Sport
2 November, 2023
Blazers look for winning form
It’s an important Saturday night for the Maryborough Blazers men’s and women’s teams as they seek to continue recent good form. With five games to go, the men’s Blazers will likely have to win every game, and the task this week is a tough...
It’s an important Saturday night for the Maryborough Blazers men’s and women’s teams as they seek to continue recent good form.
With five games to go, the men’s Blazers will likely have to win every game, and the task this week is a tough one as they host second-placed Castlemaine Cannons at home.
However, on the evidence of the two teams’ meeting two weeks ago, the Blazers appear to be right in the thick of things.
More importantly, with their best team in, they are starting to show what they are capable of.
Two weeks ago, overtime was needed to separate the two teams, with Castlemaine scoring nine points to five in the extra period to eventually record a four-point win.
Maryborough scored 19 points to nine in the final term to force overtime after sitting 10 points behind following the opening three quarters, with the work of Brady Neill and Zac Dunmore pivotal.
Dunmore, in his first two games with the Blazers two weeks ago, showed that he was simply a class above, scoring 50 points across the Blazers’ matchups with Melton Thoroughbreds and Castlemaine, and another good performance could get the Blazers across the line.
Neill has continued to show his elite scoring prowess throughout the season, scoring 16 points against the Cannons, and sits in the top 10 for scoring with 74 points for the season.
Bailey Jacobs and Lachlan Drummond come into this game enjoying solid form as well, with Drummond scoring 24 points across the round three weekend, while Jacobs scored eight points in both of their double-header games.
There is still plenty to play out for the Blazers, but they will need to start winning.
It’s a similar story for the Lady Blazers, however, last week may be a sign of things to come with their best lineup.
Like the men’s team, they still sit three games behind the top four with five games to play, and will most likely need to win all their games to be a chance of making it, but last week was a good start as they finally broke their duck for the season, defeating the Macedon Ranges Rockies 84-68.
They now host the Kyneton Tigers, fresh off a heartbreaking loss in round two.
The Lady Blazers, in that game, were able to sit six points in front at the last change, but went scoreless in the last term, while Kyneton poured in 17 points to eventually finish up as 11 point winners.
However, lessons from that game have been applied to their last two clashes, and have been more than competitive.
Last week, the Lady Blazers finally put it all together.
The return Elisa Pica certainly helped with her defensive presence, while Faith McKenzie continued to show just how much of an offensive force she has been throughout the season, scoring 26 points to be one of four players this season to score 100 points.
Maddy Egan provided great support in scoring 20 points of her own, while Sophie Pica was terrific from behind the three-point line, leading all comers on the night with four as she scored 18 points.
With plenty of lineup changes during the season, it’s been an opportunity for a number of younger players to step up into the Lady Blazers setup, as well as some more reinforcements.
Demi Thompson and Alicia Mewett were the latest players to represent the Lady Blazers over the weekend, with 18 players already pulling on the singlet this season.
However, with their best lineup in, the Lady Blazers will fancy their chances against the second-placed Tigers this week.