With both teams absent from the Blitz, a men's pre-season trial game between Norwood and Eastern at Mars on Saturday night provided them with some valuable match practice, a week prior to the start of the Central ABL season.

For Eastern, who will field a vastly different team this season, it was a chance for the to get used to the new roster. For Norwood, it was a chance to put the final touches on preparation for a season in which it would hope it can improve on last season's third placing.

Eastern add Jye Watson and Phil Modra (Centrals) and Shane Breheny (Sturt) to the group, which partially offsets the loss of  Brad Davis (retired), Jacob Holmes, Ben Madgen (Augusta State University) and Ben Trebilcok. Scoring machine Watson showed flashes of his 2005 form in this game, but will have to carry a fair chunk of the Mavs' scoring load until the return of Brad Hill.

The Flames will field a similar group to the team that was a Jason Dix three pointer away from a 2006 Grand Final, but the return of Dan Thompson bolsters the already formidable front court of David Cooper and Keith Krause.

Norwood started the game in a full court trap which forced some early Eastern turnovers, and Norwood raced to a fifteen point lead. Consecutive three pointers from Phil Modra, layups from Shane Breheny and a dunk from Brad Bungey in the 2^nd quarter brought the lead in to 10, and a Modra three just before the main break reduced it to 5.

Keith Krause arrived for the game at half time and took less than 60 seconds to get up, and knock down, his first 3. A couple of deep seals and athletic finishes from Thompson gave the Flames a 15 point lead at ÃfÂff,ÃfÂf,ÃfÂ,Ã,¾ time.

Eastern started the 4^th with a Steve Williams no-looker to a trailing Breheny for a layup, but then David Cooper exploded for two dunks to keep the lead static. Some push-and-shove between Krause and Bungey split a 9-1 Mavs run, and with 7 minutes to go, Eastern were down 83-77.

A Todd Matthews three with 3 minutes to go pushed the lead to ten, and Eastern didn't score for the rest of the game. The final result was a victory to Norwood, 107-88.

Those that remember Thompson from previous years will know he can play on the perimeter, but he spent most of this game posting up against the shorter Mavs front cout. Matthews and Williams are both pass-first point guards whose leadership has benefited from time in the NCAA, and both teams will be looking forward to them playing a full season this year. Bungey will have increased opportunities and expectations in the abasence of Trebilcock, although Eastern's front court might struggle in one of the biggest league's in recent memory. Norwood looked pretty solid all night, and will benefit from suiting a team that is relatively unchanged from last season. If they can improve on last years 5 and 5 start, they may not have to make their finals run from fifth place.