Shellharbour shows the way in junior cricket competitions
Not unsurprisingly local junior cricket matches were washed out last weekend. After nine rounds in the combined Illawarra and South Coast competitions Shellharbour City is clearly leading both the under 16 divisions. Albion Park tops the 14A competition.
With two rounds to play and bonus points on offer (provided the rain stays away) at least 7 teams could make the semis in both 16A and 16B and 5 teams in 14A. The tables are:
16A: Shellharbour City 127, Wests 108, Warilla 103, Corrimal 84, Lake Illawarra 78, Kiama 74, Balgownie 72, Thirroul 66, Helensburgh 60, Keira 53, The Rail RazorBulls 53
16B: Shellharbour City 121, Oak Flats 103, Wests Red 92, Dapto 90, Wests Blue 81, Port Kembla 81, Balgownie 77, Thirroul 70, Albion Park 58, Warilla 58, Kiama 53, Keira 25
14A: Albion Park 111, Wests 97, Balgownie 91, Dapto Gold 91, Corrimal 87, Dapto Blue 74, Shellharbour City 58, Keira 50, Warilla 50, Kiama 36
Hawks pluck Razorbacks
The Wollongong Hawks have completed a season sweep of the West Sydney Razorbacks following a decisive 111-106 win at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre on Saturday.
The Hawks snatched the win in the final four minutes behind a pair of key jumpers by Cam Tragardh to steal the lead before captain Mat Campbell sealed the result with five late points.
West Sydney held their last lead at 101-100 on a deep three by Rhys Carter, but Wollongong unleashed a punishing 10-0 run down the stretch.
Following a career-high 32-point performance the night before, Tragardh battled through a head injury requiring three stitches in the first-half to finish with 24 points and ten rebounds.
''The way we bounced back from last night was great, we got dusted at home which is always embarrassing,'' Tragardh said.
Larry Davidson had 22 points and Kavossy Franklin added 18 for the Hawks, who won their first road game since their last match against the Pigs in October.
''I thought a lot of people contributed well, I thought Jeremy Kench played extremely well, during that period where we had to rest Kavossy , he came in and was a big part of it,'' Hawks coach Eric Cooks said.
In a scintillating shooting display, Troy DeVries connected on all eight attempts from long-range to tie the NBL record for most three-pointers without a miss.
His eighth three was well beyond the arc and came with 11 seconds remaining; he finished with a game-high 30 points.
''Obviously we are very disappointed, every game we keep trying to see what are the positives out of it,'' Razors coach Rob Beveridge said.
''Tonight with Troy in particular he's probably been a little off in the past couple of weeks, I'm just so pleased because to me he's the best shooter I've ever coached.''
''He has a flat-out green light to take an open shot, simple as that.''
''In previous games I've been on his back for actually not shooting the ball.''
The Razors connected on 15 threes, but otherwise struggled through a difficult night from the field, despite hauling in 31 offensive boards.
Julian Khazzouh was extremely efficient in his 20 minutes on court, racking up 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Tragardh jumped out of the blocks on a mission, picking up 11 of the Hawks first 19 points as they led by four (19-15).
Matthew Knight had ten for the Pigs in the first quarter to keep them within striking distance, but they failed to snatch the lead after tying the score on five occasions.
Davidson provided Wollongong's last seven points to help the visitors secure a 30-27 edge at quarter-time.
The Razors grabbed their first lead of the game on Knight's lay-up midway through the second, they were paced by DeVries who found his stroke, connecting on a trio of shots from long-range.
Wollongong got seven points from Cam Rigby in the second including a key triple to regain the lead and spark an 8-0 finish for the half to skip ahead 55-49.
Moments before the first half buzzer, Tragardh left the court with a bleeding head injury, he returned to the floor midway through the third sporting a thick bandage.
The Hawks briefly led by seven on Campbell's three at 58-51, but the Pigs clawed back behind a 21-8 run to claim a six-point buffer at 72-66.
Following a time-out, Wollongong peeled off six unanswered points to tie the scores, but West Sydney struck back with threes from DeVries and Darnell Hinson to snatch a four-point edge.
DeVries and Aaron Trahair exchanged threes late in the period, before Franklin beat the buzzer with a lay-up to lock the scores at 81-81 heading into the fourth.
The Hawks (9-19) now play their final home game of the season on Wednesday against the Cairns Taipans, while the Razorbacks (10-19) finish their season next Saturday when they host the Melbourne Tigers.
Wollongong Hawks 111 (Cameron Tragardh 24 points, 10 boards; Larry Davidson 22 points, Kavossy Franklin 18, Matt Campbell 17) def West Sydney Razorbacks 106 (Troy DeVries 30 points, Matthew Knight 19 points, 16 boards; Darnell Hinson 18 points, 8 assists; Julian Khazzouh 17 points, 11 boards) @ Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre, 9/2/2008. Crowd: 2217
PHOTOS: Action from the Razorbacks v Hawks game - photos courtesy of Noel Rowsell and Marion McNeill (www.photoexcellence.com.au)
Story from NBL web site www.nbl.com.au
Calling for representative coaches for junior cricket
Illawarra Junior Cricket is looking for representative team coaches and managers for the 2008/09 season. Single or joint coaches can apply.
For further information contact Paul Brockley on 0438 611 260 or email Thebrocks@vtown.com.au
Coaches and Managers job descriptions can be found in the library at the following link: http://www.cricketnsw.com.au/ijca/hgdocs.cl?PT=sd
Poor old Sydney FC misses out in A-League and has to go to Hawaii instead!
Sydney FC was knocked out of the Hyundai A-League finals series following its loss to Queensland Roar last Friday and will now turn its attention to the Pan Pacific Championships in Hawaii.
Sydney FC will take on MLS (USA) teams Houston Dynamo and LA Galaxy (David Beckham’s team) as well as Japan’s Gamba Osaka in the four team tournament. The team will leave Sydney on Sunday as Australia’s representative in the inaugural Pan Pacific Championships, to be staged in Hawaii from February 20-23.
Sydney FC qualified for the four-team tournament by virtue of being the first team knocked out of the Hyundai A-League semi final series.
Sydney FC will play reigning MLS Champions Houston Dynamo in the first match on February 20 (Feb 21 Australian time) before playing either LA Galaxy or Japan’s Gamba Osaka in the final or 3rd/4th playoff on February 23 (Feb 24 Australian time).
Sydney FC will fly to Hawaii without experienced midfielder Ufuk Talay, who has been released from his contract to take up a one year deal with Japanese second division team Avispa Fukuoka.
Sportslive wonders how many of Sydney’s singing Cove supporters will make the trip!
Sportslive contributors nominated for Best Action Photograph Awards
Sportslive’s basketball contributors, Noel Rowsell and Marion McNeill (www.photoexcellence.com.au) are among the nominees for the Best Action Photograph from the 2007-2008 Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) competition.
Their four nominated photographs are:
Rohanee Cox (Townsville Fire) and Michelle Musselwhite (Sydney Uni Flames)
Natalie Porter (Sydney Uni Flames)
Porter and Musselwhite (Sydney Uni Flames) defending the hoop
Carnage on the court in the game between Sydney Uni Flames and Townsville Fire
Past stories and action photos from NBL, WNBL, SL, WNWBL and NWBL basketball competitions can be found on www.parramatta.sportslive.com.au/index.pl?page=288
Cricket Humour
Exchange between well known rivals South African Daryll Cullinan & Shane Warne:
As Cullinan was on his way to the wicket, Warne told him he had been waiting 2 years for another chance to humiliate him.
"Looks like you spent it eating," Cullinan retorted.
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