The GM4 Open champion enjoyed a fairly mixed season, narrowly making finals with five wins and seven draws across the campaign.
However, Tonny showed funny things happen in finals, besting Cobram Crickets in a do-or-die semi-final, before overcoming ladder-leader Kialla Park Blue in a stunning preliminary final win.
Tongala wasn’t finished there, however, and still had it all to do coming up against a strong Dhurringile outfit in the big dance.
Jake Van Roy and team captain Jenny Reid got their side off to a flyer, notching a resounding 8-3 win over Hamish Read and Nicholas Sorraghan in the first rubber.
It was close encounters from there on in, with little to separate the two sides across the remaining rubbers.
Todd Van Roy and Yvonne Child fought hard to secure a one-game victory in the following match-up, before Garry McConnell and Ian Chaffey also picked up an 8-7 win to well and truly put Tongala in command.
However, Dhurringile wasn’t going down without a fight.
Callan Gundrill and Austin Trazzera clawed back precious games with an 8-5 win, before Trazzera then teamed up with Fraser Kerrins for a dazzling 8-7 win over the grandmother-granddaughter duo of Reid and Kayla Dempsey.
Wins to Sorraghan, Read and Jackson Barthold in their match-ups kept Dhurringile in the fight, ensuring the game would go down to the wire.
In the finale, Todd Van Roy and the reliable McConnell clinched an 8-4 win, the four-game margin enough for their side to get hands on the premiership.
McConnell’s performances on Saturday and across the season earned him the GM4 Open MVP award.
Reid said the win carried a bit of added importance, with the team captain afforded the chance to play alongside her granddaughter throughout Tongala’s season.
“The win was a bit extra special because I had the chance to play through the season with my granddaughter,” she said.
“It’s something that doesn’t happen often, so it was nice to get the win with her.”
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