Eight Junior Lakers teams travelled to Adelaide last weekend for the 2012 Under12 and 16 SA Country Championships. A record 109 teams competed in sixteen divisions of the two age groups. There were a total of 265 games played over the very busy two days.

The Under 16 Girls Division 1 side played off in the Grand Final against the Yorke Valley girls, who set the bench mark in this grade. The final score-line of 28-54 reflected the ability of Yorke Valley to finish off better in an even on court contest. The Lakers finished second in their pool, defeating Broken Hill, 37-30 and Barossa Valley 49-29, but going down to Yorke Valley, 29-32.They beat Great Southern 40-33 in the quarter-final.

The highlight of the weekend for the Lakers came when they managed to turn the tables on arch rival Millicent in the semi-final, 46-45.The two teams had met in grand finals of several junior tournaments in the past few months and Millicent came out on top in several last gasp wins.

Lakers led for much of the semi-final but had to pull out all stops as Millicent came home strongly to level the scores in the closing seconds. A score from the charity stripe by Rachael Hines gave the Lakers the win and a place in the grand final.

The hard luck story of the weekend belongs to the Lakers Under 16 Boys Division 1 team. They opened the Championships impressively against Broken Hill until they had their chances seriously dented when State squad representative, Sam Stafford suffered a broken ankle in a clash with an opponent. Throughout the season Sam had been the “go to” player of the team, but to his team-mates’ credit they all found a little extra in the following games. Special mention must also be made of the way in which Coach Bryan Green managed the emotional situation and adapted team plays.

The Lakers went on to defeat Broken Hill, 56-39, Strathalbyn, 66-33 and arch rival Murray Bridge 44-33 in the pool games. The Lakers won against Great Southern, 31-22 in the quarter-final but went down in a thriller semi-final to Riverland 50-53, in the final few seconds. The team performed beyond expectations especially after the injury to Stafford.       

The Under 12 Boys turned in solid performances against the class of the Division 1 competition. They scored wins against Naracoorte 46-42 and Port Augusta 41-32 and were unlucky to lose to Eastern Hills 26-27. They were however somewhat over awed by the height and superior strength of Port Pirie. They consequently finished third in the six team fixture. Players who played well over the Championships included Mitchell Harris, Beau Nunan, Sean Ross, Austin Kitschke and Mitchell Hunter.

The performance of the Under 12 Girls Division 1 side was a little disappointing. The team made a promising start to the season but it was obvious from the outset of the Championships that opposition teams had made greater progress as the “town team” season unfolded.

 They were defeated by Port Lincoln 34-20, eventual winner Whyalla, 25-33 and Great Southern 22-33 in the pool games. A much improved Millicent accounted for the Lakers 30-23 in the quarter final.

Overall the championship weekend provided a sound learning experience for the players, who remained enthusiastic and tried hard in all their games.

The Lakers Under 12 Girls Division 2 team acquitted themselves very well in Division 4 of the Championships. They defeated Broken Hill 50-8 and Keith 70-10 but lost to Adelaide Plains 12-22. They defeated Naracoorte 17-10 in the quarter-final but could not snare a semi-final win against Riverland, who went on to win the final, 24-23, over Adelaide Plains. 

The Lakers Under 16 Boys Division 2 side scored two wins and finished fourth in their six team Division 4 competition. They defeated Murray Bridge 45-39 and Clare 48-27, but went down to Adelaide Plains 30-67, Jamestown, 21-64 and Eastern Hills 39-40.

The Lakers Under 16 Girls second team defeated Adelaide Plains 15-14 and Keith 70-17 but went down to Millicent 24-26. Millicent was then far too strong in the semi-final to the tune of 29-8 on Sunday.

The young Lakers Under 12 Boys gained valuable experience from competing in the Championships They struggled against stronger opponents in Keith and Millicent but were unlucky to go down to Adelaide Plains 21-23.