Tigers return to winners list

The Melbourne Tigers returned to the winners list with a solid team performance to beat the Townsville Crocodiles 98-83 at the State Netball and Hockey Centre tonight.

The home side rebounded from a tough midweek loss in Perth to run out comfortable winners over the Crocs, who couldn't find the form that saw them score a nail-biting win over the Breakers in New Zealand three nights earlier. Playing their fourth match in just eight days, the Tigers relied on their rebounding and scoring power from the bench to take control of the game.

The Tigers dominated the boards (62-44) while six players scored in double figures along with receiving a massive 43 points off the bench compared to just 11 from Townsville.

Veteran point guard Darryl McDonald and sixth-man Stephen Hoare top-scored for Melbourne with 14 points, Hoare also adding 11 rebounds. Chris Anstey and Dave Thomas were quiet on the night but both managed 13 points while bench players Darryl Corletto (11 points) and Axel Dench (10 points – all in the second quarter) were also important.

“The starting group struggled a bit and didn't shoot the ball as well as they have been,” Melbourne Tigers coach Alan Westover remarked post-game. “Hoarey came in with a double-double off the bench and that was huge for us.”

Young Townsville guard Brad Newley amassed 30 points in a dominant display, impressing with his athleticism and outside shooting. John Rillie added 18 points while import guard Jelani Gardner (13 points) and Daniel Egan (10 points and 12 rebounds) were other good players.

The Tigers got an early jump on Townsville with a 9-1 opening run, highlighted by a dynamic alley-oop jam from import Dave Thomas. After calling an early time-out and taking almost five minutes to hit their first field goal, the visitors shot to the lead with a run of ten straight points including consecutive one-handed jams from Newley.

But the home side regained the lead on the back of their bench players, Stephen Hoare adding six points to lead all scorers for the quarter and help his side establish a 22-18 lead.

Melbourne continued to build on their lead after quarter time with a 16-8 run, Axel Dench compiling ten points including two three-pointers and Darryl McDonald breaking away for a rare slam dunk.

Townsville again responded straight from a timeout with the next five points but two baskets in the last thirty seconds from backup guard Nathan Croswell, the last after the Tigers forced a backcourt violation with 15 seconds on the clock, gave them a 46-39 half time lead.

Melbourne made their move in the third quarter with tough defence and dominant rebounding and despite the best efforts of Newley (15 points for the quarter), powered to a 17-point lead at three quarter time.

After a quiet first half, Chris Anstey stepped up with nine points as the Tigers racked up 34 points for the quarter, hitting 13 of 14 free throws.

The lead blew out to as much as 22 points early in the last before Newley and Gardner found their range from beyond the arc, fuelling a 12-0 run to send jitters through the 2898 fans. But with the gap closed to just ten points, a quick-handed steal from McDonald set up Rashad Tucker for the easy lay-in that killed off any hope of a comeback, the home side cruising to victory from there.

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