The Lakers surprised themselves by winning their first two games on Saturday over Port Macquarie 33-32 and Maitland 47-42.

They were down 10-7 after the first quarter against Port Macquarie but hit back in the second period to lead 17-13 at half time, and 27-20 at the final break then hanging on to snatch a one-point win.

The confidence gained flowed on to the match with Maitland, pulling off a 47-42 win after being down 25-15 at halftime.

The Lakers were confident they could continue their winning run against Milton Ulladulla.

However, their defence fell apart in the first two-quarters, and while the defence tightened in the third, they failed to bridge the gap.

The Lakers fourth game on Sunday morning at 8am against Dubbo was unfortunately mostly one-way traffic in the Rams favour which they eventually won 62-14.

The must-win-game against Moss Vale started poorly for Mudgee down 19-6 at the first break.

However, a concerted effort in both defence and attack in the second quarter, gave the Lakers some hope, Moss Vale taking the honours by just 17-14.

The Mudgee Lakers coach Geoff Robinson was full of praise for the team’s efforts.

“They had never played as a team before the weekend, and were on a steep learning curve at training, and during the tournament, where they played teams that had been together for some time, probably coming up through the age groups together.”