Upsets abound in round 1
Round 1 results of the men's and women's games at the Launch Pad were the opposite to what you might expect, although North's men were unfortunate not to have the services of Ben Groves in what could be their only game of the season without Dusty Rychart and Ryan Kersten. The Bearcats women, who lost a double overtime thriller against North, fielded a quality starting five, but teams with WNBL players often start slowly while they take time to adjust to players who may not have spent much time with the group during the pre-season.
Fans will get two chances to see Rychart and Kersten in action this weekend - first at the Tiger Cage on Saturday night, then back at Hillcrest on Sunday. Who will start? Either or both? How will they handle the jet lag? How will Dusty distribute his winnings from Vegas? Be there to find out.
The Panthers' women start their season this weekend with winnable home games against Forestville and Norwood. Scheduling of the World Police and Fire Games means that South are one of three teams with home doubles this weekend (Centrals and Southern being the other two), and all would be hoping to capitalise on this good fortune in advance of tougher schedules ahead.
Last week saw the Central ABL debut of Forestville's Kane Oakley, whose 19 point and 18 rebound effort was instrumental in the Eagles' win. It also saw the return of Dan Thompson to the Flames, whose 18 points in 24 minutes highlighted his reinvention as an inside player, freeing up Keith Krause to explode from the three point line. Former Townsville forward Kris Davis was instrumental in the Bearcats' victory, as was Brendan Mann.
Eastern's Jane Symons played with a new lease-of-life in the Mavs' upset win against Forestville, and despite an understandable lack of match practice, Jess Mahony's return after a four year absence was another highlight. Southern's Tracey Beatty returned from Canberra on a high, and Forestville's Dee Ranford showed her ability to handle the pressure of being Forestville's main backcourt weapon with 27 points.
As you can see, there's an abundance of talent amongst players both new and returning to the league, and you can catch it at any one of six venues this weekend.
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.