Posted on 16 April, 2010

Kilsyth (5-2) moved to first place on the East Conference Ladder with a 77-60 win over Ballarat last Wednesday and a 77-68 victory over the Canberra Gunners at home on Saturday.

Despite not being at their best the Swinburne Cobras got the job done against the Gunners to win their fifth game of the season.

Fernandez Lockett (19.1ppg & 10.1rpg) entertained the home crowd on Saturday with some impressive dunks and will surely be a regular on the Clubs YouTube page. (Visit www.youtube.com/kilsythbasketball).

This week the Swinburne Cobras have their biggest test so far, taking on Bendigo (2nd East Conference) and Hobart (1st South Conference). Bendigo are coming off an eight point loss to the Knox Raiders while Hobart defeated Brisbane at home by 18 points.

Kilsyth have played both teams in 2010 dropping a close one to Bendigo during the pre-season while they defeated Hobart by a single point in Round 1.

For Bendigo the main threats will be Ivan McFarlin (18ppg, 12.3rpg) and Luke Meyer (18.8ppg, 5.3rpg) but the strength for the Braves will surely be their core group of young players including Adam Tanner, Kevin Probert and Taylor Bell.

Hobart will travel to Kilsyth after taking on the Sandringham Sabres on Saturday night, with SEABL Player of the Month Brendan Polk (21.8ppg, 9rpg) their main offensive weapon.

Live stats will be available at www.seabl.com.au for the game against Bendigo while the Swinburne Cobras will tip off at 2.00pm against the Hobart Chargers at Kilsyth on Sunday 18 April 2010.

The Lady Cobras (4-0) will also travel to Bendigo on Saturday night keen to continue their impressive start to the season.  The Lady Braves (1-1) has once again put together a high quality roster under new coach Lukas Carey.

After taking care of Frankston with an explosive 35-9 third quarter, eventually winning 80-48, the Swinburne Lady Cobras will again will looking to Deanna Smith (20.3ppg, 6.8rpg, 6.5apg) and Ellie Manou (13.3ppg, 12.5rpg) to make an impact.

Against the Lady Braves, Coach of the Month Cheryl Chambers will need the rest of her team to continue to step up another level.  Alice Kunek, Erica McMenamin, Hayley Moffatt and Jordy O’Shea will all need to be at their best.

For Bendigo, Kelly Wilson (15ppg), Gabe Richards (13ppg, 9.5rpg) and Lauren King (14ppg, 6rpg) will be the key players to stop but the Lady Braves have a host of options with Elanor Haring and Katrina Hibbert both posing the potential to light it up.

Kilsyth will be keen to stay undefeated and begin to build a gap between themselves and the rest of the League. 

The Swinburne Kilsyth Lady Cobras will return home on Saturday 1 May 2010 to take on the Sandringham Sabres at 6.15pm.  They are on the road again next week travelling to Albury.