Heading into the final at Tallarook Recreation Reserve as favourites, given they finished atop the ladder and advanced to the decider after a stunning semi-final demolition of Pyalong, the Rooks were asked to bowl after losing the toss.
But with the very first delivery of the contest, skipper Lachlan Watts foreshadowed a commanding individual performance, removing Yea opener Marc Steiner for a golden duck to give his side the best possible start.
Watts claimed a second scalp shortly after, with Josh Cunningham (11) stumped off his bowling to leave Yea at 2-13, which quickly became 3-13 as Blake Munari-O’Dwyer took care of Edison Waghorn (1).
Munari-O’Dwyer soon had wickets four and five on the board for Tallarook, sending Cameron Armstrong (12) and James Lincoln (0) back to the pavilion with the scorecard reading 5-25.
Yea skipper Andrew Butterworth was able to dig in, however the number four was running out of partners, with Thomas White and Will Dalton both falling for seven runs, and while the Tigers managed to break 100, they were unable to advance much further.
Paul Clue added 10 before he became the eighth Yea wicket to fall, the Tigers having amassed 101 runs, with Austen Ross not far behind as Yea slumped to 9-104.
Butterworth remained at the crease on 46, having dragged his side to three figures, but even he was unable to survive the bowling of Watts, who wrapped up the Yea innings at 10-104.
Having claimed a wicket with the very first ball of the contest, Watts finished with scarcely believable figures of 4-5 from 7.1 overs, three of which were maidens, well supported by Munari-O’Dwyer (3-24), as Tallarook put themselves in a strong position to chase down the 105 required for victory.
Tallarook openers Joshua Rudge and Mitch Itter made a positive start to the chase, ticking the scoreboard over and eating into more than half of the Yea total before Itter was dismissed by Butterworth for 23, leaving the Rooks one down for 56.
The removal of Itter brought Watts to the crease, and the skipper was just as good with the bat as he was with the ball, belting five boundaries as the home side roared towards victory.
After getting his side off to a brilliant start, Rudge was removed by White for 43, less than 20 runs from victory, as Leigh Irving joined Watts in the middle.
Fittingly it was the captain in Watts who hit the winning runs, finishing unbeaten on 32 to go with his bowling figures of 4-5 in a man of the match performance, leading by example as his side stormed to their third premiership in as many seasons.
In B-grade, Avenel sealed premiership glory after a brilliant season which saw it defeated just once in 17 matches, defeating Alexandra by 66 runs in the decider.
Having been asked to bat after losing the toss at Avenel Recreation Reserve, the home side posted a strong total of 9-160 courtesy of a game-high 41 from Jamison Black, while Travis Stefanos (26) and skipper Harrison Wall (23) also contributed strongly.
Will Ellis’ efforts with the ball ensured Alexandra were in with a sniff of chasing down a win, claiming 4-25 from his eight overs.
But a complete performance with the ball meant Avenel romped to the win, as Christian Papi (3-14), Jamie Kanters (3-24) and Stefanos (3-33) each claimed three wickets in a devastating display to bowl Alexandra out for 94 in just 28.2 overs.
Ben Broadway (23) and Lucas Crane (19) were top scorers for Alexandra with the bat, with the majority of the top order stifled by Avenel’s potent bowling.
