#SJC16
Years ago
2016 SA Junior Champs - Day 3
The biggest and longest day of the Tournament with the last of the pool games and in a number of grades the start of finals with Quarter Finals this evening.
Once again we had a night of surprises and hard fought contests. There's too many to mention them all but here are a few of our highlights:
North 12 B R inflicting further pain on the form team of the Winter competition Tigers.
South 12 B R backing up last night's shock win with another less surprising but important win. Barring the very unfortunate this should mean finals for the Panthers.
Norwood 12 B S bouncing back from their winter draw to comfortably end the Panthers already tough Finals run
Eastern 12 G S bouncing back from last night's loss to beat the talented Tigers girls. Southern now needing to beat South this afternoon to force a three-way tie or beat the Eagles for a shot at Finals.
North 12 G S winning the battle for 2nd in Pool A, and probably now finals bound
North (2) 14 B R in a big upset win over Sturt's Division 2 side
Sturt (2) 14 B R also surprising a Div 2 side, this time Centrals
Eastern 14 G S beating Summer Grand Finalist Southern by just 2 possibly securing a Semi spot in the process.
South 14 G S comfortably beating the Lions to bounce back from a loss up North a few weeks ago.
West 16 G S surprising big margin in their win over Norwood which should be enough for a place in the Finals
Centrals 16 G S holding off the inform Sabres who need to regroup and beat a very impressive Eastern for a chance at Finals.
North (1) 18 G R beating the Summer Grand Finalist Sabres convincingly putting them at the top of Pool A
Forestville 18 B S proving us very wrong starting their weekend 2-0 and likely securing a Semi Final spot
Sturt 18 B S struggling with injury and availability of players just doing enough down the stretch to hold off West by 1 in a low scoring contest.
A long day for players, coaches, parents and referees so get out to a stadium and show your support and buy a fundraising sausage at your local stadium BBQ along the way too!
Did I mention entry is Free!?
12 Boys State
The seeded teams have made their way to the top of the tables and seem destined to finish in order. 8:00am games at Hillcrest and Mars to work out who will be 1 or 2 in each pool the highlights for the day.
14 Boys State
While both have made ground neither Eastern or Woodville have made enough headway in their pools, meaning the seeded teams should secure Finals berths (along with a National's invite) today. 9:00am games at Hillcrest and Mars again will decide which order teams will line up in for Semi's Sunday morning.
16 Boys State
Two teams would need perfect games today to break up the run of seeded teams working their way into Semis. Norwood's chance against Centrals won't come until 8:15pm tonight at Hillcrest and North or Eastern will need a lot of luck to get past a very talented Sturt line up or the well performing Eagles. 10:15am games at the Arena and Pasadena should decided positions 1 & 2.
18 Boys State
Pool A sees the Flames hoping to bounce back from their loss to Forestville with a surprise win over Centrals to sneak into the Top 4. The Lions did enough in their one game so far to suggest they'll join the Eagles in the Semis the order to be decided at 11:00am at Port Adelaide.
Pool B and the form of Eastern along with the issues at Sabreland make today quite interesting. Can Sturt get enough talent on court to avoid a loss to two of their three opponents today and secure a finals spot or will the troubles take their toll and open the door for North or more unlikely South to steal a spot along with the Mavericks. A lot of important games today across the day, definitely the most interesting Pool at this point of the weekend.
12 Girls State
Sturt and Forestville will likely be safely through to tomorrow morning's semis and we don't see much trouble for the Rockets in joining them now they've gotten past Norwood. In Pool B however a big one between the Tigers and Panthers at 1:00pm at Morphett Vale. Southern need a good win to force a way through a three way tie while the Panthers can lock in Finals by a win or if need be a tiny loss. That said, Eastern have beaten Forestville recently which would shake things up and lock out both southern districts clubs from Sunday morning and a potential Classics invite. Another interesting pool at this stage.
14 Girls State
9:00am at Pasadena sees neighbours and fierce rivals South play Sturt most likely for 1 and 2 in Pool A. A tough heated contest a few weeks ago should be replicated later this morning. Centrals would need to beat the Sabres at 7:00pm at Pasadena to keep their Finals and Nationals hopes alive. In Pool B a devastating loss for the Tigers last night all but secured Eastern a finals birth unless Southern can shock Forestville as they did early in Summer. The game of the day for Pool B likely to be Southern v Forestville at 9:00am at Morphett Vale.
16 Girls State
Last night's convincing win should be enough for West to join Forestville in the semis if all goes to plan today. Norwood's last chance will be at 8:15pm at Wayville against the Eagles. In Pool B Eastern look unstoppable and Centrals win over the Sabres last night should be enough for them to join the Mavs in the Finals. Sturt's chances relying on a win against the Mavs at 4:15pm at Pasadena.
18 Girls State
Not much left to be decided here. We'd expect form to hold up for Forestville and Eastern in Pool A while the Sabres and Flames will face little challenge from Centrals on their way into the Semis.
12 Boys Reserve
Two shock wins has put South squarely in the Finals race along with Summer Premiers North. Sturt 1 and Centrals should make their way through today and into tomorrow's Semis.
14 Boys Reserve
Still a long way to go in 4 pool grades so not much to report here. Sturt 2 should sneak in but Pool D is where the action is. Both Division 3 sides North and Norwood won last night putting pressure on the Sabres to secure a spot while avoiding their Club mates in the Quarters.
16 Boys Reserve
Another 4 pool grade, the result of note being Centrals Div 3s winning against Southern opening the door for a Division 3 side to make their way into tonight's Quarter Finals.
18 Boys Reserve
The seeded teams showing their true form last night, Forestville, Southern, Sturt and South should make up the Semis tomorrow morning. Expect their Pool games to be brutal with the Eagles and Tigers playing at 11:00am at Wayville and rivals South and Sturt battling at 11:30am at Marion (could we see another draw?)
12 Girls Reserve
A few interesting games today given the 4 pool set up. We're keen to see if the Mavs can push the Sabres for 1st in Pool A at 8:00am at the Arena, can either Div 3 teams Forestville or Norwood sneak past the Rockets in Pool C or will Sturt 2 put last night's loss behind them to get past West at 8:00am at the Port and make their way into the Quarters.
14 Girls Reserve
The team to watch here is Norwood 2 after their surprising win over a Tigers team that were playing well. It should be enough to get them into the Quarters barring a three way tie but a win against South at 2:00pm at Port Adelaide could put them top off their pool.
16 Girls Reserve
The seeded teams have done enough to head up each pool, can Sturt 2 do enough today to make top 4 over either Forestville or Eastern.
18 Girls Reserve
We can't stress enough how seeding and uncertainty surrounding North's summer div 1 side moving down to Division 2 and Reserve grade has affected this entire competition. North (1) should now go top of the Pool with Sturt having to fight off Forestville and Centrals to just make the Finals. We expect the Eagles v Sabres game at Pasadena at 9:00pm will decide the 2nd spot from Pool A. Pool B looks much more predictable with the only challenge being South and if they can beat the Summer Premiers which seems unlikely. The game again at 9:00pm this time at Marion.
