Toying with the competition

KINGAROY'S Látoya Barkle put in a match-winning effort against the formidable touch champions Gympie, finishing the try-scoring leader of the grand final.

The scorching heat at the weekend didn't make it any easier, as teams from across the Wide Bay region battled against each other in the Wide Bay Junior Touch Championships in Childers.

Látoya, playing in the U10 competition, had to reach deep within herself to come back from a loss and a draw and transform them into a final-winning performance.

In the four games Kingaroy played, they met Childers and Gympie twice, with each meet bringing a different result.

"We lost against Childers in the first game and then we got a tie against Gympie," she said.

The games earlier in the day allowed Kingaroy to work out the gaps in Gympie's play.

"We did pretty good, it was exciting. (We won) by seeing all the gaps and wrapping," Látoya said.

"We worked good as a team and did our best."

The one-two passing technique allowed Kingaroy's attack to pass Gympie's line of defence successfully, with Látoya managing to score four tries.

Látoya's mother Kristie Barkle was impressed by her daughter's performance, making a dramatic improvement from last year.

"She got player of the final," she said.

"Last year they made it to the semi-finals, but were knocked out."

While Kingaroy won the final game, Gympie won the overall competition on points.