For Tatura Toranas, Saturday's grand final victory was a long time coming.
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The Toranas ended a long premiership drought when they defeated Lockington-Bamawm United in the Goulburn Murray Lawn Tennis Association GM3 West premiership decider.
“Everyone was really happy, it's been a long time coming,” Tatura captain Matt Nihill said.
“I'm not exactly sure when the last one (premiership) was, but there was a lot of relief.
“It was just great to get the win for the club.”
The Toranas, who finished on top of the ladder, endured a tight contest against LBU to run out 8-87 to 5-68 winners at Tatura Lawn Tennis Club.
It was not the strongest starts for the Toranas, with Nihill going down in the opening men's singles rubber 3-6.
His teammate Michael Chisholm then got the ball rolling in the second rubber with a dominant 6-3 win.
The back-and-forth nature continued until the completion of the men's doubles rubbers, with the Toranas holding a three sets to two lead.
In stepped the women's and leading pair Deb Russell and Sharon Clement claimed the first women's doubles rubber 8-3.
Tatura then went on to claim four of the next seven sets to seal the title.
“It started off tight, but our ladies really took the game away and they were a big reason for us winning,” Nihill said.
“Our ladies have been dominant all season.
“Sharon Clement and Deb Russell in particular, are two very experienced players and we are lucky to have them at the club.”
At one stage the association's grand finals looked destined to be postponed or cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But swift action and strict guidelines from the association allowed the teams to contest the deciders, which earned the praise of Nihill.
“The association did a fantastic job in getting the final up,” he said.
“To get us into a position to be able to play, they were very sensible with their decision making and I'd like to say a massive thank you.”
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