Sport

Breakers go big at Shepparton Junior Tournament

Benalla Breakers under-18 boys claimed the division three title after an undefeated run.

Benalla Breakers junior ballers enjoyed a brilliant campaign at the Greater Shepparton Junior Tournament at the weekend, earning three championships and a runner-up finish across all grades.

The under-18 boys division three, under-16 girls division three and under-12 girls division three Breakers all claimed championships, with each side going undefeated across Saturday and Sunday to clinch their respective titles.

The under-18 boys were dominant on their path to glory, claiming wins over Shepparton Gators 4 (72-22), Shepparton Gators 3 (42-22) and Rochester 3 (44-29) in the round-robin stage on Saturday, before again defeating Shepparton 4 63-14 in the semi-final, setting up a grand final showdown against Shepparton 3.

Ashton Morris was named the under-18 boys division three grand final MVP.

It would be all Benalla in the grand final, as Ryder Robertson added 11 points, taking his tally to 82 as the tournament’s leading scorer, and Ashton Morris added nine to be named grand final MVP, as the Breakers clinched a 28-18 victory.

The under-16 division three Benalla side swept the competition to win the title undefeated.

The under-16 girls went on a similar run, with wins over Wallan (20-17), Wangaratta Warriors (35-17), Border Sports (41-12), Rochester (25-22) and Yarra-Mul Lakers (27-11) directly qualifying the Breakers for the grand final, where they would line up against Rochester.

Lola Crook scored 15 points in the final to be named under-16 division three girls grand final MVP.

While the pool stage game against Rochy was tight, there would be no such issue for Benalla in the final, as Lola Crook exploded for 15 points to power the Breakers to a 31-19 victory, earning MVP status in the process.

The under-12 division three girls tournament saw the Benalla Breakers go undefeated to clinch the title.

Not to be outdone, the under-12 girls also swept the competition, with a 46-22 victory over Yarra-Mul Lakers Gold, a 44-8 win over Mansfield Eagles and a 27-15 triumph over Bendigo Braves Blue safely seeing them through to the finals.

Stella McKenzie was named under-12 girls division three grand final MVP.

A quarter-final victory against Wangaratta Warriors (24-6) followed by a trouncing of Bendigo Braves Yellow in the semi-final (22-4) saw Benalla line up against Bendigo Braves Blue in the final, with the Breakers winning comfortably 18-8, led by MVP Stella McKenzie.

The Benalla Breakers under-10 division one girls finished as runners-up.

The under-10 girls division one side was also unlucky not to bring home a championship, finishing as runner-up to Shepparton Gators.