But Leslie was a comfortable winner of the final of 12 sheep each, beating runner-up David Gordon, of Masterton, by 8.464 points.
Invercargill veteran Nathan Stratford was a further 2.454 points back in third.
Stratford won the title five times, had 14 top-three finishes, and was in the final for a 21st time since 2002.
Gordon won the race, shearing the 12 sheep in 23m 11.55s, beating next-man-off Leslie by just over a minute.
However, Leslie comfortably had the best quality points, both in on-board judging and in the pens, for a total of 6.25 points better than the next best of legendary quality shearer Stratford.
Potae has been an open-class woolhandler for 26 years, but her win was just her third; the most recent was at the Rotorua A and P Show’s Agrodome Shears in 2023.
Her previous bests at Alexandra were third placings in 2009 and 2017.
At the weekend she was 10th of 16 into the semi-finals,
Defending champion and reigning World and Golden Shears open champion Joel Henare, of Motueka, was eliminated.
Potae qualified in third place of four for the final of five fleeces each, where, claiming best time and board points, she won by just 1.304 points from runner-up and five-time winner Pagan Rimene, of Alexandra.
Leslie and Potae win selection in the New Zealand team for test matches against Australia during the Australian Championships at Warrnambool, Victoria, on October 29-31, and the Golden Shears in Masterton on March 4-6.
In the shearing team, Leslie will join Golden Shears open shearing champion Toa Henderson, of Kaiwaka, Northland, and PGG Wrightson Vetmed National Shearing Circuit champion Jack Fagan, of Te Kūiti.
In woolhandling, Potae will join 2026 North Island Woolhandling Circuit winner Ngaio Hanson, of Eketahuna.
South Island bladeshearing representatives Allan Oldfield, from Geraldine, and Scott McKay, of Kaikoura, will shear a transtasman test at the New Zealand Spring Shears in Waimate next Friday and Saturday (October 9-10), and at Warrnambool.
The team manager and shearing judge will be Chris Jones, of Renwick, and the woolhandling judge will be Amber Casserley, of Kaitangata, Balclutha.
The championships, the first event of the 2026-2027 Shearing Sports New Zealand season, attracted 48 shearers (36 open, 12 senior) and 71 woolhandlers (32 open, 17 senior and 22 junior).
Leslie was shearing in just his second Alexandra final.
He said he only started thinking he had a chance when he finished and saw four competitors still had sheep in their pens.
Central Otago shearer Duncan Leslie during the New Zealand Merino Championships Open Shearing final in Alexandra on Saturday. Photo / Barbara Newton.
He shook his head when he realised he’d be wearing the black singlet with the silver fern and representing New Zealand in a test match in less than four weeks.
“It’s pretty unreal,” he said.
His only previous shearing in Australia was about two months in Western Australia in 2020.
The senior shearing final was won by accomplished Gore shearer Cody Waihape, by more than 12 points from first-year senior and former No 1-ranked junior and intermediate shearer Tye Meikle, of Ōamaru.
The senior woolhandling final was won by Chiquita Tamepo, who won the Golden Shears junior title in 2015, and the junior woolhandling final was won by Lilly Manson, of Piopio.
Next weekend’s Waimate Shears will also include intermediate, junior and novice shearing, the national Winter Comb Open and senior shearing championships, and the finals of the South Island open, senior and junior woolhandling circuits.
North Island competitions start with the Poverty Bay A and P Show on October 16-17.
Results from the 2026 New Zealand Merino Shearing and Woolhandling Championships
Alexandra, October 2-3
Shearing
Open final (12 sheep): Duncan Leslie (Alexandra) 24m 12.28s, 94.781pts, 1; David Gordon (Masterton) 23m 11.55s, 103.245pts, 2; Nathan Stratford (Invercargill) 25m 45.64s, 105.699pts, 3; Jack Fagan (Te Kūiti) 25m 6.38s, 109.236pts, 4; Simon Goss (Whanganui) 27m 50.77s, 126.123pts, 5; Grant Smith (Rakaia) 31m 30.11s, 143.423pts, 6.
Senior final (four merino fleeces): Cody Waihape (Gore) 13m 53.02s, 73.151pts, 1; Tye Meikle (Ōamaru) 15m 38.34s, 85.167pts, 2; Reuben O’Neill (Alexandra) 17m 53.73s, 90.437pts, 3; Levi Uluakiahoia (Taupō) 15m 45.09s, 90.505pts, 4; Kyle Rhodes (Hunterville) 13m 46.5s, 94.575pts, 5; Jadas Guelphi (Gisborne) 13m 31.38s, 96.319pts, 6.
Woolhandling
Open final (five merino fleeces): Monica Potae (Kennedy Bay) 195.02pts, 1; Pagan Rimene (Alexandra) 196.324pts, 2; Misty Rose Kokiri Elers (Mataura) 201.044pts, 3; Foonie Waihape (Alexandra) 297.8pts, 4.
Senior final (three merino fleeces): Chiquita Tamepo (Hastings) 124.674pts, 1; Marama Timmins (Tolaga Bay) 132.982pts, 2; Lucy Elers (Mataura) 179.15pts, 3; Ashley Clarke (Gore) 190.47pts, 4.
Junior final (three merino fleeces): Lilly Manson (Piopio) 134.25pts, 1; Legacy Hiroti (Raetihi) 236.47pts, 2; Shay Stewart (Napier) 237.79pts, 3; Shahni Whitu (Roxburgh) 250.41pts, 4.