Snakes finally look like a side that know how to win
COMMENT
JORDAN GERRANS
HAKUNA matata Cairns Taipans.
After what was the for the best weekend of NBL action for the Far North club since Travis Trice was leading the offence and Aaron Fearne was on the sidelines, it was the professional approach that stood out most about the Snakes.
Even in home wins to Perth and Melbourne earlier this season, the Taipans trailed big early on before fighting back into the game. Against the hapless New Zealand Breakers on Friday, Cairns were expected to triumph and win well.
And that is exactly how they played from the opening exchanges – they performed like a squad that had learned how to win together and showed barely any jittery signs that had plagued them for the last two seasons. The Snakes were 0-4 against bottom two Illawarra and NZ before Friday night, which is unacceptable for a club now that has defeated Sydney, Perth and Melbourne.
Against the Breakers, the Snakes just played with confidence and rarely looked troubled, which is exactly how the talented group should be performing against the struggling clubs.
And, those positive feelings and momentum flowed on to the Kings on Sunday afternoon, powering away to record a memorable 2-0 Round 10 double.
Obviously the upset of the Kings will get the big headlines, but the manner in which Cairns put away NZ is just as important in the long run.
“I liked how the group came out aggressive from the start,” Mike Kelly said after the Breakers win.
“In some of our wins and losses, we have come out and tried to test the waters, instead of just being in attack mode.”