDIGO
Barry Whiffen, Simon Chisholm, Tom Russell, Ian Ross (s).
Won 11, lost 2, drawn 2, + 118 shots.
Mick Manning, Troy Mansbridge, Tim Arnold, Gary Carberry (s).
Won 9, lost 5, drawn 1, +40 shots.
Lee Manning, Mitch Hocking, Laurence Brooks, Andrew Brown (s).
Won 7, lost 8, + 3 shots.
Ian Brown, Nicholas Belt, Torie Babitsch, Barry Anset (s).
Won 5, lost 9, drawn 1, -13 shots.
BENDIGO EAST
Mel Boyd, Peter Huggard, Chris Randall, David Keenan (s).
Won 11, lost 4, drawn 1, +44 shots.
Tom Lester, Gary Ryan, Dave Morris, Brad Holland (s).
Won 11, lost 5, +38 shots.
Barry Edwards, John Crawford, Paul Vlaeminck, Paul Moller (s).
Won 7, lost 8, drawn 1, +20 shots.
Jack Clough, Rob Clough, Brian Griffin, Liam Crapper (s).
Won 7, lost 9, -18 shots.