The Lakers posted 315, following an outstanding 81-run eighth wicket partnership between captain Mark Ulcigrai and Blake Roach.

And it seemed victory was inevitable when The Rail were reduced to 3-22 off 11 overs in reply.

But the match turned into a grind and then a gripping contest, as Brynley Richards scored 125 and Kieran Gilly hit 83, their 155-run partnership offering them a glimmer of hope.

In the end, The Rail were fast running out of time and needed 97 off 17 overs when Lake Illawarra took the second new ball, then 41 off five overs with two wickets remaining.

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The odds against them, The Rail had 29 to get off 18 balls, and were bowled out for 294 in fading light in one of the more remarkable deciders the competition has seen.

"It became a bit of white ball cricket at the end, with our fielding positions and bowling lengths," Ulcigrai said.

"Brynley and Kieran got them back into the match, but our guys just fought so hard.

"Kerrod (White) and Jordan Matthews bowled brilliantly with the second new ball and it just means so much to the club to do it again.

"This is the club's 75^th year and we got to play it at home, which is credit to how well the ground drains and prepares after all the rain we'd had. It's a proud moment."

So proud in fact, that life members of the club arrived at the ground by helicopter on Sunday in anticipation of Lake Illawarra's 12^th consecutive South Coast title, including one-day and Twenty20 finals.

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Matthews finished with 4-57 off 20 overs and White 4-71 off 22.3.

But it may well be the partnership of Ulcigrai and Roach, taking Lake Illawarra from 7-208 towards the 300-plus target, which setup victory.

"That's the best I've seen (Roach) bat and at a crucial time," he said. "If we finished with less than 300, who knows, we might not have won."