By Tara Murray
It’s been a positive start to the Big V men’s division 1 season for the Sunbury Jets.
The Jets entered the Easter break with a 4-2 record, sitting fifth on the ladder.
Jets’ coach Ryan Addison said it had been a few years since the men’s side had started a season like this – the Jets won just six games total last season.
“It’s been a good start, but losing those two games were not ideal,” Addison said.
“Everyone has things to work on over the break for when we’re back on court.”
Heading into the season, Addison had predicted that it would take time for the side to gel, with the majority of the group having not played together before.
He said while there was some good signs so far, they still had a number of areas to work on.
“We’re still working out how we play and how we all work together,” he said.
“Our defensive has been pretty good and we’ve kept most sides to under 75 points.
“We still need to look at different options in offensive.
“Everyone know that Ish [Sanders] can score and other teams are focusing down on him. The last game he had seven assists … we need to create and make sure other guys are stepping up.
“We want to play our best basketball at the end of the season, that’s the most important thing.”
One of the pleasing things for the Jets has been the development of Ivanne Loncaric, Nathan Baker and Nathan Marshall.
All three have stepped up from the club’s youth league men’s side.
“These guys have some great basketball backgrounds,” Addison said.
“All have stepped in and you could see that they were going to have an impact straight away.”
Addison said early signs had shown they were in the mix for finals, but they weren’t getting carried away.
He said they needed to beat some of the sides in the top four if they were to push for a top spot.
The Jets have a couple of big weekends coming up.
They face the Whittlesea Pacers on Saturday night, before backing it up against Collingwood All Stars on Sunday.
The Jets also have a double header the following weekend.
Addison said it would be a good test for them.
“If we can go 3-1 or split the games, it will be a good start.
“It’s a pretty tough run having to back it up, and then back it up again.”
The Sunbury Jets women’s state championship side faces Whittlesea Pacers on Saturday night.
The Sunbury Jets sit fifth with a 3-2 record, having dropped matches against Hume City Broncos and the Werribee Devils.
MORE BIG V NEWS
www.starweekly.com.au/sports/bigvwhittleseapacers/
