RJ
Years ago
2005 U18 Grand Finals Preview
Unfortunately RJ still need to pay the bills and have a social life. Sorry guys, I realise many will not see this til Monday but hopefully everyone will head down to either the Dome or Wayville to see one or more of these four highly intriguing games.
Under 18 Boys 1:
12:00 DH Dome 2 Forestville Eagles (2) V (4) Sturt Sabres
Rd. 17 Forestville 55 def. Sturt 32
Rd. 8 Forestville 59 def. Sturt 50
Summer Premiers: Forestville Eagles
State Champs Premiers: Southern Tigers
An absorbing Finals series ends with Forestville and Sturt fighting at the end for the championship. Interesting side note being they actually played off in the Under 16 final two years ago as well. Some would say that both Southern and West Adelaide should be here based on the seasons they've had, but everything starts anew come Finals time and these two teams have won the big games necessary to get this far.
Forestville opened their finals campaign with an impressive dominance over a Molitor less West Adelaide in their Qualifying Final 82-48. In their defence the Eagles can only beat the team put on the court against them and their better focus and determination led to such a one-sided scoreline. That win set up a Semi-Final against the Southern Tigers. As I've said already, the Semi was a hard fought physical contest with the Eagles added depth and better decision making at the end getting then the 3 point win 69-66, and putting them straight into the Grand Final.
Sturt has battled through the Finals from 4th to make this Grand Final. Round One of the Finals saw the Sabres comfortably get the win against the magic less Woodville Warriors 69-41. The Sabres were simply too structured and focused for the Warriors and used Dodman enough to get the easy win in a game lacking much intensity. In the Semi the Sabres were in complete control from the very start. The match-up of Dodman on Molitor took the later out of the game for the most part and the Sabres came out blaising up 38-21 at 3 quarter time. The Bearcats then woke up, and fought thir way buck to fall short by 2, the Sabres falling asleep after thinking the job had already been done.
Everything else aside the final will see the two deepest teams in the grade battle for the Premiership. David Laurie (Forestville) and Paul Rigoni (Sturt) are two of the best Junior coaches going around at the moment and their calm and focused styles have been a major reason their teams have been able to stay on the job and gotten to this stage. The front court match ups are highlighted by the size and experience of Jordan Dodman There's little left to say about the man mountain inside and despite having his detractors on this forum Dodman is the superstar of this grade (granted he hasn't played that many games this year) and his size mixed with his talent and leadership skills makes him very difficult to handle. Steve Csono (Forestville) ran into early foul trouble controlling Slaghekke in the Semi but that depth I was talking about meant the Eagles could bring in U16 State rep AJ Cheater from the bench. Neither have the height to match with Dodman and this is probably the Sabres biggest advantage in the match up with the Eagles. Starting next to Dodman will most likely be Liddiard and the under-rated Gavranich. Liddiard is the type of role player that even side needs while Gavranich's engry and hustle combined with his natural talent and athleticism makes him extremely hard to defend at one end and just as hard to get past at the other. The Eagles will most likely line-up the equally athletic De Cure and tough man Trent Fildes along with Csono as their starting bigs. Fildes is a player of the future and the obvious bulking up he's done in the past 12 months means he's added a stronger inside game to his already impressive penetration and range for someone of his size and reach. De Cure is the hard-working hustling role player that the Eagles need and is also one of the most athletic juniors in the state. The back courts are run by some of the best guards in state. The Sabres could start any of 2 of past State rep Jack Garrett and current State reps. Soren Gemo, Lawrence Blood (SA Metro) and Tom Huxford (SA Country). Garrett is the prototype court leader style point guard. He also has a great ability to get to the basket and an under-rated shot from outside. Gemo's court vision and ability to get people the ball mixed with his own penetrating ability makes him difficult to guard while his wingspan and quick lateral movement makes him an extremely tough defender also. Blood's size as a guard has always been his biggest advantage but the boy also has plenty of basketball ability to go with that. He's one of those guys that does everything well without having a real standout ability. The Eagles depth is matched by no one, which is no more evident by the fact N.T. State rep John Mernham gets limited opportunities surrounded by such talent, the same could be said for Cheater and Jarryd Fildes. The Eagles backcourt of Harvey an Seebohm would have to be the best in the competition. No one can match Harvey's speed and add to that his range and ability to finish off around the basket. For most rivals this diversity makes Harri almost impossible to defend. That same speed and quick first step makes him a tough defender as well and every PG he faces will have to work hard for every opportunity offensively they get. Shannon Seebohm continues to improve and develop his game and has now got the A.I.S. in his sights. Like Blood, Seebohm does everything on the basketball court at a high standard and also has the rare ability to control the tempo of a game. His added size for a PG/SG and diversity to his game makes him exhausting to defend and a joy to watch. His defensive skills are also very under-rated by most. As if those two weren't tough enough the Eagles have sharp shooter Boonstoppel to come off the bench also, while de Cure, Fildes and Fildes can all do some time in the SG role.
Two savvy coaches, two talented, deep and disciplined teams meet in the final of the showcase of the State's Junior Competition. If you're free Sunday, this is one not to be missed for by any basketball fan.
Forestville by 4.
Under 18 Girls 1:
12:00 DH Dome 3 Forestville Eagles (2) V (1) North Adelaide
Semi Forestville 64 def. North Adelaide 50
Rd. 11 North Adelaide 50 def. Forestville
Rd. 2 North Adelaide 44 def. Forestville 40
Summer Premiers: Forestville Eagles
State Champs Premiers: North Adelaide Rockets
Despite the emergence of Cayla Francis and the Mavs, these are the two teams that should be meeting in this Grand Final. Much has gone down between these two groups and the background and feeling will make this Final an epic of great proportion. Without Bishop the Eagles have shown they have the depth to still be a leader in the competition while this Rockets group has tasted plenty of success in the past 5 years also, and despite their detractors they've continued their dominance in 2005.
The Eagles Finals started with a tough semi against the Mavs. Made tougher as they were missing two starters. Neither team played at their best but the Eagles work on Cayla contained her influence and they managed to sneak out a 1 point win 52-51. That set up a semi final clash with the Rockets in which neither side was at full strength but the Eagles were GOOD!! A smart, controlled and focused Eagles side just worked away at the Rockets all game and came away with a 64-50 win, and a Grand Final place.
The Rockets finals series started with that sub-par performance in the semi. After that they had to back-up two days later against the dangerous Flames who had previously knocked off Sturt and Eastern. North ended the run with some smart basketball of their own a winning 74-65.
Match-ups will depend greatly on if Kaminski (North) and Harrison (Forestville) are fit. I doubt though that either will play and will look at this game as if they both aren't. Without Bishop, the Eagles rely on a team effort inside and bit minutes from bottom age centre Ashleigh Lustica to get the job done. Expect to see the versatile Nikta-Lee Martin and Mia Newley spend some time inside along with SA Country rep Alex Duncan. Martin has had a long and successful junior career to now and her outside/inside game is match by very few. Newley has worked on her offensive output and is becoming the player everyone knew she could. Her mid range shot combined with a big first step and great basketball brain make her an exciting offensive threat and also hard to defend. The Rockets have SA Metro rep Feris who is a small 5 man but she's as strong as anyone in Under 18s and will definitely be difficult to stop around the basket. She'll also pull in more then her share of boards. Along with her the Rockets have bottom age Burbridge and another undersized big in Jess Keller. Both are highly skilled bigs who can find their way to the hoop and play some tough D at the other end. The Eagles will rely on Benson and Newley/Martin to do a lot of the ball carrying duties. Gallio and Bow will play some constructive minutes off the bench also. Benson is a quick and dexterous point who makes few mistakes. The versatility of Martin and Newley being a huge advantage to the Harrison less Eagles backcourt. The Rockets have plenty of talent here too with All-Oz camp invitee Lauren Mansfield running the show from the point along with shart shooting Lock and (BSMR's) Elizabeth Wright who have all tasted plenty of Junior success. Mansfield's extra size added with her poise and speed makes her intoxicating to watch play. Lock's streak shooting can completely take over a game while Wright's all round ability adds plenty to the Rockets side. Expect to see one very unhappy face if Kaminski (a personal favourite, man I love how she plays the game) is unable to line up Sunday.
Forestville by 7
Under 18 Boys 2:
9:30 Wayville 2 Forestville Eagles 1 (1) V (3) South Adelaide
Semi Forestville 1 69 def. South Adelaide 33
Rd. 19 Forestville 1 61 def. South Adelaide 44
Rd. 8 Forestville 1 56 def. South Adelaide 31
Summer Premiers: Forestville Eagles 1
State Champs Premiers: Forestville Eagles 1
Despite all the talk on this site (atm 657 replies and 9227 reads, in one thread alone) I'm sorry but the actual title race here is just, well boring. There is no way anyone but Forestville was going to win this they just have way too much talent and depth to be beat.
The Rd.19 showing by the Panthers was great but they still lost that by 17!! I've loved watching the Panthers progress this season and their finals performance (bar the Forestville game) has shown they definitely deserve to have gotten this far but surely this is the most assured result in the whole Junior District Competition. What's left to be said? Scott, Haydon and Sapio will dominate inside against the undermanned Panthers who will rely way too much on the improved Jennings. The backcourt battle of Chettle, Grigg, Djuric and Selfe against the talented duo of Hirst and French will be good but the Eagles have just too much to throw at them.
Forestville by 23.
Under 18 Girls 2:
9:30 Wayville 3 Sturt Sabres 1 (1) V (3) North Adelaide 1
Semi Sturt 1 34 def. North Adelaide 28
Rd. 12 Sturt 1 36 def. North Adelaide 33
Summer Premiers: North Adelaide Rockets
State Champs Premiers: Sturt Sabres
The clear best two sides match up again in the Final. A tough win by the Sabres in the semi would make Carey's girls favourites and the loss of Cannell has been convered by the hard work of a number of others. The Rockets have the experience and talent to get the win here also and are in pretty good form themselves.
Sturt by 6.
