Sharks take bite of Merimbula Cup victory

Rain clouds loomed and threatened an early finish to play, but club officials said the courts escaped the worst of the weather and sun shone through a majority of the day.

The club welcomed teams from Cooma, Orbost and Canberra for games ranging from under 10s right through to open men's and women's competitions.

The home club, the Sharks, were able to secure the Merimbula Cup, after an excellent all round performance on the day.

Based on a pointscore system for match wins, the Sharks clinched the Cup by just three points from the Orbost roster, with Cooma only a handful of results behind.

"It's very much a close competition," club president Cliff Scarlett said on Monday, "Last year went down to the last game and that game went down to the final few points."

"We're very evenly matched with Orbost and Cooma were very competitive as well - It's about eight hours of competition games, but can be the last few minutes that decide who wins."

Mr Scarlett joined other officials in saying it was a wonderful finish after playing host to about 20 teams and around 400 visitors for the day.

Many were breathing a sigh of relief after they had spent the last two or three weeks poring over weather forecasts.

"We were watching the weather patterns every day," Mr Scarlett said, as even a patch of rain can render the courts dangerously slippery and unplayable.

However, the sun broke through the clouds and players enjoyed their rounds in tremendous sunshine.

"It was almost too hot, you can't win," Mr Scarlett said with a laugh.

The Sharks contested well on their home courts, in some games outstripped by the opposition's height, but the local club made up for any deficit with speed, skill and accuracy at the hoop.

Junior girls and boys enjoyed fun and friendly games, while the 16s, 18s and opens provided incredibly high-paced and quality play for the large crowd of spectators.

An official also praised the under 10 boys who enjoyed their games and stayed on to cheer on their coach in the open men's competition.

Mr Scarlett and other officials are now hoping roofing and a new surface will be installed for the 2020 Merimbula Cup.

"When we get the roof on we'll be able to host many more competitions and expose the kids to that next level of competition."

The club will now host an Inaugural Indigenous Round this Friday and Saturday.