Fierce rivalry may trigger fireworks
HOBART coach Anthony Stewart has had to wait eight years for the opportunity to exact finals redemption against Geelong — and hasn’t forgotten how the last encounter unfolded.
The Supercats and Chargers rivalry is surpassed only by the local derby against the North West Thunder, and a new chapter will be written in Friday night’s SEABL preliminary final at the DEC.
It will be the biggest match of basketball in the state since the club hosted the 2002 conference final at the Hobart Netball and Sports Centre, with the Chargers opening up a further 300 seats to increase general admission capacity to 3300.
The last time the two sides clashed in finals was the 2010 South Conference decider, where Geelong won on its home floor in a heated affair which saw a spectator from a corporate box throw the ball into the back of Brandon Polk in the third quarter, before Polk and Braith Cox tangled in the last period.
“There is no love lost, in particular with [Nathan] Herbert who is an ex-NBL player, and Jamie Medved, who is never short of a word but has the ability to back it up from the perimeter,” Stewart said.
“They have a lot of veterans who have won championships. This is a massive game and no surprises we have run into Geelong at this time of the season. I go back to the grand final in 2010 where it overflowed into the corporate boxes … a big piece of that are the two players playing right now in Herbert and Medved, you don’t forget things like that.
“We have had run-ins with some of the guys on the bench, even as recently as last year.
“There is a huge rivalry, second to only North West and this time of year it could spill over. It wouldn’t surprise me if it becomes physical, and that’s the approach we will take on Friday night.”
Stewart confirmed star guard Tre Nichols will be right to go after sending a scare through the camp when he was hospitalised over the weekend.
“Tre has some meds into him and says he feels a lot better. He has been suffering some recurring migraines, but he is 100 per cent ready to go.”
Tip-off is 7.30pm.