The boys from Victoria ran by Western Australia 18-7 in their first game, beat a tough South Australia team that rarely loses at home in Adelaide 10-9. WA and SA then played in the final round robin game to see who would meet back up with Victoria in the championship game. Japan, although not eligible for the championship (because they aren’t part of Australia!) sent a sort of national team to the tourney anyway to hone their skills against some of the best in the world and although they were dominated by Victoria, the Japanese learned a lot and had a great time, I’m sure.
Victoria celebrating their 2008 Nat. Championship. they repeated in 2009.In the final, Victoria cruised to victory by dispatching WA 13-2 after leading 5-0 at half time. Victoria is truly the sporting center of Australia and this evidenced by their strong showing in lacrosse, the multitude of Aussie Rules Football teams in the state and their love of rugby and cricket. last year, the championships were held in Perth where Victoria edged the home side, Western Australia 11-8. If the talent gap is increasing between these two states then the level of lacrosse in Victoria must be of the highest quality because WA lax is pretty darn good itself.
Speaking of WA lax… the season continues and although Wembley has been doing very well overall, they lost their last match to Bayswater, the third ranked team in the State. Although Matt Driver scored 5 goals, Wembley just didn’t have it and lost 14-8. Glenn Morley has been playing with Baysie again and his impact has been felt by the entire league. He may be an older guy but he plays a mean D when the chips are down. I had some great times with Glenn when I lived down in Perth and would like to congratulate him on making Australia’s 34 man roster for the upcoming World Games in Manchester, England next summer. Also a big congrats to the Wembley boys, in particular, the University of Maryland’s Adam Sear. To see the rest of Australia’s 34 man roster click here.
So while the summer is a little slower stateside, the action keeps on pumping all June, July and August down under. There will be a Western Australia Lacrosse Assoc All-Star game on August 8th at 630pm for the Men. Before that game, numerous women’s and youth all star games will be played so if you live in WA, make sure to check it out! The location is Halladay Park in the Bayswater section of town. After that, there are only 3 weeks left in the regular season in Perth and then the playoffs start so we’ll be sure to keep all of the LAS Nation updated as regularly as we can!
