Jets target improvement against Sharks
The Manawatū Jets have possibly one more game before the rest of their squad arrive in the country and they are at full strength.
The problem is that the game’s a tough one.
The Jets host the Southland Sharks at Fly Palmy Arena tomorrow evening, their second consecutive home game.
The Jets lost to the Taranaki Mountain Airs 78-57 in their season opener in Palmerston North last weekend, where their shooting let them down, but the young lineup put in an admirable performance.
They are still waiting for Kiwi Shane Temara and US imports Rob Crawford, Zane Najdawi and a yet to be confirmed third player to arrive in New Zealand.
Temara’s team, Baerum, was eliminated from Norwegian league playoffs this week.
But they should start to trickle into the country this weekend and may be available from next week if they get their international clearance sorted.
For now, the youngsters in the squad, who had just 32 games of experience between them, will again have to do the job in their moreexperienced players’ absence.
‘‘On one hand it’s good – it gives our young guys another game under their belts,’’ coach Natu Taufale said. ‘‘We felt we defended really well at the weekend ... If our shooting percentage was a little bit better, it could have been different. It’s just understanding that natural toughness in a game and getting used to the speed of the game.’’
It will take time for the new players to adjust to the Jets’ systems once they arrive, but Taufale was confident they would be able to catch up by watching game footage.
He said the Jets had to rise to the challenge, especially against a Southland side likely to have a lot of size, something the Jets were lacking with their four stars away.
The Jets defended well against Taranaki, keeping them to 78 points, and Taufale hoped they could produce a similar effort against the Sharks.
Southland will be playing the Franklin Bulls in Auckland the night before, which may play in the Jets’ favour.
Taufale hoped to get a good crowd for their first game at Fly Palmy Arena, having been in the smaller Ballroom last weekend.