The Taipans channelled their namesake early when Jacob Weate struck with his two pointer, but Oliver Blinman from the U12s had the cure when his hoop evened the score. Toby Ross kept swinging for the U12s with back-to-back points.

This set the tone for the first half as the rep side pulled ahead of Farrer when the ball kept finding its way through the rim, while at the other end the Taipans had little luck getting there shots to drop.

While Farrer were able to use their height advantage stretching long arms to snatch the ball and gain possession, the smaller statured representative side came in low and fast to redeem possession.

These plays kept the ball in motion around the court, which made for a great spectator game.

Adding to the enjoyment of the parents watching was the emergence of the personalities of the players with poses and facial expressions highlighting their good plays.

Both teams came out strongly in the second half with Jamie Williams (Farrer) and Harrison Barton (U12s) sinking baskets moments after the starting whistle.

Farrer started finding their groove when Charlie Wilson and Jamie Williams kept the points ticking over.

Other scorers for Farrer were Jack Goodwin and Toby Endacott.

While Farrer didn’t make the baskets they needed to threaten the rep boys, the score did not reflect how hard the team worked against their more experienced opposition.

The representatives countered Farrer’s efforts with a point-scoring bonanza.

All the team got a chance to make their mark on the scoreboard with Jack Klasen, Reid Humble, Aiden Lee, Declan Lewis and Yasu Akioka contributing to their final score.

The U12 boys will be continuing their representative journey as they have earned a place in the State Cup in Newcastle next weekend.

Also in the State Cup are the undefeated U18M Division 1 team which will play in Maitland.

Competing on the same weekend in Sydney are the U16 Men and the U16 Women of the Country Premier League who have both earned a place in the State Championships.

Congratulations to all of these teams for making it this far and good luck for the upcoming weekend.

There will be another chance to see the mighty Thunderbolts Men when they play in an exhibition match against the MSG American touring team on Monday night.

The jump is at 6.30pm and tickets are only $5.