The Dunedin men were beaten by Canterbury 3-0 in the semifinals to finish third-equal in the intercentre sevens in Wellington at the weekend.
The best-performed Dunedin combination in the semifinals was the four of Terry Scott, Rod Fleming, Dave Archer and Callum Horwell, which was edged 20-19.
World Bowls champion Mike Kernaghan was beaten 18-12 by fellow Black Jack Andrew Kelly and the pair of Shaun Scott and Craig McCaw lost to Canterbury's Gary Lawson and Stephen Ditford 19-11.
Canterbury went on to beat North Harbour 3-0 in the final to win its ninth intercentre title. Kelly beat fellow Black Jack Tony Grantham 25-17 in the singles, Lawson and Ditford won the pairs 19-6 and the fours won 16-14.
In the quarterfinals, Dunedin beat the strong Nelson team 2-1. The pair won 17-9 and the four 13-12. Kernaghan lost to World Bowls singles champion Shannon McIlroy 25-14.
Kernaghan played a key role in helping Dunedin qualify for the post-section rounds by winning his five singles games in section play. The pair and four both won two of their five games.
Canterbury won the section with 37 points and was followed by Dunedin on 27 and Hawke's Bay on 24.
Dunedin was the only Otago team to qualify for the post-section rounds. The only other zone 6 centre to qualify was Southland.
Its men's team was beaten by Taranaki 2-1 in the quarterfinals. The Southland women beat Nelson 2-1 in the quarterfinals but lost to Bay of Plenty 2-1 in the semifinal.
Singles bowler Bronwyn Stevens beat former Dunedin representative Sue Hodges 25-18 in the semifinal.
Hodges outplayed Gaylene Harvey (Counties-Manukau) 25-12 to help Bay of Plenty win its second women's inter-centre title 2-1. Bay of Plenty won the fours 16-9 but lost the pairs 10-17.
The best performances by other Otago centres came from the South Otago men and Central Otago women, who both finished third in section play.
South Otago singles player Robert Wilson won four of his five games. The pairs and four both won two games.
The Central Otago women's pair and four won three of their five games. However, all three disciplines lost their games in the fifth round.
The other notable Otago performance came from the South Otago women's pair of Christine King and Marilyn Paterson, who won four of their five games.
The North East Valley club is holding a social function at its clubrooms next Saturday evening from 5.30pm to honour Mike Kernaghan, who won a gold medal in the fours and bronze in the pairs at World Bowls in Christchurch last December.
