With third spot on the Big V division one ladder now safely secured, the focus for Josh Waight and the Shepparton Gators is preparing for a cut-throat finals series as they embark on the last fortnight of the home-and-away season.
Next on the agenda is a trip to Bellarine to face a Storm side desperate to consolidate its position in fourth spot as the post-season approaches.
Sporting an excellent 12-8 record, Bellarine has been a tough assignment for all division one contenders this season, with its hard-nosed style of play making it a team nobody can take lightly.
Waight said this game served as fantastic preparation for his team in the lead-up to the finals.
“This is a really good on opportunity for us just to continue our good form and get more experience playing on the road leading into the finals,” Waight said.
“They are going to play finals as well, so it will be a good chance to replicate that intensity and face some of the best players in the competition.
“So we are really looking forward to this one.”
The second meeting between the two sides this season, the Gators prevailed back in round three with a clinical 84-62 victory at Shepparton Sports Stadium.
But with so much time passing since that victory, Waight said he expected a completely different game this time around and highlighted the areas his team must focus on.
“Our defensive transition will have to be on-point for the full four quarters, they do a really good job of pushing the ball quickly on offence and have some very talented passers,” he said.
“We’ve got to make sure that defensively we aren’t giving up easy buckets and the rest of our game should flow smoothly from that.”
The key to the Gators’ recent success has been a wide variety of scorers, with multiple players stepping up to see them reel off nine wins from their last 10 starts.
With US import Garrett Jefferson landing 31 points in last week’s win over RMIT, Waight said he expected extra defensive attention for his star to lead to greater opportunities for the likes of Dylan Wilkie, Sam Beks and Matt Bartlett.
“The beauty of the group is we aren’t relying on just one person, Garrett had a really good game last week and hopefully he can continue that into this one, but we know we have multiple players that can score,” he said.
“We’ll be hoping to see lots of people set up on Saturday night and produce a complete team effort.”
The Gators travel to Bellarine Sports Stadium on Saturday night to take on the Storm with tip-off at 8pm.