It might have taken a few rounds later than they would have ideally liked, but Dubbo's Paramount Tennis Club made its presence felt in the Central West Cup on Sunday.
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After failing to get the better of Orange and Bathurst in the opening four rounds of the inaugural edition of the western tournament, Paramount defeated both on home turf in round five.
"It was great for us to be a bit more competitive, let alone win," Paramount club president Charlie Whiteley said.
"We've really enjoyed it and our club competitions are strong in terms of high participation in A, B, and C grades but having this as something different and an inter-town comp is something a lot of people haven't done, and it's really appealing.
"The format is pretty unique and playing different people and having home-and-away games is something everyone has really enjoyed across the three towns."
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Orange still sits on top of the standing heading into the final round but a slip-up at Bathurst could result in them falling from that perch.
Bathurst currently sits second while Dubbo remains third.
Whiteley and other organisers have hailed the competition as a success, despite much of the competition being paused during the COVID lockdown, and now expansion is already on the cards for 2022.
"We've spoken about this being a bit of a pilot tournament and we've already had interest from two others clubs or towns for next year," he said.
"One is a Gilgandra-Coonamble area team and also one from east of Bathurst, more a Blue Mountains kind of team.
"All options will be on the table. We could have six or eight teams and play each other once or it's a big area so you could have conferences and the winners play in a central location like Orange.
"We'll discuss the format options and piece it together. We all have the same goal and that's to increase competitive tennis in the Central West and further afield."
Eight players represent each club per round in the Central West Cup and matches are played in A, B, and C Grade singles and doubles.
Luke McConochie and Glenn Armstrong were key to Paramount's success on Sunday, combining to win both A Grade doubles matches.
Lleyton Edwards and Lindon Limpriere played the singles in the absence of the injured Finn Edwards while Tom McIness, Andew Kierath, Corey Blattman, and Whiteley were also part of the victorious squad.
"Mr Consistency, Andrew Kierath," Whiteley said when highlighting individuals.
"He's played all five rounds, that's partly why he's consistent, but his play is very consistent as well.
"He's played in the doubles in the A and B teams and he's been a solid performer and it's great he's been there for all five rounds."
Whiteley also praised McConochie who has come back from injury to play as the A singles player in round four before impressing in the A doubles on Sunday.
While tennis courts everywhere are almost identical, there was some slight advantage for Dubbo players on Sunday.
"Obviously it was quite windy and we all just tried to play to the conditions and play a little more conservatively and that seemed to work well for us," Whiteley said.
The final round is December 12 at Bathurst.
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