The defeat came after three wins and two losses in their preliminary matches and a seven-goal triumph against Chelsea and District in the semi-final.

Baker said she was proud of the juniors, whose clubs — Portland, Cobden, Camperdown and North Warrnambool Eagles — are spread across the region.

“It was a bit controversial at the end. There was meant to be two eight-minute halves and we were three goals down at the end of the game,” she said.

“But the last half was only six minutes. We all sat around, didn’t know what was happening. We ended up playing an extra two minutes.”

Baker said Banyule beat Hampden 12-4 in the first match of the day. That the grand final went down to the wire reflected her players’ improvement during the day.

“I’m very proud of them. They’re a great bunch of girls, they all did really well. It’s a lot different game inside than outside,” she said.

The 13s were the best-performed HFNL side at the titles, although the Stacey O’Sullivan-coached 15s came agonisingly close to matching their feat.

The 15s won four of their five preliminary matches to set up a semi-final against Gippsland, only to lose in a thriller which went to extra time.

“I was very, very happy with how they played. We were down by four at half-time and came back to draw it,” O’Sullivan said.

But the 17s and open sides endured tough days and missed finals. The 17s, coached by Jackie Smedts, finished with three wins and three losses.

The open side, which had Sara Byrne at the helm, won two of its first three matches. But a lengthy break preceded three consecutive defeats.

“We didn’t play brilliant after the break. We had a few niggly injuries and just couldn’t get it together,” Byrne said. “It’s a really tough competition.”