Men's Game Preview - Southern v South Adelaide

Shane Boal

Saturday April 17, 8:15pm at Morphett Vale

Southern Tigers

South Adelaide Panthers

Minor Round Record

6th – 2 Wins and 3 Losses

7th – 1 Win and 4 Losses

Head Coach

Heath Jury

Jason Baylis

Top Scorer

Shane Boal – 16.4 ppg

Sam Gazzo – 21.8 ppg

Top Rebounder

Mark Paget – 11.0 rpg

Luke Frost – 7.6 rpg

Top Assists

Joel Goodenough – 3.8 apg

Luke Frost – 3.2 apg

The proximity of Southern and South has resulted in a true rivalry across age groups and genders, and at men's level, both teams employ a style of play that leads itself to tough, low-scoring battles.

The Tigers have shown glimpses this year that they may improve on recent showings, and push for their first finals berth since 2004. With the loss of Brad Bungey interstate, the Tigers boast a small lineup, and with their only true centre Mark Paget splitting time between basketball and football, the Tigers success or otherwise has been coming from the perimeter. Shane Boal had a night out against Sturt, with 27 points including 5 threes. In Southern's other win against Centrals, Boal was also the main contributer, with 23 points at 53%.

Tristan Braithwaite has been the next best for the Tigers. Coming off consecutive 20 point games, Southern need him to be firing on all cylinders to keep the score board ticking over.

Heading into 3/4 time, the Panthers have had good chances to win each of their five games this season. However, as the record show, they are 1 and 4. It must be frustrating for Jason Baylis that results are not indicating the team's vast improvement from 2009, though with a back-half of the schedule that includes three of the other four teams in the bottom half of the ladder, there must still be hope that the Panthers’ mid-season record will be reasonable.

Sam Gazzo has been an absolute bonus for South. Gazzo is averaging 21 points per game (3rd in the league) and his 26 points at 56% were pivotal in South's win over Woodville. He has brought a new level of energy to the Panthers' defence and a more disciplined culture to its offence. Combined with fellow Victorian Tim Pickert, the Panther’s backcourt should have a great battle with Boal and Braithwaite.

South's size may be a factor in this one. Steve Pilkington will tower over most of the Tigers, and his helpside defence may limit the effectiveness of Southern's penetration. Look out for a potential matchup between Brandon Brine and Lachlan Prest, both members of SA's silver-medal winning Under 20 state team.




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