By RUSSELL BENNETT
AN EMPHATIC block from new Pakenham Warriors swingman Jim Viray early in the fourth quarter of their first pre-season hitout of the year epitomised everything head coach Ryan Rogers is trying to get out of his team.
The Warriors were already up big in the contest on their home floor at the Colosseum on Sunday, leading Big V Division 2 rival Coburg by a whopping 27 points at three-quarter-time.
But Viray and his new team mates refused to drop their intensity. It would have been easy to take the foot off the accelerator and cruise to the line, but they pressed the metal at every change – storming to a 78-49 win.
It was an impressive sign, given there were no championship points on offer.
But Rogers and his men had plenty to gain from the contest. There were a host of fresh faces in the side and this was their first hit-out as a new group.
Make no mistake, they were scratchy in their execution to start with and Rogers had the odd stern word to say in timeouts, but the Warriors played with a winning intensity from beginning to end.
They constantly showed active hands with the ball swinging around the perimeter, inside the paint and back out again.
The work on the defensive glass early from athletic bigs Jamie Stow and Sean Armstrong helped set the tone for their team mates to explode on the fastbreaks into the open court, while the returning Savin Lopez impressed in his new role in the offense.
Warriors star James Topp top-scored in the win with 15 points and showed little sign of a knee injury he suffered earlier in the pre-season. But more than his scoring output, his on-floor chemistry with new point-guard Cam Luke shone through and Rogers was thrilled about it.
“Cam is still trying to find his shot again after barely touching a ball for four years or so but he runs the ship for us and gets the guys really organised,” Rogers said.
“He knows when to break and when to give the guys some room on particular matchups and defensively he’s really, really solid.”
Despite being what Rogers described as “careless with the ball in patches”, the Warriors’ performance was absolutely clinical – they hit the glass hard, constantly got out in transition and defended the paint by committee – all ominous signs for the rest of the league.
