Sport
25 November, 2021
Tornadoes set for CBL season opener
COUNTRY League Basketball will return to the Terang Stadium this weekend with the Terang Tornadoes set to host a double header.
COUNTRY League Basketball will return to the Terang Stadium this weekend with the Terang Tornadoes set to host a double header.
The men’s and women’s sides will welcome Colac Kookas and Horsham Hornets respectively on Saturday night before both sides front up against Mount Gambier Lakers on Sunday afternoon.
Men’s co-coach Scott Judd, who will share the role with Bailey Kemp, said excitement was abuzz at the stadium ahead of the opening tip-off.
“We don’t have a domestic season going on at the moment so hopefully this creates a bit of a buzz for the community,” he said.
“We’ve got a few kids coming through in both women’s and men’s hopefully that builds that buzz and we have squad going on to.”
Judd said the men’s squad would feature a mix of new talent and familiar faces this season.
“Five boys have come through our squad program and three of them will be getting an opportunity over the first few weeks,” he said.
“We’ve got a bit of youth in there and then it’s made up by the same core group and two Warrnambool guys in Aidan Carroll and Bayley McGowan.
“The squad should be full of energy rather than being a bit stagnet (to past years).”
Judd and Kemp are are planning to let their charges play on instinct rather than structure as they aim to keep things simple this year.
“With a short preparation, there is only going to be a few plays involved,” he said.
“It’s going to be playing on instinct rather than having too much structure and allow that natural basketball to play.
“We’ll see what our talent can but also give our guys a chance and the confidence to go out there and go about their business rather than put too much in front of them.”
As for season expectations, the Tornadoes are aiming to contend for finals.
“Being a smaller association, we’d love to win the whole thing but after the predicament we’ve been in we always just want to make the top four and finals,” Judd said.
“We want to give the guys a chance to see what that’s like and we’ve been lucky enough to make the finals a couple of times.
“That would be a pass mark, just making the top four and then we will see what happens after that.
“We don’t know what any other teams are doing other than seeing a few rosters come out over the last week, so that would be the expectation of the group without talking too much about it.”
The women’s side will return to the court for the first time in two seasons under new coach Hannah Anderson.
The Lady Tornadoes could not field a side in 2019/20, before COVID wiped the 2020/21 campaign.
Anderson said the squad was both excited and nervous ahead of the first games.
“We’re extremely nervous – I’m the oldest at 20 and our youngest is 16 so we’re a very young team but we’re very excited to get back out there,”
“We want to have a bit of fun and get as much experience as possible and get a bit of development as well.
“If this team stays together that would be bloody awesome in a few years time.
“It’ll just be about a bit of development and a bit of fun.”
Anderson will have a roster of 12 this season, and she is expecting the side to mix both offence and defence accordingly.
“We’ve got a few girls who have a good shooting range and a few girls who can drive really well too,” she said.
“They’ve also really impressed with their man-on-man work that theycan do.
The young girls have been together a lot in their squad years so they work really well together.”
Saturday night’s games start at 6pm (women’s) and 8pm (men’s), while Sunday games tip-off at 12pm (women’s) and 2pm (men’s).
All spectators are asked to abide by COVID regulations, with fully vaccinated individuals only able to attend.