U16s vs Newcastle Eagles

Sharks 3451 73101

Eagles 1432 45 66

The Sharks made the long trip up north to face the Eagles in the final game of 2009. They would start the game without Conor Faulkner, who is the latest player to join the long list of injuries the team have suffered thus far. Despite missing players Sheffield got off to a good start, their pressure defence igniting a 16-2 run highlighted by Josh Adams strong drive two handed flush over 2 Newcastle defenders. At this point the game had to be stopped as an injury to Eagles player Andrew Wilkes required paramedic assistance, everyone at Sheffield wish him a speedy recovery. When the game resumed the sharks continued to play solid defence and showed definite improvements in terms of offensive fluidity. The sharks dominance continued to the quarter’s end as Josh was close to unstoppable and Dennis Kaka came off the bench to drain to 3’s, the second just beating the buzzer.

Josh continued to impress in the 2nd period but was beginning to get into foul trouble and solid play from Henryk contributed to the visitors lead. Renny and Callum were doing a stellar job of running things in Conor’s absence but despite all this, the Sharks began to lose concentration from time to time, allowing the Eagles to get to the basket and chip away at the lead. Nevertheless, Sheffield went in at half-time with a commanding 19 point lead.

During the first play of the 2nd half Josh picked up his fourth foul, sending him to the bench. He was on his way to a 40 point game after notching up 19 first half points so this was a significant blow to Sheffield. The rest of the team picked up where he left off however and put in the best defensive effort of the game holding the hosts to 13 points in the period.

The final stanza was a frustrating one as loss of focus & energy on defence allowed the Eagles to win the period 21-18. A positive performance overall, particularly with injuries to key players. One highlight of this and the last few games was the strong performance of Renny Nascimento who is maturing into one of the team’s most consistent performers.

Renny Nascimento – 25 pts

Josh Adams – 19 pts

Callum McKenzie – 15 pts

George Brownell – 10 pts

Dennis Kaka – 8 pts

Quincy Kaka – 7 pts

Henryk Krajniewski – 7 pts

Zach Fenech – 4 pts (doughnuts)

Sheu Matewe – 2 pts

Jonni Shepherd – 2 pts

Dale Stennett – 2 pts