Week 9 Men's SBL Preview

ROCKINGHAM Flames coach Mark Utley has his team primed to bounce back from two losses last weekend with another double-header in the Men's SBL in Week 9 while the Goldfields Giants face another tantalising road double and there will be plenty on the line when the Buccs host the Cougars.

An exciting round of Men's SBL action gets underway on Friday night with the Perth Redbacks (3-6) taking on the Bethanie Stirling Senators (8-4) while the Perry Lakes Hawks (5-6) also face the Lakeside Lightning (4-6) and the Nags Head Tavern Rockingham Flames (6-5) play the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro City of Joondalup Wolves (7-1).

Then on Saturday night, the S&K Electrical Contracting Geraldton Buccaneers (8-3) host the Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars (9-2) at Active West Stadium and the Bethanie Stirling Senators face the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants (6-5) at Warwick Stadium.

The Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers (7-4) also take on the Print Sync South West Slammers (4-6), the Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles (2-8) battle the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro City of Joondalup Wolves and the Mandurah Magic (4-7) host the Textile WA Perth Redbacks.

Then on Sunday, the Nags Head Tavern Rockingham Flames host the Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns (0-10) take on the Perry Lakes Hawks.

The Flames still occupy sixth spot on the Men's SBL table despite two losses last weekend at the hands of the Redbacks and Magic.

But coach Mark Utley wasn’t happy with those defeats particularly with the way they allowed their opponents to shoot the ball. He is looking for a strong response on Friday at home to the defending champion Wolves, and then Sunday against the dangerous Giants.

"We will look to bounce back from two disappointing losses on the weekend. Both teams shot well at large times throughout the game so a bit of work will be put into team defence," Utley said.

"It doesn't get any easier this week with our second double header of three in a row and the Wolves will be really tough. We will spend a bit of time in review before moving on specifically this week.

"We will need to have intensity in our scrimmage so we can again regroup and maintain the required intensity for 48 minutes."

The Lightning have played some good basketball in recent weeks despite losing to the Magic, Senators and Cougars since a strong win at home over the Giants.

Coach Sam Oatman hasn’t been happy with Lakeside's fadeouts in those last three defeats and knows if they are to break back into the top eight it's teams like Friday's opponents the Hawks they need to start knocking off even on the road at Bendat Basketball Centre.

"Our game against the Hawks will be a battle. We’re trying to crack the top 8 and they’re just ahead of us in the standings," Oatman said.

"We know they play hard and have a really deep team. It’s a much different team than we faced earlier in the year assuming (Bryton) Hobbs is still out. The bottom line is we need to show up ready to compete."

The Giants too are coming off a loss at the hands of the Wolves at home last Saturday night as they hit the road for two crucial clashes this weekend against the Senators and Flames.

Coach Michael Haney has signalled the weekend as the most significant of his team's season to date and without finding at least one victory they could find themselves outside of the top eight by Sunday evening.

"We now face our most important road trip to date with Stirling and Rockingham," Haney said.

"We will be facing two experienced teams that know how to win what I think will be tight games! We will have our work cut out but always fun going on the road with the team as it's just us trying to get the job done!"

The game of the round does appear to be on Saturday night when the third placed Buccaneers host the second placed Cougars.

Both Geraldton and Cockburn have been in outstanding form so far this season and each have plenty of weapons at their disposal.

The Buccs always grow an extra leg at home and with Matthew Adekponya, Maurice Barrow, Aaron Ralph, Carter Cook and Mat Wundenberg leading the way, they will be looking to claim a big scalp in the form of the Cougars on Saturday night.

However, Gavin Field, Marcus Goode and Najee Lane continue to perform tremendously for Cockburn and they will be confident of hitting the road and playing well.

Cougars coach Matt Parsons is fully aware that heading to Geraldton and coming back with the win is no easy task.

"The Buccs are playing some really good basketball right now," Parsons said.

"They have three players that are putting up pretty impressive numbers, then you add (Aaron) Ralph who has found his rhythm and is really hurting teams then on top of that you throw in (Mat) Wundenberg who is one of the league’s best rebounding big men.

"On their home floor they are a tough assignment, not many teams make a successful trip there."

WEEK 9 MEN'S SBL FIXTURES
FRIDAY
Textile WA Perth Redbacks v Bethanie Stirling Senators, Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre 8.30pm
Perry Lakes Hawks v Lakeside Lightning, Bendat Basketball Centre 8.30pm
Nags Head Tavern Rockingham Flames v Merriwa Tavern & Bistro City of Joondalup Wolves, Mike Barnett Sports Complex 8.30pm

SATURDAY
Bethanie Stirling Senators v Silver Lake Resources Goldfields Giants, Warwick Stadium 7.30pm
S&K Electrical Contracting Geraldton Buccaneers v Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars, Active West Stadium 7.30pm
Goodlife Homes Willetton Tigers v Print Sync South West Slammers, Willetton Basketball Stadium 8pm
Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles v Merriwa Tavern & Bistro City of Joondalup Wolves, Morley Sport and Recreation Centre 8pm
Mandurah Magic v Textile WA Perth Redbacks, Mike Barnett Sports Complex 8.30pm

SUNDAY
Nags Head Tavern Rockingham Flames v Silver Lakes Resources Goldfields Giants, Mike Barnett Sports Complex 11.30am
Kalamunda Eastern Suns v Perry Lakes Hawks, Ray Owen Sports Centre 2pm

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Mick Cronin




Comments

Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.

Create A Team App Account.

Stack Team App is a platform that allows teams and social groups to improve communication by creating their own smartphone app.

Create A Team/Club