By Hayley Wildes and Russell Bennett
The Pakenham Warriors’ Big V season tipped off over the weekend and, again boasting three teams in 2018; Division Two Men, Youth League Two Men and Youth League Two Women, there’s plenty to look forward for the campaign ahead.
The Division Two Men, looking to go one better than their grand final berth in 2017, got off to a heartbreaking start to their season.
Trading baskets in a scrappy, cobweb-clearing affair against the Southern Peninsula Sharks on Saturday night, the Warriors had strong contributions across the board, including from Jordan Jacotine (14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals) and Brad Bridgewater (6 points and 12 rebounds) off the bench.
Trailing by six points with under a minute remaining, Pakenham picked up the defence and managed to even the scores (59-59) with eight seconds left on the clock.
Then, amidst all of the madness, Sharks captain Corey Bond kept his cool and drained the game-winning triple from well beyond the three-point line. Pakenham had a Hail Mary attempt at the buzzer but it wasn’t to be as the Warriors fell agonisingly short of a dramatic comeback win.
The Warriors then lost their home opener on Sunday against Camberwell, 79-71. Brent Russell’s side still has plenty to work on, but there’s enormous upside within the group. Their rebounding and shot selection, for example, are bound to see marked improvements in the coming weeks – as is their ability to limit careless turnovers.
In Youth League Two Men, meanwhile, the Warriors were beaten by the Frankston Blues in their season-opener. Despite the best efforts from Aaron Miles (22 points) and Nathan Dodgson (15 points, 5 rebounds), the Blues had too many contributors as they ran out 79-71 winners.
The Pakenham Youth League Two Women, also taking on Frankston, got their season off to a winning start with a dramatic two-point win. It was the ‘Ellie Coutts Show’ as the Warriors’ star stuffed the stat sheet – as she so often did last season – with a near triple-double (18 points, 14 rebounds, 9 steals, 4 assists and 4 blocks).
Coutts dominated all game and when it mattered most, she drained two clutch free-throws to give the Warriors a 57-55 win.
