It was Andrew Kelly's day. He skipped his Composite team to win his first national championship title in the fours in Auckland.

When Kelly first burst on to the national scene in 2006 as a 17-year old he skipped the teenage "Kelly Gang" that reached the final of the fours, losing to Dwayne Cameron's Composite team.

Six years later he went a step further when he became the youngest skip of a winning four at the national championships, which were first held in Dunedin in 1914.

The Composite team of Kelly, Ali Forsyth, Blake Signal and Greg Ruaporo beat Neville Hill, Mike Bradshaw, Colin Haysham and Brett Hassall (Avondale) 18-6 when the game was called off after 14 of the 18 ends.

"I'm stoked," Kelly told the Otago Daily Times from Auckland.

"I've been in the area a couple of times but to finally get that first title is an amazing feeling."

Kelly (23), a civil engineering cadet in Christchurch, is now more disciplined on the green and has eliminated the loose shots that cost him wins in the past.

When Kelly first burst on to the national scene six years ago he was noted more for his driving.

But he now concentrates on the draw shot and uses the drive only sparingly.

He attributes the change to the talk he had with the Black Jacks coach Dave Edwards during the winter months.

"We talked about my plans and what I had to do to get to the absolute top," Kelly said. "Dave said I played too much and didn't train enough."

As a youngster, Kelly used to watch his parents play bowls at the Pukeuri Club in Oamaru and had a few rolls on the green after his father had finished a club tie.

His father, Bruce Kelly, has won five North Otago titles and gained his gold star.

Andrew joined the Pukeuri Club at the age of 12 and first made his mark on the national scene when he won the New Zealand secondary schools boys singles title when he was a pupil at Waitaki Boys' High School.

He learned much about the game from his father and other club members David Rankin and Russell McDonald during his teenage years.

The win was special for Sydney-based Forsyth (32), the Black Jacks' singles player at the 2008 World Bowls in Christchurch, who had back-to-back title wins in the fours after skipping the winning Composite four in Dunedin last year.

Kelly stamped his dominance on the game from the start when he added to the count when his team took two shots on the first end.

On the second end his team was two down on the head and he pushed the shot bowls out to convert it to two shots and a lead of 4-0.

His front three got the better of their opponents for most of the game with New Zealand development squad member Greg Ruaporo (20), Signal and Forsyth putting bowls around the head.

Kelly's team led 10-4 after eight ends and then outdrew their opponents to gain a decisive four on the ninth end to lead 14-4.

The Birkenhead club of Auckland won its first national women's title when Carole Fredrick, Ruth Lynch, Gayle Melrose and Lisa Helmling (Birkenhead) beat Sue Burnand, Leanne Curry, Angela Boyd and Mandy Boyd (Composite) 18-16.

Birkenhead got on top early and led 7-0 when it gained four shots on the third end. The defending champions clawed their way back to trail by 7-8 after nine of the 18 ends.

Burnand's team was on the comeback but it was halted when they dropped a four through sloppy play on the 10th end and two on the 11th end.

The game looked out of Burnand's grasp when Birkenhead led 15-8 after 13 ends. But the defending champions fought back with a four, one and three on the next three ends to take the lead for the first time, 16-15.

Fredrick, who was in former Black Jack Marlene Castle's winning team in 1999, took a two and a one on the next two ends to win her second national fours title.