The Wangaratta Warriors under 18 boys and girls division one sides finished their representative season after competing at the State Championships in Bendigo this past weekend. The under 18 boys started off day one of the tournament in style, upsetting third ranked Bendigo by six points. Taking a two-point lead into quarter time, the Warriors extended the lead to seven at half-time and while Bendigo threw everything at them, the Warriors remained calm under pressure, taking the game 47-41. Game two against Bellarine was a shooting display by the Warriors, who held a 12-point quarter time lead and then outscored Bellarine 45-14 over the remaining three quarters. The last day of the game was against arch-rival Wodonga, who the Warriors had had mixed results against this season, notably a four-point loss the weekend before at the Wodonga tournament. It was a lacklustre start by both sides, with the Warriors leading 10-7 at quarter time. The second and third quarters were a different story, with the Warriors dominating the play and outscoring Wodonga 26-8, taking a 36-15 lead at three quarter time. Wodonga outscored the Warriors 24-10 in the last quarter, but the game was well and truly over, seeing the boys win 46-39 and qualify for a spot in division one (top eight in the state) and a quarter final matchup against Maffra. The quarter final was a back-and-forth contest, with both sides not giving an inch, however Maffra were able to hit some key shots late in the game, while the Warriors shots just wouldn’t drop. The Warriors eventually went down 51-57, bringing their season to an end. For top aged players Harry Pople, Blake Newton, Charlie Maher and Jack Ford, this bought to an end their junior careers. The U18 girls first day of the tournament saw them up against perennial powerhouses Korrumburra and Ballarat (both teams who went onto make the grand final and semifinal respectively) and while the girls battled hard, they lost both games. Game three against Swan Hill was a different story, with the Warriors taking a four-point quarter time lead and were down by two at half time. Foul trouble and Swan Hill’s increased defensive pressure in the second half saw the Warriors go down 39-51, seeing them qualify for division two and a quarter final against Southern Peninsula. The quarter final started well for the Warriors, taking a three-point quarter time lead, however a 14-2 second quarter by Southern Peninsula saw the Warriors down by nine at half-time. The third quarter was a tight contest, with the Warriors turning up their defensive pressure holding the opponents to six, but just couldn’t impact the scoreboard and were down by 11 at three quarter time. Unfortunately, Southern Peninsula turned up their pressure in the fourth quarter, forcing a number of turnovers which resulted in easy scores for them and while the Warriors battled hard, they couldn’t stop the onslaught and ended up going down 52-25.
