Shepparton Park will get another chance to topple powerhouse Shepparton Golf after winning through to the Allan Matheson Shield grand final on Saturday.
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A professional performance saw Park lead for the entire game, although it did take the foot off the gas late in the contest in sealing a 95-86 win.
It ensures the premiership will again belong to Golf or Park for an eighth consecutive season, with the sides to meet in the decider for the third time in four years.
Park coach Paul Nichols led the way with an impressive 32-9 win against Hayden Crilly, while Paul Warren also helped put the side in a strong position taking down Shane Walsh 29-16.
But Tim Hancock (30-22) and Brad Robinson (31-12) both impressed with strong displays for the Lions, keeping them in the match.
Park pennant manager Paul Becroft said the match had been an honour to be a part of.
“It was a really good match played in great spirits,” he said.
“Stanhope was brilliant to play against, congratulations to them for getting that far. Unfortunately there can only be one winner and it just happened to be us, but they certainly deserved to be in a grand final as well.
“A couple of our rinks were down but the others were up and at the end of the day it's only the big scoreboard that matters.”
The win earned Park another shot at Golf, having fallen to it 111-86 in last weekend's qualifying final.
But Becroft was quick to remind his side boasts a win against the Golfers this season and said confidence levels remained high heading to the big game.
“I think you can get a bit overawed playing Shepparton Golf because they're that good,” he said.
“You can try and match them and try a bit hard, but you just need to let your bowls talk for themselves and just concentrate on your own skills. We've beaten them this season, but we will need to play our best bowls.
“Division six will come down to training on Tuesday, they're in the grand final and we've invited them to train with us, they're just as important as division one.”
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