Otago Blue captain Brandon Hodgson is adamant there will be no hint of deja vu when his team takes on St Clair in the Metropolitan senior A pennant final at Balmacewen today.
The ''Balmacewen Bombers'' have been unbeaten in the round robin series last year and this year.
But, after tying with St Clair (3-3) in last year's final, the Blue team failed to progress to the provincial final, losing on a countback of holes.
Last year, it led the series with 22 points and 37 games, and it has been even more dominant this year, with the maximum 24 points and a 41.5 game tally.
St Clair has an experienced side and cannot be taken for granted but Balmacewen will field Hodgson, Jamie Anstiss, Daniel Elder and Jason Hughes, who have all been unbeaten this year.
Hodgson has talked to all of his players this week and said there was no mention of last year's collapse.
''The team on paper is a lot stronger this year and we have a great team spirit and enjoy playing for each other,'' Hodgson said.
''Picking a team each week has not been an easy task and leaving out players like Sean Masters and Luke Murdoch for the final shows the depth we have.
''One lesson we learnt from last year is that every hole counts, and when we are up we must put the foot on the throat.''
St Clair is led by Otago No 1 Brent McEwan but he may yet elect to play down the order, as he did in last year's final.
The addition of former North Otago golfer Michael Ormandy and Sean Bellamy (Port Chalmers) has injected some youth into the ageing St Clair six and has also allowed these talented players to compete in the town's premier matchplay series.
