A combination of Geoff Mulcahy’s two-shot haul on the 21st, and last, end of his match and Jono Thorne’s 9-3 five-end finish on his rink allowed Stanhope to hang on for a 55-54 victory.
Mulcahy won his match with Moama’s Shirley Sampson by one shot, and Thorne — with Austin Maxwell, Sharon Donnell and Bruce Pearson in tow — was a six-shot winner.
Thorne was tied 13 apiece after 16 ends before he expanded the lead to seven three ends later and led the charge to premiership glory — winning 22-16.
On the remaining rink, Jennifer Crilly was a six-shot loser (16-22) to Kevin Connolly, dropping seven straight ends at one point after leading by four shots early in the match.
The grand final result was almost a repeat of the scoreline from the round 10 meeting between the two teams when Stanhope won a low-scoring affair by one shot, 48-47.
That result was a dramatic improvement on the first time the teams met this season, in round three, when Moama was a 41-shot winner.
Stanhope rejoined the Campaspe competition this season after the club was cleared from its commitment to the Goulburn Valley competition.
Stanhope fielded two teams in weekend pennant and one in the midweek competition.
Stanhope finished the division two midweek home and away season in third spot, winning nine of its 12 games before taking a nine-shot elimination semi-final win against Echuca.
A 28-shot preliminary final win against Deniliquin RSL followed when all three Stanhope skips, Mulcahy, Thorne and Crilly, secured rink wins.
The Crilly family had the team’s two highest-ranked players for season 2023-24, Geoff ranked fifth and Jennifer, with Brian Stokes and Debbie Hoye both top 10 ranked bowlers.
Geoff was the lead bowler to Jennifer, with Teena Harris and Stokes also in support.
Thorne’s crew dropped six of the first nine ends and trailed by eight early in its contest, before winning six of the next seven ends to regain the lead.
Mulcahy also trailed on his rink before taking a four-shot haul on the 15th end, the biggest result of the match, to square the contest.
Stanhope finished the division one weekend pennant season on the bottom of the ladder, but was second at the end of the division two home and away season.
It lost the preliminary final by five shots to Echuca.
15°C