The team lost two matches on the Friday, which left the reigning champions deflated with two days of play remaining.

But the boys came together and won three straight matches on Sunday, including defeating Wynnum in the grand final 8-7 to claim the title.

“It was a lot harder to claim the second title, as we had this expectation of us and teams wanted to put their best foot forward against us,” team captain Ryan Smith said.

“We found that out the hard way in the early matches, but took our performances to a new level as the tournament continued.

“The final was very tense and went down to the wire, with both sides having a chance to win it.

“Eventually it came down to who made fewer errors in the field and who was more solid with the bat in hand.”

Of the eight matches played at the weekend, Mount Isa won only four games, but made sure the victories came in the matches that mattered.

“It took as a while to work our way into the tournament, but once we did, our play was phenomenal,” Smith said.

“From Jayson Morgan’s pitching to Alex Cleary’s home run at the bottom of the sixth, it all came together for us in the final.

“We sealed the grand final when Alex Cleary and myself got a double play in the last innings of the match.”

Smith pin-pointed Frank Long and Steve Gehrmann as the two strongest players for his side at the weekend.

“Our fielding was an issue at times over the weekend, but Frank Long didn’t drop a catch in the outfield all tournament,” he said.

“Every time Steve Gehrmann stepped up to bat, we knew what we were going to get and he didn’t disappoint.”

After two titles in as many years, Smith says the team will to try to claim a third.

“At this stage we are planning on returning to try and claim our third title in a row,” he said.

“And with a lot of the boys from the under 19s team keen to jump on board, we will try and blood them for the future.

“The young blokes will add enthusiasm and certain skills to the side, which should make us even stronger.”

■TEAM: Ryan Smith, Mark Bellamy, Luke Bellamy, Jaymon King, Alex Cleary, Jurak Massey, Steve Gehrmann, Chris Beetham, Jayson Morgan, David Heggarty, Kevin Richards, Jason Wellington, Frank Long, Clayton Morgan (coach) and Linda King (scorer).