RECRUIT EYES FULL POTENTIAL
SMALL forward Hannah Young believes the sky is the limit for the Townsville Fire as they finally get their full WNBL squad on the training court this week.
The Fire have had a disrupted pre-season due to injuries and international duties and they hosted the Sydney Flames in two trial matches last weekend with only half of their 10-player roster available.
Abby Bishop, Darcee Garbin and Micaela Cocks returned from the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in India yesterday, while Canadian import Bridget Carleton is expected to arrive in Townsville on Friday meaning the Fire will have their entire playing group together for the first time.
The Fire were still impressive without their international stars as they lost to the Flames 93-87 in Sunday’s pre-season clash and Young was excited about what they can achieve this season.
“Once we do have our full squad we’ll be unreal,” she said.
“With what we did – only a six-point loss with only five of our rostered players and we got a few injuries as well.
“The second game was better than the first and we improved in that 24 hours so who knows what we can do?
“We honestly can’t wait to get the whole squad here … and actually play five-on-five (at training).”
The Fire’s depleted roster has been the perfect opportunity for some of the recruits such as Young, Christina Boag and development player Alison Ebzery to showcase their skills.
Young’s versatility was crucial for the undersized Fire against Sydney as she played a team-high 31 minutes for eight points and two assists.
The 25-year-old had limited game time as part of Canberra’s championshipwinning WNBL roster last season and Young said she was determined to push for a bigger role in Townsville.
“I worked hard in my offseason with Shannon (Seebohm, Fire coach) to get here and I’m happy he saw that too and gave me another opportunity to play,” she said.
“I can either play a three or play a four as well and I’m lucky I can do that so it gives me more opportunity to play.
“(The pre-season games) were an opportunity to prove myself and hopefully I did that so when it comes to the season I do get those minutes as well.”
Fire assistant coach Luke Brennan said there was a good feeling among the playing group after their pre-season hit-outs and he was excited to see what they can do with their full roster.
“It’s reassuring to know that no matter who Shannon throws in there they’ll get the job done,” Brennan said.
“There’s a good feeling among the team that we know if we play that hard every possession we’ll be in every game.”