KEY POINTS:
Dwayne Cameron is determined not to leave the national championships in Dunedin empty-handed.
The fours final against Sean O'Neill's Kia Toa side from Timaru today gives skip Cameron one last opportunity to atone for disappointing exits in the singles and pairs.
The Papakura bowler's combination of Shannon McIlroy, who celebrated his 20th birthday last Friday, David File and Shane McGonagle cruised through their two matches, beating Kevin Powell, of Tainui, 19-7 and Clinton's Les Morrison 16-2.
O'Neill, meanwhile, eliminated Gary Lawson's team who most people expected to contest the final, before downing Pere Paul, of Ngongotaha, in the semifinals.
McIlroy and McGonagle were with Cameron when he triumphed in Wellington a year ago, while File has since come in for Ross Thorn.
"That team last year was a one-off," Cameron said.
"Our guys owed Dave a lot for what he'd done, so we were delighted to welcome him into the line-up. He'll qualify for a gold star if we can win the final."
Cameron, 30, and McIlroy are off to Christchurch after the final to prepare for the Asia Pacific championships, an event immediately followed by a test against Canada.
That means Cameron, a painter, will not be back at work until the end of this month.
"Since failing to qualify in the singles, when I was unsettled in the cold weather, I've been happy with my bowls and feel I'm peaking for the Asia Pacifics."
Cameron had no idea who his team had drawn in the quarter-finals, but was relieved to find that it was not Lawson.
O'Neill, 34, represented New Zealand at under-25 level in the mid-1990s and at development level against Scotland in 2001, being part of a team which included Jamie Hill, Justin Goodwin and Glen McDonald.
He and Paul Girdler narrowly lost the pairs final here and he is hoping to go one better in the fours final.
The women's fours final is an Elmwood benefit, with six players from the Christchurch club involved.
Karin Ware, who won the title last year as a member of Lorraine Davis' team, will skip a team comprising Elmwood and Beckenham bowlers against the all-Elmwood combination led by Bev Morel.
Ware, the Canterbury women's selector, won the pairs in 1995 with Elaine Murdoch, while Morel was in Denise Page's winning fours side in 1995 and won the Pathway pairs two years ago.
Morel's team ended Sharon Sims' hopes of adding the fours title to her pairs trophy by dealing her a decisive 19-11 defeat.
Ware's team almost tossed their finals berth away, dropping 11 shots on two ends to allow Diane Gutberlet's team to come from 8-18 down to level at 19-19 and force an extra end.
- NZPA
