Mat Skinner can remember a time when avoiding an outright loss was considered a positive result for Newtown in the RSL-Whitney Cup.
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The same goes for Wayne Dunlop and a number of other Newtown stalwarts who have also experienced plenty of dark days in black and gold.
But after years of pain and near misses, the Tigers are now on top in Dubbo cricket.
Newtown produced one of its most clinical performances in some time on the weekend to crush a vastly more experienced RSL-Colts in a one-sided grand final contest.
After captain Mat Skinner won the toss and reluctantly bowled, opening bowlers Trent Smith and Ben Patterson destroyed the Colts top order to leave the men in red reeling at 5/19 after 13 overs.
Colts scrambled to post 113 and while some considered it a tricky total, Dunlop's 58 led his side to a comprehensive six-wicket win, the club's first in the top grade since 2002/03.
"It's awesome. I think this is everyone's first (RSL-Whitney Cup) premiership, except for 'Patto'," Skinner said, Patterson having won last year's title with Rugby.
"'Dunners' has played for 17 years and hasn't won one so it's great to get this off the back.
"It's very satisfying. After being a side that looked to avoid outright every week, to turn it around and win a premiership is awesome.
"Hopefully we can win a few more cups in the next few years."
While it was a momentous win the celebrations were slightly subdued on Sunday, as only 15 minutes of play was needed to secure a result set up the day before.
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Newtown got within 11 runs of the target on Saturday but stumps was called at the 75 over mark.
Both sides were keen for the game to go and be finished in one day, but the umpires adhered to the rules and made everyone come back briefly on Sunday.
"It was a bit of a more flat victory today but it's awesome to win," Skinner said.
"I said to the boys just make sure we knock off these 10 runs with no more wickets to show it was a dominant victory."
Dominant it was, with Dunlop producing yet another decisive performances as the anchor of his side.
He was brutal on anything short on Saturday, before nudging the ball around with Patterson on Sunday to wrap up the win.
"We tried to be positive and we dealt them a big blow when we won the toss and rolled them for 113," Dunlop said after finishing not out.
"We thought at the start our bowling was our strength and that was the basis of our win. We thought if we could skittle them for a smallish total it would take a lot of strain off our batting, and it did."
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The match is set to be Dunlop's last in Dubbo as well, with a move to the Newcastle region expected in the coming weeks.
For him, it was the perfect way to go out after almost two decades at the club.
"It's fantastic. A lot of those blokes I've been with here for many, many years now," Dunlop said, admitting the club was at "rock bottom" when he arrived.
"It's a special moment and we're really going to enjoy it."
Newtown was enjoying things for almost the entire weekend after setting up the title win inside the opening hour on Saturday.
Patterson knocked over Marty Jeffrey (2) in the fourth over of the day and that started the onslaught.
Matt Keenan (3) and Tim Howarth (4) both came and went before Smith picked up another two wickets within six balls.
The first of those was Colts rock Brad Cox, who snicked one through to the slips cordon, and next over Smith had boom teenager Tom Atlee caught by Skinner, both wickets resulting in wild Newtown celebrations.
"Every part of my brain and body was telling me to bat first, bat first, bat first," Skinner said of the toss, with rain having fallen Friday night and Saturday morning.
"But everyone was telling me to bowl I went with what the team wanted and it paid off. Our bowlers were keen to rip in and they did what they wanted to do."
At 5/19 after 13 overs Colts was in real danger of being blown away but Jason Ryan (29) led the fightback while Bede Young (16), Ben Semmler (15) and Wes Giddings (14) also chipped in to help Colts go past 100.
"We thought 113 would be enough to defend in a grand final but we let it slip in the first 10 overs and didn't bowl well enough," Colts captain Chris Morton said.
We probably left our worst game for the end, which is disappointing.
- Colts captain Chris Morton
"Yesterday I don't think they scored a run forward of the wicket with a drive so we've only got ourselves to blame.
"It's been a very good season but we probably left our worst game for the end, which is disappointing."
Smith was a standout with the new ball, taking 3/32 from 11 overs, while Patterson finished with 2/32 from 14.
Steve Skinner, the competition's leading wicket-taker, again strangled the opposition through the middle overs and finished with 3/27 from 10.3.
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"It's good for those boys to stand up in the big games," Mat Skinner said.
"The same goes for Wayne Dunlop. That's exactly what you want from your star batsman. To get the runs and be not out."
Dunlop and Dan Holland (24) took the game away from Colts in a 46-run opening stand on Saturday and while the latter fell along with Charlie Kempston (0), Doug Potter (7) and Mitch Russo (13) late in the day the Tigers were never truly worried.
Patterson finished unbeaten on 9 and hit a boundary in the sixth over of play on Sunday to finish it.
The victory was part of a massively succesful season for the club.
As well as the RSL-Whitney Cup, the Tigers also won the McDonald's Megahit Twenty20 title and also claimed the Dubbo District Cricket Association Club Championship award.