Larkin (Forbury Park) skipped a four including lead BJ Carroll (Wakari), second Reuben Silva (St Kilda) and third Wally Shaw to a tense 8-7 victory in the season opener.
It was not without some close calls during section play on Saturday, meaning they progressed to post-section play by the skin of their teeth.
"We didn’t play that well yesterday [Saturday] and were lucky to qualify," Larkin said after his team won three of the five games in section play and progressed to the top eight on differential.
"I think we qualified sixth or seventh so weren’t in the top four or five."
In all, 96 bowlers — 24 teams of four — competed for the inaugural title at the new facility.
The top eight teams played off for the spoils in post-section, and the remaining 16 split into two sections of eight to contest second and third-division honours.
Larkin said his team were somewhat cobbled together at the last minute, which may have accounted for indifferent results in section play.
But what a difference a day makes, particularly when it comes to bowls.
The Larkin four stormed their way into the final, sweeping aside opponents in the both the quarterfinal and semifinal with renewed confidence.
Larkin’s cool head on the final end proved decisive in the final.
With games all played to a 70-minute timeframe, the bell sounded to call play at the finish of the eighth end with the scores locked up at 7-7 with the Fairfield quartet skipped by Gary Thornley.
With the Larkin four holding shot and only the two skips to play, Thornley sent down a heartbreaker that pushed the jack away from two Larkin shot bowls to draw shot.
But any thought Thornley may have given to victory was short-lived as Larkin followed his path to draw back shot.
The opportunity to draw back turned to despair as soon as Thornley’s final bowl left his hand as he stood back and watched it go wide of its mark.
"Gary played really well. In fact, his whole team did. They played great bowls," Larkin said.
"It was a good battle but unfortunately you have to have a winner. I don’t think either team deserved to lose."
It was similarly close in the plate final as the Blair Barringer-skipped four including Linley O’Callaghan, Beth Brown and Bill Clemments overcame the Stadium Bowls four of Jocko Susilo, Paul King, Shannon Eathorn and Grant Simpson, also by an 8-7 scoreline.
There was another close call in the second-division final won by a family four team skipped by Kim Carraher and including Bradley Torrence, Cyril Torrence and Mirriam Torrence, who beat the Stadium Bowls team skipped by Stu McPeak 7-6.
The third-division final was more clear cut, the Cam McKean composite team beating Lance Ibbotson’s Stadium Bowls four 11-3.
