Zone 16 showed their class when it counted most with an emphatic victory over Sydney Central and South to claim the NSW Open Inter-Zone Championship.
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Illawarra rebounded from two heavy rink losses and a 69-52 defeat to the powerful Zone 13 in the opening match to carve a path to the final and then upstage their biggest rival 70-53 in the final.
Zone 16 are the only zone to claim the Open and Seniors Inter-Zone double; repeating the amazing achievement of 2010 when both teams also took home the state trophy.
In the final Michael Stead responded to his call-up to skip with Corey Wedlock out injured by beating dangerman David Ferguson 25-15 on 19 ends. Stead's rink picked up two crucial sixes.
Jamie Mitchell (third) maintained the pressure throughout, while Jarrod Beckford (second) was a revelation in his Inter-Zone debut and with Dapto Citizens clubmate Peter McCauley (lead) peppered the jack.
Jackaroos star Aaron Teys put on a masterclass in a 28-11 win over Mason Lewis with Teys' partners Chris Green, Trevor Suckley and teenage debutant Jayden Gebbie all playing well. The rink went on a 16-0 run winning the last seven ends, plus posted a vital 32-14 semi-final win over Hunter's Aaron Appleby which covered for losses on the other two rinks.
Shane Garvey and partners Michael Thorne, Anthony Jones and Jesse Noronha lost 27-17 to a white-hot Harley McDonald in the final, but ensured Illawarra gained a valuable point against Zone 13 on the opening day, plus won their quarter-final against Zone 8 by 11 shots to anchor a Zone 16 win.
Illawarra's triumph ended a run of three straight Open Inter-Zone titles by Zone 12, which included a victory over Zone 16 in the 2018 final.
And while Zone 16 started both their championship campaigns with a loss, they finished by rewriting the record books to take their places among the great teams in Inter-Zone history.
