Nine clubs take a shot at winning a prized Zone 16 lower-grade Pennants flag in a bumper grand final double-header weekend.
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All grand finals will be at Warilla Bowls, with Saturday morning to feature the deciders in Grades 6 and 7, followed by the Grade 4 and 5 grand finals on Saturday afternoon.
The Grade 2 and 3 deciders are on Sunday morning, followed by the Grade 1 flag decider between Warilla and Dapto Citizens, plus Southern Conference sectional runners-up Towradgi and Corrimal playing off for a spot at the State Grade 1 Finals. Last weekend's Pennants semi-finals produced a host of upsets, with arguably the biggest in Grade 2 where Warilla lost to Windang 64-62 in the major semi and then by Bomaderry 63-53, to leave Windang to take on the in-form Bomaderry for the Grade 2 flag.
Meanwhile, Grade 3 minor premiers Kiama qualified for their second Grade 3 decider since 2017 following a 60-47 win over Dapto Citizens in their major semi at a chilly Towradgi.
Skip Tim Rossiter and partners Craig Coleman, John Heidtmann and Tony Piana had a tight 20-17 win over Craig Thompson, while Tom Hodgson beat Warren Haviland 19-16 and Murray Sheather defeated Dave Kember 21-14.
Tony Piana played third for Rossiter and said making the grand final was a big achievement.
''We're a tiny, community-based club so to get the chance to win a Pennant is huge,'' Piana said.
Kiama face Warilla for the Grade 3 flag after the Gorillas beat Woonona 62-52 in the minor semi, then upstaged Citos 71-47 in the final.
Kiama's Grade 3 side has a special bond, while opponents Warilla should be confident after two knockout semi-final wins, plus they'll play the decider on their home green.
In Grade 4, Corrimal take on Wiseman Park for the Zone flag after contrasting paths to the decider.
Corrimal were runners-up to Berkeley in the regular season but edged out Berkeley 59-58 in a tense major semi.
Third-placed Wiseman Park beat Shoalhaven Heads 69-55, then outplayed Berkeley 63-37 to qualify for the grand final.
In Grade 5, third-placed Woonona beat Dapto Citizens 55-52 in the minor semi, then upset minor premiers Warilla 65-54 to set up a grand final clash against Oak Flats, who edged out the Gorillas 63-58 in the major semi.
The Grade 6 grand final is a rematch of the major semi-final, with Jamberoo taking on Corrimal.
Jamberoo beat Corrimal in a thriller 57-55, with Corrimal rebounding to beat Oak Flats 65-54 and set up a clash between Grade 6's sectional winners.
In Grade 7, Section 1 champions Warilla take on Section 2 minor premiers Windang for the flag after Warilla had a nine-shot win over Scarborough Wombarra.
Warilla claim national titles
Warilla's great run at major events continued with victory in the Triples and Fours and bronze in Men's Pairs at the rescheduled 2020 Australian Championships, which was again halted by a breakout of COVID in Victoria.
The championships at Dandenong BC were abandoned during the Mixed Pairs and before the start of the men's and women's Singles due to COVID restrictions.
Representing NSW as state champions, Warilla's Jamie Turner, Brendan Aquilina, Corey Wedlock and Aaron Teys won the Fours gold medal after four epic matches. The Warilla quartet began with an 18-15 win over Queensland 18-15, then beat Victoria 12-11, with Teys producing a stunning final-bowl match winner.
Warilla were then pushed to the brink by South Australia in a 12-12 draw before a see-sawing two-point win over Western Australia in the final.
Western Australia stormed back into the contest with a five on the penultimate end to only trail 13-12, before Teys and partners held their nerve to pick up a single and a 14-12 win to seal the title.
Meanwhile, Aquilina and Wedlock combined with Irish star Gary Kelly to win the Triples crown.
The Warilla trio beat Tasmania 15-10 in the gold medal match.
Flag and state spot up for grabs
Dapto Citizens and Warilla meet on Sunday afternoon to decide the Zone 16 Grade 1 Pennant flag, while Towradgi face Corrimal for a spot in the elite State Pennant Finals.
Warilla have been an unstoppable force in Grade 1 for more than a decade, but anything can happen in a grand final.
Citos and Warilla have already achieved their primary goal for 2021 by winning their section in the eight-team Southern Conference, thus securing a spot at the State Pennant Finals in July.
Meanwhile, Towradgi and Corrimal have different expectations ahead of their clash to determine which club earns the third spot at the Grade 1 Finals made available to the Southern Conference.
Corrimal finished the Pennants season on a high as runners-up in Section 1 and head into Sunday with nothing to lose while Towradgi, after recruiting a host of top players, need a win to ensure they haven't underperformed this season.
The Grade 1 grand final and State finals decider start around 1pm at Warilla Bowls.
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