LACHLAN Bertram was everywhere for his side as the Mandurah Magic defeated the South West Slammers by 24 points to kick off the ANZAC Round in the NBL1 West Men’s last night.

Kicking off the action for the long weekend was a clash between two sides in very different form to start the season at Mandurah Aquatic and Rec Centre on Thursday night. The Magic had placed themselves nicely to start the season, winning three of their first four games and sitting pretty in the top rung of the standings. On the other hand, the Slammers had struggled throughout their start to the fixture, still searching for their first win.

As expected, the Magic were simply too good for South West, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back from there. Mandurah led by 20 points at the main change, and although the Slammers improved in the second half, it was too little too late as the home side cruised home to a big win to improve to a record of 4-1.

The performance of Bertram was critical within the context of the match, and he produced one of the best outings of his career.

Mandurah Magic (116) def. South West Slammers (92)

Lachlan Bertram – 25 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, one steal

The Magic have been red hot to start the 2025 season, and it is largely due to the fact that anyone on their roster can produce a standout performance, with Bertram stepping up on this occasion.

He recorded his first basket of the match a few minutes into the piece, attacking the rim and finishing at the cup to continue Mandurah’s impressive opening term performance. He backed it up with a floater a couple of minutes later, finding holes in the defence and punishing the opposition accordingly.

A trip to the free throw line late in the frame saw Bertram continue to make an impact on the offensive end and he got involved on the passing front too, finding a cutting Cooper Lowe to cap off a productive quarter from the 23-year-old.

He was subbed out of the game to start the second period, but returned a few minutes into the quarter, and knocked down his first three-pointer of the match and really begin to assert himself as the dominant player of the game so far. Bertram nailed yet another pair of three-pointers a few minutes later to help Mandurah take a massive lead into the main break.

There was no slowing down for Bertram in the third quarter, with the young gun continuing to make an impact with ball in hand. He attacked the basket downhill again to open the frame, before splashing home a fourth triple in a mesmerising offensive display. With Mandurah leading by so much, it could afford to rest Bertram, although he did return to the fray late in the third to hit his fifth triple and fire up the crowd.

Although he was quieter in the final period, the game was already decided as the Magic cruised home on the back of his huge performance. Bertram finished the game with 25 points on 8/14 shooting from the field and 5/10 shooting from behind the arc, in a performance that is hopefully a sign of things to come.