The State 14s and 16s State Championships were held recently with South taking the title in both age groups.
The championships were held over three days in the second week of the July school holidays with champions determined on points differential, not just on the number of wins. This is to encourage scoring and allow a team that may lose two close games to still be in the hunt for the title.
After a slow start on Monday going down to North, the South 14s put two convincing wins together to secure the Championship with a 37 points differential over the three games.
In the 16s it was a lot more clear cut with South winning all three games convincingly and finishing with a 61 point differential.
The quality of players in the 16s was very encouraging for the 2012 State team and bodes well for the National Championships to be played from Sunday, 30 September to 5 October in Sydney. Five players from this year’s U18 State Schoolboys return to the State 16s squad to bolster the amount of talent selected from the State Champs.
Players who stood out in the State Champs included Evan Stafford and Ben Syme from the South 14s and Corey Teoroa from the North 14s. Joey Simpkins and Isaiah Pederson for the South 16s and Hershelle Classen for the North 16s showed glimpses of brilliance with the ball in hand.