TAMWORTH Thunderbolts bounced back to a Waratah State League win with a 36-point win over Central Coast Crusaders in the Tamworth Sports Dome on Saturday night.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The John Ireland-coached Thunderbolts won 85-49 in what Ireland thought was a “tail of two halves”.
The Thunderbolts led 42-24 at half-time but it was their defence that had Ireland worried.
“Offensively we were real good in the first half,” Ireland said.
“We moved the ball well, looked to score and were aggressive but, defensively, we were poor.
“At half-time I asked the boys for a bit more effort in defence and they responded.
“They did a real good job, lifted their intensity in defence, so I was pretty happy with that.”
He was also more than happy with little guard Matt Monckton.
“Matty was outstanding in that first quarter,” Ireland said.
“He changed the tempo for us, got to the hoop as well as bombing a big three.”
David Bourke also inspired the defensive efforts, the skipper pulling in some big boards.
“He would have had to have at least 12 rebounds,” Ireland said.
“His presence was great, kept getting boards and put backs too.”
The second half was also a good opportunity for Ireland to give “everyone a run”.
“That’s a good win for us against a Pool B team, and could help us down the track,” he said.
“We play a double header this weekend, Port Macquarie on Saturday night and Bellingen Braves on Sunday.
“Bellingen have improved out of sight and Port are a real danger.
“It’s a massive game for us because they beat Hills last week.
“The Hills won the whole thing last year and Port beat them by 24.”
TAMWORTH THUNDERBOLTS 85 (Justin Leehy 12, Matt Monckton 11, Jonny Miller 11, Rhys Chillingworth 10, Jayden Pryer 7, Ben Eather 7, Phil Sobieszuk 6, David Bourke 4, Cody Miller 4, Luke Krug 2) d CENTRAL COAST CRUSADERS 49 (Dylan Russell 12, Kurtis Hammer 10, Josh Stevensen 9, Shaun Stevensen 8, Jacob Bishop 6, Marcus Saguiguit 4)
