ILLAWARRA PENNANTS GRAND FINAL
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Warilla and Dapto Citizens meet for a remarkable seventh consecutive year in the Illawarra Pennants Grade One grand final on Sunday.
Warilla beat Citos in all three rinks in last Saturday's major semi-final, with Citos beating Wiseman Park in the final.
Warilla have won four of the past six Grade One pennants - in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2013 - with Citos beating the Gorillas in the 2011 and 2012 grand finals.
Towradgi were the last club other than Warilla or Citos to win the Zone 16 Grade One flag (2007).
Aaron Teys' rink was the key difference between the clubs in the major semi, with a 28-18 win over Ben Ford.
Warilla's World Cup champion Jeremy Henry had an 18-16 win over Scott Bateup, with Leif Selby beating Zoran Bosev 21-20.
Wiseman Park advanced to last Sunday's final by eliminating Towradgi 57-56.
Steve Haines was superb for Wiseman Park beating Brian Harriott 23-6, with the rival skips involved in a dramatic final end of a marathon match.
Haines' final bowl gave Wiseman Park a one-shot lead overall, 57-56, with Harriott then narrowly missing to win the end and the match with his last bowl.
Shane Garvey skipped Wiseman Park to a 22-21 win over Wes Falconer, with Dave Wakeling of Towradgi beating Robbie Warren 29-12.
But Wiseman Park finished one victory short of making the grand final, beaten convincingly 69-48 by Dapto Citizens.
Playing on their home green and with two of the world's top five-ranked players in Selby and Henry as skips, Warilla are favourites for a fifth flag in seven years.
Zoran Bosev has had another outstanding season, while the likes of Steve Green, John Hills and Scott Bateup are experienced, quality players.
The bigger the challenge, the greater the opportunity seems to be Dapto Citizens's mantra.
"We like being the underdogs and seem to save our best for Warilla," Dapto Citizens secretary manager Shaun Parnis said.
"What happened last Saturday or earlier in the season doesn't mean much now. It all comes down to Sunday."
Dapto Citizens have been forced into one change from the major semi-final, with Ben Ford on holiday in America.
Steve Green moves from third in Bateup's rink to skip a rink, with Stuart Ellem having returned from a shoulder reconstruction to play in Green's team.
Dapto Citizens BC have three grand final teams with their Grade Three side taking on Figtree RSL and a Grade Seven team facing Berkeley for the flag.
Windang BC (grades two and three), and Figtree RSL (grades three and six) have two grand final representatives.