Tara Murray
Hume City Broncos will look to fine tune their game in the lead up to the Big V championship men’s finals.
The Broncos, who were the runners-up last season, are set to continue their strong run of form with another finals series this year.
Speaking before the side’s double header against Wyndham and the McKinnon Cougars, coach Matt Foster said they were keen to test themselves against the best teams.
“They are probably two of the standouts teams,” he said.
“It’s a really good opportunity for us to gauge where we are at, win or lose I guess we will take some learnings out of it and hopefully keep refining as we move towards the playoffs
“You want to go against those better teams to get a forward view if we’re to make the playoffs.”
The Broncos split the two matches with a good win against Wyndham on Saturday night before fading against the Cougars on Sunday.
Foster said if they won the games they should in the back half of the season they would ensure a top five spot.
Having put new side together this season, it has taken some time for the group to come together.
Foster said they felt like they hit that turning point about four weeks ago and were finally starting to gel.
The side like many others in the competition have had their fair share of injuries.
“Speaking to coaches and such, everyone is a bit banged up at the moment,” he said.
“We’ve lost Cory Bellman and Keenan Gorski with injuries for the rest of the year.
“A couple are nursing soreness throughout.”
While the injuries have hurt, the Broncos have been able to give more of their youth league players an opportunity.
Foster said this is what they’ve been working towards
“We’ve fast-tracked them to an extent, it gives them an opportunity,” he said.
“Elijah Saifaleupolu has really stepped up, Haydn has stepped up, Ben Galea and Derhyse Matautia, all stepped up and it’s allowed people like Anthony Mariani and Kalita Maelasi also get an opportunity a little bit earlier than what was planned.
‘It’s really exciting at a point not the last game, the game before when one of the rotations was basically four of our youth league guys and Scottie Stone on the court.
“We had a time out and I looked at them. This is what we have been building for the last two to three years and this is our future.”
Foster said the focus now for the group
“We want to continue defining what our strengths are and what areas we’re not so good at,” he said. “Trying to limit possessions we’re not so good at, hopefully get fit and stay fit and get those rotations with the younger guys coming in and build in on what they need to do and their roles now coming from a bench player to a rotation player.”
