Sport
27 February, 2026
Dunolly Blue proceed to midweek Grand Final
Highland Gold were on the doorstep of slaying their Dunolly Blue dragon, but a Chris Williams fireball turned their fairytale dreams into ash, advancing Dunolly Blue to the midweek pennant Grand Final.
In a preliminary final that included victories, a draw, and a substantial rain delay, Dunolly Blue held their nerve to eliminate Highland Gold after winning 62-40.
Tuesday’s triumph is step one in Dunolly Blue’s Highland gauntlet, as they face familiar foes and back-to-back reigning premiers Highland Tartan in the season finale.
After a combined 19 ends, heavy favourites Dunolly Blue looked destined to repeat their 101-30 drubbing of Highland Gold back in round one, holding a hefty 22-8 advantage.
With their team’s season on the verge of collapsing, Dennis Prosser and Gregory Long managed to close the deficit, routinely finding ways to score ends from Dunolly Blue’s Tony Galofaro and Alan Weir.
However, as Prosser and Long neared, some exceptional scoring ends from Williams against Lowen Clarke kept Dunolly Blue’s overall lead.
Just as all three rinks neared their conclusion, Mother Nature intervened, as severe sheets of rainfall and lightning descended onto Maryborough, resulting in a sudden halt to proceedings.
An hour passed before players returned to the greens, providing a unique wrinkle to the final ends as bowlers attempted to adapt and refind their rhythm on the fly.
The delay didn’t slow down Williams, who placed one foot in the Grand Final for Dunolly Blue with an impressive 33-7 victory over Clarke.
Despite Prosser drawing with Galofaro 14-14 and Long besting Weir 19-15, Highland Gold couldn’t recover from Williams’ win, sending Dunolly Blue into a Grand Final filled with historical importance.
Highland Tartan and Dunolly Blue meeting to decide the midweek pennant champion has been as much of a formality as Christmas Day over the past decade.
Before the 2024/25 season, in which Tartan defeated Maryborough Golf 91-38 in the premiership decider, Highland Tartan and Dunolly Blue had met in the last 10 midweek pennant Grand Finals, an unprecedented feat in virtually any sport.
Of those 10 encounters, Dunolly Blue holds a slight advantage with six titles. However, it’s Highland Tartan who will be the favourites heading into Tuesday.
After capping off an undefeated regular season with a 56-43 victory against Dunolly Blue, Highland Tartan did it again in the double-chance semi-final, sweeping their old foes 74-46.