A last-minute Charlie Hore drop goal sealed the 19-16 win after a monumental effort defensively from the home side.
Territory and possession were heavily in favour of Arrowtown, but a simple game plan from Maniototo of defend, kick, capitalise on opposition mistakes and take the points when offered was enough to win the game.
Arrowtown had so much ball it hardly knew what to do with it at times.
Without go-forward around the ruck to commit defenders, the gaps simply weren't there out wide to exploit, and the tactic of running loose forwards Aidan Winter and Ben Chisholm at the midfield didn't do the trick.
Although obviously disappointed not to have won the Central Otago title for a third consecutive year, Arrowtown should still be proud of a committed performance that easily snuffed out Maniototo's attempts at running rugby.
Arrowtown controlled the ball well, with long sequences of continuity, and dominated all aspects of the game except for where it mattered most, on the score sheet.
There were a number of key moments in the game, with a mix-up at the back between winger and fullback causing a knock-on that set up the winning drop goal, a penalty a few minutes earlier that saw Maniototo draw level, a few overcooked kicks in general play and missed shots at goal examples.
But by far the single most significant moment came in the 45th minute of the first half.
After opening the scoring with a Hayden Finch try, following that up with three more points and completely out-playing Maniototo for 43 minutes, Arrowtown conceded a dubiously awarded try and subsequent conversion to go into the break trailing 10-8.
It was a demoralising blow not to have had a healthy lead to reflect its efforts in the first spell.
The second half did not start well for Arrowtown either, with Charlie Hore slotting another 3 points to extend the Maniototo lead before Arrowtown prop Matt Cruickshank locked the scores up with a try from a concerted forward drive.
Reece Winter made up for missing the conversion with a nicely struck drop goal giving Arrowtown the lead before it fell victim to the boot of Charlie Hore in a dramatic final few minutes.
Maniototo can now look forward to playing for the Otago Countrywide championship next week, while Arrowtown can look forward to next season safe in the knowledge the club is in good shape despite this loss.
