It’s a battle of 1st vs 4th in this weekend’s match up against Southern District Spartans for our SmartSkill Seahawks Women and Men’s sides.
With the minor premiership sewn up for the season, with a record currently of 12 wins and 0 losses, the SmartSkill Seahawks Women will be looking to get prepared for their home finals appearance with a strong performance over the 4th placed Spartans team.
Whilst there may be some resting to key players (Krystle Mackenzie – ankle, Charli Reece - back), it will present opportunities to coach Brad Kann’s bench squad to step up in the absence of some starters.
“It will be a great opportunity for our bench to step up with some starters missing” said Kann.
“Heading into the finals, we need everyone from 1 to 12 firing and ready to step up whenever they are needed”
“I’ve been really happy with what Jasmine (Hunter), Tamsyn (Pascoe) and Anahera (Tuhega) have been able to provide off of the bench this year, as well as our seasoned veteran in Taylor Harvey”
“They give us the depth we need to compete, so once we start our rotations throughout the game there’s no let up for the opposition to zero in on our second unit”
“In saying that, we are still preparing for this game like we have all of our starters available, and that a playoff spot is still at risk of being lost”
“We know we’ve had a great season to date, but we aren’t ready to lift the foot off the pedal until we complete our overall goal of being Champions”
The Men’s game will be another huge game for our Seahawks, where they face off against a Southern Districts side that has just slotted themselves into 4th spot after this past weekend’s games.
The Men still have a bit of work to do to seal up a home final, with destiny in their own hands if they win their final two contests.
Hitting their straps as of late, head coach Jordan Mullan recognises the importance of heading into the finals with his team full of confidence.
“We’ve competed extremely hard as a group this past couple of games, and we will be looking to repeat our effort this Saturday night against Southern Districts” said Mullan
“We need to lock into every single possession, offensively and defensively, and not looking to short cut anything”
With veteran Rhys Martin day to day with injury, Mullan will be looking to his guard rotation to fill the void.
“Sasha Lomakin has slotted into the starting spot really well and Mackenzie Hall is getting more confident each game, so it will be up to them to step up to the plate to cover for Rhys if he is rested”
The QSL2 men will kick off the night against 1st placed Sunshine Coast Phoenix Teal, in a match up that can bolster the Seahawks men’s chances of hitting playoffs this season.
This Saturday night will see the return of Tibah O’Brien, who has been sidelined with health issues since the commencement of the season. O’Brien will be a crowd favourite for not only his hard-working playing style, but he also doubles up as the assistant coach to the U14 Boys White team, as well as other programs North Gold Coast Seahawks offer.
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