They came to the Hunter Valley, conquered their talented rivals and returned home to the ACT with the spoils.
The Canberra quartet of Peter Freer, Mark Scruton, Gerda Lambeck and Kevin McGlynn proved too strong in the recent Division 1 Pennants NSW Championships at the Toronto Croquet Club.
Contested over two days at the Lake Macquarie venue, local hopes Maitland, Canberra and Mosman showcased their greatly-honed skills and proficiency on the manicured rinks.
The one setback, however, was the unfortunate withdrawal of the Ballina (Cherry St) outfit due to a COVID-19 contact.
Each team comprised of a doubles pair and two singles players, all with handicaps under 4, who participated in a best-of-three format.
Following the action, the combatants had all won a Test – and suffered a loss – in the triangular series.
And, in the end, a countback was required to decide the state victors.
Canberra, with a for-and-against record of 94-80, finished with a net score of 14 hoops, ahead of Mosman (80-85) on -5 and Hunter representatives Maitland (84-93) on -9.
Toronto Croquet Club publicity officer Liz McDonald praised the efforts of the champions (Freer, Scruton, Lambeck and McGlynn), as well as their opponents Mosman (Alison Sharpe, Lyn Day, Vaughan Pairman and Denis Edelston) and Maitland (Stephen Thornton, John Pace, Pam Gentle and Ken Green).
“With all three teams registering a win apiece, it shows there wasn’t much between them,” she said.
“It also highlighted the quality on offer.
“Day one was extremely hot when Maitland faced Mosman, who then backed up to meet Canberra.
“The weather was much kinder 24 hours later as Maitland hosted Canberra.
“But, the intense play was watched by a number of spectators.
“For it to come down to a countback, to see who actually won as they were so close, was a fitting finale to the tournament.”
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