Six of Mount Gambier’s junior Lakers’ teams resumed their town team season by competing in first divisions of the Junior South West Classic in Portland over the weekend.

Three teams, the Under 12, 14 and 18 Girls, all played off in grand finals and the ’18‘s won the title, defeating host Association Portland by 12 points. The Lakers’ Under 16 Boys and Girls bowed out in their respective semi-finals.

The Lakers under 18 girls was the only Lakers’ team which was undefeated for the weekend. They defeated Millicent in the semi-final, 30-25, and Portland 30-18 in the title game. This result is most pleasing when one considers that the group has not suited up in a tournament since Mount Gambier last November. Members of the winning team are as follows:

Kim Loughhead, Rachael Hines, Eilish McKay, Danika Jolley, Teagan Gray, Casey Horrigan and Jasmine Disselbach.

The Under 12 Girls scored four wins before meeting powerhouse Millicent in the grand final. They defeated Hamilton 20-8, Horsham 40-21, Terang 42-4 and then came from behind to defeat Ararat 22-17 in the semi-final. Millicent dominated the first half of their grand final to the tune of 22-1, but the Lakers outscored Millicent 14-9 in the second for a creditable final result of 15-31.

The Lakers Under 14 Girls struggled to find consistency in their efforts over the weekend. They won two of their minor round games and defeated Millicent in the semi-final in their best performance, but then went down 21-28 in the final after missing vital foul shots.    

The Under 16 girls breezed through the minor rounds and qualifying final, defeating Portland 36-19, Warrnambool 43-13 and Hamilton 45-20 but went down to Millicent 21-27 in the semi-final. Horsham won this age group.

The Lakers Under 16 Boys made a scratchy start to the weekend but finished strongly. They won one game and lost two in the minor rounds, including a big loss to Warrnambool. They then went within a point of pulling off the biggest turnaround of the weekend in the semi-final against Warrnambool.

The Lakers’ Under 12 Boys were competitive throughout the Classic and showed improvement as the competitions progressed. They finished the tournament on a high, drawing with the strong Warrnambool team, 28 a-piece.