The under-11 boys team sailed through the competition undefeated, proving too good for Hornsby Spiders in a 45-24 grand final win on Sunday.

Lucas Scott (14 points), Sam Blain (10) and Blake Collins (7) all played integral roles as the Dolphins were rarely challenged in an impressive performance.

The Spiders had gone through their pool undefeated until the final, regularly beating teams by 50 and 60 points.

Tournament organiser John Minihan said Port Macquarie teams performed well overall.

“For a lot of the kids in the younger divisions, they’re new to the rep scene,” he said.

Port Macquarie’s under-17 men’s team also progressed to the final where they were beaten 45-30 by a strong Newcastle Lakers team.

“The vast majority of teams in most divisions were rep quality,” Minihan said.

“Our 15 girls team probably would have gone close to winning it, but they lost their two main players early on.”

It was the first year the tournament had been held at the one venue, with all local teams performing well, with the overall standard showing an improvement on previous years.

“With the carnival being more of a rep-style carnival, the competition was much higher than in previous years,” Minihan said.

Elsewhere, the under-15 women’s team, coached by Nick Prior and Nathan Lyon looked like progressing deep into the competition.

But they lost two of their leading players to commitments in Sydney on Sunday before they finished second in their pool.

They ended up with a third-place finish after a play-off.

“They beat Taree 30-29 and leading scorers in the game were Ashleigh Grace with 14 points and Bridget Williams with 10,” Minihan said.

The under-13 girls team, coached by Jason Berry and Andy Caltabiano were unlucky not to make the grand final.

They also finished third after defeating Taree 49-30 in the third-place playoff.

“Leading scorers were Ella Shipton with 14 points, while Phailin McKibbin and Ban Rashdan scored eight each.”

Port Macquarie’s under-15 men’s team finished second in their pool before eventual winners Newington College eliminated them from the competition.

The Dolphins bowed out at the semi-final stage 49-18.

“Being in one venue, Deb Burghardt found them much easier to manage and we received numerous compliments from the visiting coaches,” Minihan said.

“The standard of the referring was of a very high quality, from both our PMBA referees and the visiting referees.”

Minihan said overall, the carnival was a success for the Port Macquarie sides, with none finishing lower than third.

“It was a terrific effort, considering the strength of the teams competing and with the various age groups having eight to 12 teams in each,” he said.