The open team, coached by Sue Borserio, and 17-and-under team, led by new South Bendigo coach Jannelle Hobbs, both made it to the semi-finals before being eliminated.

The tournament at Eagle Stadium in Werribee brought together representative teams from 18 different regions.

North Central’s open team, which was captained by Colbinabbin’s Lou Dupuy, advanced to the semi-finals by winning six of its eight round-robin matches on Saturday.

The team recovered from an opening match loss to Two Bays (14-17), to post wins over Barwon (22-9), Jika (13-12), Elmer (18-6), Sunraysia (2-7), Dandenong Valley (16-8), Western (17-13) and a narrow loss to North East (14-15).

Those results set up a semi-final showdown against North East, which won 25-19.

The grand final was won 23-10 by Two Bays, which was representing the Mornington Peninsula and some of Melbourne’s outer south-east suburbs.

The 17-and-under team, co-captained by Kangaroo Flat’s Ruby Barkmeyer and Echuca’s Bridget Byrne, earned its semi-final berth by winning 15 and tying two of its 17 round-robin matches.

That set up a clash against Barwon, which reversed its earlier loss to North Central, and won 13-12.

The final was won 18-8 by Henderson, with North Central having beaten both grand finalists during the minor rounds.

North Central missed a spot in the 15-and-under semi-finals after notching six wins, seven losses and four draws.

A combined North Central-Golden City team also made it to the semi-final in the all-abilities reserve section, but was beaten 10-4 by Elmer-Parkville.

The team won four games and lost three.