The Mandurah Magic’s men’s and women’s squads will look to test out new structures and acquire some match fitness when they take to the court for the State Basketball League’s pre-season blitz at Warwick Stadium this weekend.
The two sides will each play four games across two days against fellow SBL opposition, getting the chance to experiment with and examine their latest plays in a competitive environment.
For the young and building Mandurah men’s side, the Blitz poses them an opportunity to gel as a unit before the season proper gets under way in a few weeks.
Head coach Aaron Trahair said his side would relish the chance to play “actual games” outside of the usual training scrimmages.
“Pre-seasons are always a bit of the unknown – you don’t really know what you have until you’ve tested it in games so this is a good chance to run plenty of different plays for different guys,” he said.
“At the moment we don’t really have a natural point guard, so I think whoever spends the Blitz playing that position is going to benefit from learning it.
“I think a side as young as ours will take any chance to play and get a feel for things.”
Mandurah’s women head into the Blitz with a different perspective, boasting a side laden with senior players.
They will look to manage players through the four-game schedule, while getting vital games into the legs of those who need it, according to coach Randy Miegel.
“Some of our girls will play one game and some will play three or maybe four,” he said.
“I think by now most of our girls know what to expect in the pre-season, but we’ll definitely give games to some of the girls we think need to have a few good hit outs.”
The Blitz kicks off at Warwick Stadium on Saturday, with the Magic’s first games at 11am against the South West (men) and Willetton (women).
For more information visit sbl.asn.au
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
