Pre-season v Manly

Above: The boys warm up before the game


Pre-season game, February 12
Manly Sea Eagles div 2 v Sutherland Sharks 2b
Loss 38-36.

In a tight contest that went right down to the final possession the boys fell just short after some stifling defence by Manly in the last few seconds of the game.
That said, there were some great plays by all the members of our team.
Nathan McOrist, our top scorer with 17 points, showed how important it was to get to the hot spots. He had 18 shots, ten more than any other player, simply because he was always the first person close to the basket. If the rest of the boys follow his example and get to the hotspots, they will have the same opportunity to score big points.
Michael Northey and Jackson Gogoll will also increase their scores if they work on fast break lay-ups. Both of them had steals that led to fast breaks but were unable to convert. A division-1 player this year had the same problem last year when he played in division-2 but with a little practice he is now one of the most valuable point guards in the top team, and he scores well.
Yet they contributed in many other ways, especially in defence. Michael Northey was outstanding on the boards pulling down eight rebounds. Anthony Rodriguez was also fierce with another seven and also showed he had a sharp outlet pass. Our other big man, James Trimble, had a quiet rebounding game but showed excellent court sense when he offloaded a pass while triple-teamed in the key to create an easy basket for Nathan.
The two Jacks, Jackson Suva and Jackson Gogoll, along with Aaron Caldwell were also great on defence. They showed quick hand speed and great anticipation, with a combined 13 steals between them. All three see the court really well.
Addam Stone showed great ball control and on the two occasions that he brought the ball up, the team scored off his long and accurate passes. He also drove strongly to the basket.
Perhaps the most encouraging part of the game was the number of "stat sheet stuffers" we had - players who worked on every part of the game.
Anthony Rodriguez filled every column, including the blocks while Jackson Suva, Nathan McOrist and Addam Stone all contributed across the board.

Scorers: N McOrist 17, A Rodriguez 6, A Stone 6, J Suva 5, A Caldwell 6.
Rebounders (top 5): M Northey 8, A Rodriguez 7, J Gogoll / J Suva 5, J Trimble / N McOrist 3
Steals: J Gogoll 5, A Caldwell/J Suva 4, A Rodriguez 3, A Stone 2
Assists: A Stone 2, A Rodriguez/J Suva/J Trimble 1
Blocks: A Rodriguez 3, A Caldwell 2.


Statistics

4. Nathan McOrist
Field goals: - Attempted:18 Made:8 Shooting percentage: 44%
Free throws: - Attempted: 2 Made: 1 Shooting percentage: 50%
Rebounds: 3 Steals: 0 Assists: 0 Turnovers: 1 Blocks: 0
Points: 6

5. Jackson Suva
Fields goals:- Attempted: 6 Made: 2 Shooting percentage: 33%
Free throws:- Attempted: 2 Made: 1 Shooting percentage: 50%
Rebounds: 5 Steals: 4 Assists: 1 Turnovers: 3 Blocks: 0
Points: 5

6 Michael Northey
Fields goals:- Attempted: 8 Made: 0 Shooting percentage: 0%
Free throws:- Attempted: - Made: - Shooting percentage: -
Rebounds: 8 Steals: 1 Assists: 0 Turnovers: 4 Blocks: 0
Points: 0

8. Aaron Caldwell
Fields goals:- Attempted: 1 Made: 1 Shooting percentage: 100%
Free throws:- Attempted: - Made: - Shooting percentage: -
Rebounds: 1 Steals: 4 Assists: 0 Turnovers: 3 Blocks: 2
Points: 2

9. Jackson Gogoll
Fields goals:- Attempted: 6 Made: 0 Shooting percentage: 0%
Free throws:- Attempted: - Made: - Shooting percentage: -
Rebounds: 5 Steals: 5 Assists: 0 Turnovers: 8 Blocks: 0
Points: 0

12. James Trimble
Fields goals:- Attempted: 2 Made: 0 Shooting percentage: 0%
Free throws:- Attempted: - Made: - Shooting percentage: -
Rebounds: 3 Steals: 0 Assists: 1 Turnovers: 4 Blocks: 0
Points: 0

13. Addam Stone
Fields goals:- Attempted: 6 Made: 3 Shooting percentage: 50%
Free throws:- Attempted: - Made: - Shooting percentage: -
Rebounds: 1 Steals: 2 Assists: 2 Turnovers: 2 Blocks: 0
Points: 6

31. Anthony Rodriguez
Fields goals:- Attempted: 5 Made: 3 Shooting percentage: 60%
Free throws:- Attempted: - Made: - Shooting percentage: -
Rebounds: 7 Steals: 3 Assists: 1 Turnovers: 3 Blocks: 3
Points: 6