CABL Round 13

MEN Report: Tigers still seek Finals

The Southern Tigers kept their finals hopes alive on Saturday, taking their record to 6-7 with a 5 point over the North Adelaide Rockets at Morphett Vale Stadium.

The Tigers raced away at the start, opening up a 9 point lead at the first break, and then going on to create a 13 point buffer at half time. Rocket’s captain Thomas Rowe worked hard to inspire his side in the second quarter, however it was tough going. Southern’s Samuel Johns and Sam McDaniel had 8 points each at half time, as did as Pero Vasiljevic and Daniel Goodluck for the Rockets.

The third quarter was kept relatively even for the most part until a three from Luke Mapunda gave the Rockets that much needed spark to draw the game closer. Goodluck fired away bringing the margin back to 4 points, before a miraculous half-court shot from Luke Pike on the three-quarter time buzzer left the two sides separated by only a point!

The fourth quarter went eye for an eye all the way to the end, with both the Rockets and Tigers sharing the reigns during the quarter. Southern were holding onto a small 4-point lead for majority of the quarter after the Rockets peeped ahead by a point at one stage. The crucial three-pointer to square the scores with 10 seconds to go was missed by Rowe, allowing the Tigers to eventually prevail by 5 points.

McDaniel had a brilliant night under the bucket, pulling down 15 rebounds to go with his team-high 16 points. Cody Ellison contributed 13 points, as well as 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Goodluck sunk 17 points as North Adelaide’s top scorer, alongside Rowe with 11 points and Vasiljevic with 10.

WOMEN Report: Rockets Demolish Tigers

The North Adelaide Rockets had a night out at Morphett Vale on Saturday, smashing the Southern Tigers by a hefty 58 points to notch up their tenth win of the season – the competition’s second highest defeat of 2014.

Jo Hill quietly stamped her place in the game early on for the Rockets, chalking up 11 points in the first quarter. The Rockets lead by 10 points at the first break, but only due to some clutch three-point shooting from Southern’s Kelsie Rutland, who sunk two threes quickly before the break to give the scoreline some respectability.

However the second quarter began the flow of one-way traffic, with turnovers proving vastly expensive for the Tigers (37-13 points from turnovers for the match), as they watched their opposition cruise to a 22-point lead at half time. Rutland did all she could for her struggling side, racking up 20 points at the half. Hill and Jamie-Lee Peris had tallied 9 steals between them at that point for North Adelaide.

The experience of the Rocket’s talls were evident in the second half, as Hill and Peris shut down a lot of the Tiger’s scoring action in defence. Smart, smooth and well executed plays in transition to offense were all North Adelaide cared to display, as they made their way to a 33-point lead at the last change.

However it was a blow-out final quarter that had everybody shell-shocked, as the Rockets went 34-9 for the final ten minutes of the game, extending the margin to 58 points at the close.

Rutland played the entire second half without a break, only to register 2 points. Hill finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 8 steals, alongside Peris who managed 13 points, 9 rebounds and 6 steals for the night. Jess Smart also starred for the Rockets, finishing with 18 points, 6 assists and 6 steals.

CABL Round 10

MEN Report: Norwood rout Sabres at Home

The Norwood Flames made a complete mess of the Sturt Sabres on Saturday night at MARS Stadium, running away with a 33-point win.

A balanced opening quarter wasn’t surprising, as Mark Bauer and Jordan Heading got involved early for the Sabres and made themselves known. Norwood’s Mathew Lycett seemed very comfortable on home court, helping the Flames to a 6 point lead the first break.

Sturt kept up with the Flames at the beginning of the second, however a 14-2 run was what steamrolled the Sabres into the ground. Norwood showed pure class under extreme pressure and at high intensity, with the margin escalating from 3 points to 20 all in the one quarter, as the Flames lead 45-26 at the half time break.

Maher’s men came out bolstering out of the gates in the second half with a bit of spark, however it only got uglier. Matthew Long combined with Andrew and Daniel Webber to force the lead out to 28 points and really stamp their authority on the game. Norwood lead 71-43 with a quarter to play.

The Flames took the fourth quarter as an opportunity to give their bench players some extra run on the court, as they continued to force high intensity pressure and restrict a lot of scoring in defence. The final score saw the Flames win by a comfortable 33 points, 89-56.

After a 33 point exhibition last week against the Tigers, Dexter Moore (Sabres) had a poor night, sinking 2/21 field goal attempts, and 9 points all together for the night. The only Sabre to score double digits was Heading with 13 points. Norwood’s talls were dominant in the paint, scoring 40 points to 18 inside the lane. Long finished up with 19 points for the night, while Lycett scored 16 points and 9 rebounds. Daniel Webber also scratched up 16 points for himself.

WOMEN Report: Flames' streak ends in Overtime

In what was undoubtedly the most astonishing match we have seen so far this year, the Sturt Women prevailed in enemy territory as they snapped Norwood’s remarkable 31-game win streak in a one point overtime thriller at MARS Stadium on Saturday night.

This game had it all - and if 11 tied scores and 17 lead changes for the night doesn’t tell you enough, the margins will.

The game was relatively even to start the game, with the scores level 20 apiece at quarter time. The intensity was high and it was telling that the next three quarters were going to be just as tough. Hannah Richards (Sabres) wasted no time making her presence known under the bucket, while Jessica Good and Amy Lewis (Flames) made strong first impressions on the game.

The second quarter saw Norwood pull away, as they found themselves back in their familiar game-controlling character. Some poor passing errors in offense for Sturt helped the Flames build a comfortable 11 point lead, with Lewis and Cara Boothy stepping up to the plate for the Flames. In the final play of the quarter, Natalie Novosel (Sabres) sunk three points to restrain the deficit to only 6 points (44-38).

Inspired by Novosel, Sturt replied with more fight in the third quarter, working their way back into the game. The Sabres produced an astounding 27-15 quarter, tipping the tables entirely on the game. Kelsey Ireland thought she had kept the margin to three points at the final break, sinking one from behind the arc with seconds remaining; however Caroline Burgess brought the house down with a magical half-court launch on the buzzer to put Sturt back in front by 6 at the final change! (59-65)

The Flames came out firing, although a three-point shot from Lucy Spalding put the Sabres in a commanding position, as they lead by 10 points with seven minutes to play. However some terrific basketball from Good and Lewis brought Norwood back into the contest, squaring the game up with just two minutes to go, and leading by three points with only 4 seconds remaining.

The final pass in from the sideline for Sturt found Kate Gladstone, and standing three metres from the three point arc, she swished an incredible shot on the buzzer to take the game into overtime with the scores at 80-80!

A one point lead was bounced back and forth between both teams in the overtime period as they exchanged goals at each end, before Novosel came to the rescue once more with 13 seconds left to put the Sabres in front. Norwood had the chance to win the game with the final two possessions, but they were both no good and Sturt scraped across the line in what was an epic nail-biter for the ages!

Natalie Novosel contributed a spirited 34 point performance, assisted by Richards and Spalding who finished with 15 points each. Boothy and Lewis amounted 24 and 25 points respectively, while Good brought down 14 rebounds along with 12 points. But as for Norwood, it just wasn’t enough, as they fall to their first loss of the season, and their first in 31 games – a record which will stand as one of the greatest in the competition’s history.

Aussies Over-Confident?

Every Australian sports fan knows that there's nothing better than thumping our English rivals in the Ashes, especially after being beaten three series' in a row! Revenge is oh-so sweet, and Australia has been making the most of this celebration. The whole country has established a cult following behind Mitchell Johnson and his newly trademarked 'mo', and the critics have finally hushed about Pup's captaincy by sticking party blowers in their mouths. This is all great, but have we all been celebrating for too long?

Of course, after any team wins a premiership one season, there always comes that time where the celebrations end and the focus is shifted back onto preparing for the next season. Unfortunately in cricket, because the game has no proper 'off-season' where the players can celebrate and refocus, the players are effectively shifted from their glory and celebrations of one series immediately into a new one. Because of this, the momentum and confidence from the last series is still well and truly alive within the playing group, however this is where it can go one of two ways.

That momentum can be helpful in terms of building confidence - when the side is in trouble in the match, the team's capabilities can be easily be reassured. However if the momentum is so much that it effects the way the players play, then things can get very dangerous.

The first test against South Africa is a perfect example. Several players traveled over to South Africa early to begin their preparations while the one day series was being played back at home. However despite the fact that the team's full focus was on South Africa, there is no doubt that after such a miraculous and emotionally driven victory on home soil that the Aussie playing group's tails were up higher than ever before in any of their careers. In the first test, three Australian batsmen hit centuries while the bowlers restricted South Africa to 200 and 206 - Australia won comfortably by 281 runs on Day 4. An embarrassing loss for the home side, and those Aussie tails began wagging even higher again. South Africa, the country that the world's media had claimed would be the one team that would give Australia a run for their money, got walked all over.

However the tables turned in the second test, almost identically. Three South African batsmen made centuries, while their bowlers kept Australia to just 246 and 216. South Africa won by 231 runs on Day 4. It all changed in such a short space of time... and the question is, how?

Australia's spearhead, Johnson, only managed to back up his extraordinary 12 wicket haul in the first test with 3 wickets in the second test. Shaun Marsh backed up his 192 run first test (including his impressive 148) in Centurion with a pair of ducks in Port Elizabeth. The difference? The efforts in the first test match were disciplined and the achievements were earned. South Africa played a brand of cricket that Australia had played against them in the previous test, and that they had also been playing all summer at home against England. This second test saw a much more aggressive and determined South African side and, what seemed like, an unusually relaxed Australian outfit.

Though there is one Australian player who has kept his consistent aggressive form throughout both tests, and that's David Warner. Warner is known for his aggressive style of batting, and he knows that he plays best when he is in that mentality. With 115 in the second innings of the first test, followed by 70 and 66 in the second test, Warner is the single player in the Aussie dressing room with any consistent form. Don't turn your head to Clarke, not one of his last 11 innings have exceeded 25 runs. Haddin has only managed just 10 runs from three innings. And Rogers may have hit 107 in Port Elizabeth, but his three innings prior to that (1, 4 and 5) tells us it was a display of discipline and grit as he stuck in with Warner in a time of need.

So we ask the question, has Australia become a little over-confident with themselves? Have they taken the foot off the accelerator? Without the aggressive attitude towards the game and drive to take on the opposition, the Australian team does not look as intimidating. South Africa found the way to expose that side of Australia, and in the third test beginning on Saturday, both sides will be ardent and ready to show who really is the most fierce team in the world of test cricket.

Vote in the Austral Sports Opinion Poll to share your opinion.