The Tamworth Thunderbolts men's side has undergone a number of changes in the off-season.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
They have welcomed back a former coach, had two international imports join their ranks, and had two stars from their pre-COVID side rejoin the fold.
At the recent Port Macquarie Seaside Classic, they got their first glimpse at how it all came together.
"It was an opportunity to get everybody on the floor at different times," coach John Ireland said.
"I took the whole squad over, so we were able to rotate guys through, rest some of them. At the end of the day, I think we got everybody at least two games out of the three."
On paper, the weekend was a success.
The Thunderbolts beat Port Macquarie in the first game by six points, before losing to Brisbane in the second by 11.
But the loss, Ireland said, was still a chance for some of the squad to showcase their tenacity.
"Max [Clark], our import, got injured in the second quarter," he said.
"Tommy Parsons didn't play, Toby Whale didn't play, Garric [Young], the other import, started cramping up in the third quarter. It was still a really good contest, and a good opportunity for those other squad guys to step up in the absence of our key positions and key players."
In their third game of the weekend, Tamworth took on Port Stephens and won comfortably.
Having qualified for the final, the Thunderbolts eventually withdrew as they were nursing some injuries and cognizant that it was already getting late once the final round game to decide a place in the final extended into overtime.
"Port Macquarie had to beat Brisbane by six, and that ended up a draw," Ireland said.
"They were going to go to overtime, but we made the decision to get on the road early, because otherwise we weren't going to get home until all hours of the night and we have guys with young families."
But the result was not what was important for Ireland.
With the State League season set to begin on March 16 with a home clash against the Wagga Wagga Heat, he wanted to see how the side came together on court.
"It was just a really good opportunity to create a bit of that on-court cohesion between different groups," Ireland said.
"As a coaching unit, to be able to look at different combinations, and who's gelling well and different roles that guys can bring and play for us."
