Surfers to take time to launch
SURFERS Paradise veteran Scott Hillier says the defending Greater Brisbane League champions have been put on notice after opening the new season with back-to-back losses.
Missing key players Ricky Deeble, Ozzy Braff and Sam Brunner from the squad that claimed last season’s GBL crown, a new-look Surfers outfit was thumped 10-0 away to Redcliffe on Friday night before showing glimpses of their best in Sunday’s 4-2 defeat.
Having brought in US duo Ross Vance and Ryan Arena as well as home-grown talent James Philibossian, Steve Chambers and Sam Jones, the Bluewave will likely take time to gel.
However, Hillier said the Round 1 results had shown they would not be able to sneak under the radar in 2018-19 following last season’s stunning run to glory.
“We talked about it at the end of Sunday’s game that a couple of the weaker teams (Toowoomba and Wests) have dropped out this season, so week in week out we’re going to see good opponents and are going to have to turn up every week,” the 25-year-old firstbaseman said.
“Friday night was just a slow start, a lot of cobwebs. Padres came out firing and were really good, they had some good pitching, which was expected.
“We are notorious for starting a little slow (in games), that’s a bit of a trend over the years. We grind it out early and tend to get on a roll.
“Sunday was a much better game. We had some pretty solid pitching, we minimised the walks and made them play.
“With our batting, we definitely had some promising swings, we just didn’t find the gaps. We strung together a few hits and had one bad inning (when Redcliffe scored three runs in the third) that let us down. You can’t do that against good sides.”
While Surfers struggled, Gold Coast neighbours Coomera signalled their second-season intentions with a shock 5-0 drubbing of Windsor at Holloway Field on Friday night.
The Royals, whose five-year reign as GBL champions ended last season, then bounced back to record an 8-3 win on Sunday. The Cubs host Ipswich this weekend, while Surfers travel to Carina.