North Sydney Red at Norths

Ouch! Nathan clunks into a North Sydney defender on the drive.

Going up: Kurt makes a highlight reel shot after a fast break.

Whack! Both boys go strongly for the jump ball.

Shot! Jack Suva takes a shot after driving to the baseline.

Challenged: Aaron shoots under pressure.














North Sydney Red at North Sydney
June 4
Loss 48-31.

Against the toughest team in the competition three of our boys responded with personal bests. Jackson Suva picked up his first block of the season, Jackson Gogoll got two blocks and Anthony Rodriguez shot the lights out and picked up 14 points - a fraction under half of the total points for the entire team. The lolly bag certainly took a hit after we promised a free dip to those boys who got a personal best in any category.

It was a strong game all round with our assistant coach, Jim Gogoll, taking over for this one. Jim worked on an effort strategy, as long as the boys worked hard they stayed out.

Nathan McOrist definitely worked hard. He took some heavy hits in this game, coming down hard on his elbow in the first half, but just like Dwayne Wade he bounced up again. It was good to see him get to the free throw line with that extra passion.

Jackson Suva had a good game distributing well and coming back quickly on defence. His spectacular leaping block against a much taller player was a highlight of the game.

Michael Northey is growing in confidence, so much so that he has started taking outside shots. If he had driven to the basket there is little doubt that he would have been more successful and maybe he would have got to the free throw line on fouls. Defensively as always he was a powerhouse.

Kurt Joyner had yet another stat-sheet-stuffer game. He was all over the court and mixed his trademark defence with some excellent attacks on the basket. It's great to see his confidence return after a quiet mid season.

Aaron Caldwell had another solid game and is maintaining the best field goal percentage for the season. It was great to see him looking ahead for passes to set up a fast break in this game.

Jackson Gogoll may have had an ordinary shooting game but he was a leader on defence. His two blocks and harassing play were a key to limiting North Sydney's attack. He always shows the greatest intensity on the court and often forces opposing teams into mistakes.

James Trimble had perhaps his quietest game of the season, but he was still an asset when it came to bringing up the ball. When ever we got caught in traps down court, James was there. He always took the ball and drove straight towards the middle where we set up some strong plays. His defence is unrelenting. James may have the best lateral movement on this team and always forces opposing teams to pass or work wide.

Addam Stone had a solid all round game. His ball protection, as usual, was excellent and he made the most of the few offensive touches he got. It was really a case of the team focusing much more on the right side of the court in this game, so he wasn't as involved as he normally would be in the offensive plays. On the video it was quite clear that for the majority of the game he moved up and down the court ahead of the ball, which was excellent.

Anthony Rodriguez was outstanding and was rightly named our MVP. His strong drives to the basket and his put back rebounds against the strongest rebounding team in the competition for 14 points were impressive. Anthony could be on the edge of a strong run into the rest of the season if he keeps playing this way. His three steals came off great anticipation, intercepting passes with sudden turns of speed.

Overall the team played well against a very strong North Sydney side. We will be playing North Sydney Black after the bye this week. It will be interesting to see if the boys can maintain this form. If so, there may be more wins in the second half of the season than there were in the first.

Scorers: A Rodriguez (14), K Joyner (5), J Suva (4), A Caldwell, A Stone (3), N McOrist (2)

4. Nathan McOrist
Goals - Attempted: 5. Made: 0. Percentage: 0%
Free throws - Attempted: 4. Made: 2. Percentage: 50%
Rebounds: 1. Steals: 1. Assists: 0.
Turnovers: 2. Blocks: 0.
Points: 2.


5. Jackson Suva
Goals - Attempted: 4. Made: 2. Percentage: 50%
Free throws - Attempted: 0. Made: 0. Percentage: N/A
Rebounds: 2. Steals: 3. Assists: 0.
Turnovers: 6. Blocks: 1. (PB)
Points: 4.

6. Michael Northey
Goals - Attempted: 4. Made: 0. Percentage: 0%
Free throws - Attempted: 0. Made: 0. Percentage: N/A
Rebounds: 0. Steals: 1. Assists: 0.
Turnovers: 5. Blocks: 0.
Points: 0.

7. Kurt Joyner
Goals - Attempted: 9. Made: 1. Percentage: 11%
Free throws - Attempted: 4. Made: 3. Percentage: 75%
Rebounds: 6. Steals: 2. Assists: 0.
Turnovers: 7. Blocks: 1.
Points: 5.

8. Aaron Caldwell
Goals - Attempted: 3. Made: 1. Percentage: 33%
Free throws - Attempted: 2. Made: 1. Percentage: 50%
Rebounds: 2. Steals: 1. Assists: 0.
Turnovers: 2. Blocks: 0.
Points: 3.

9. Jackson Gogoll
Goals - Attempted: 6. Made: 0. Percentage: 0%
Free throws - Attempted: 2. Made: 0. Percentage: 0%
Rebounds: 3. Steals: 1. Assists: 0.
Turnovers: 4. Blocks: 2.(PB)
Points: 0.

12. James Trimble
Goals - Attempted: 7. Made: 0. Percentage: 0%
Free throws - Attempted: 0. Made: 0. Percentage: N/A
Rebounds: 3. Steals: 0. Assists: 0.
Turnovers: 0. Blocks: 0.
Points: 0.

13. Addam Stone
Goals - Attempted: 3. Made: 1. Percentage: 33%
Free throws - Attempted: 2. Made: 1. Percentage: 50%A
Rebounds: 1. Steals: 1. Assists: 0.
Turnovers: 2. Blocks: 0.
Points: 3.

31. Anthony Rodriguez
Goals - Attempted: 13. Made: 6. Percentage: 46%
Free throws - Attempted: 2. Made: 2. Percentage: 100%
Rebounds: 7. Steals: 3. Assists: 0.
Turnovers: 3. Blocks: 0.
Points: 14.(PB)

Best by category
Scorers: A Rodriguez (14), K Joyner (5)
Rebounds: A Rodriguez (7), K Joyner (6)
Steals: A Rodriguez, J Suva (3)
Turnovers (lowest): J Trimble (0)
Blocks: J Gogoll (2)