Posted on 6 April, 2018
The Kilsyth Cobras and Lady Cobras officially open the 2018 SEABL season on Friday night as they head to Hobart to take on the Chargers in the first night of the ‘Tassie Double’.
Sam Woosnam’s Lady Cobras are looking to build on a spectacular 2017 season, but will enter Round 1 understaffed with just eight players available for the weekend. With Steph Blicavs competing at the Commonwealth Games with the Australian Opals, Jasmine Gill completing playing commitments in Europe, and Chantella Perera recovering from a knee injury, the Lady Cobras will rely heavily on reigning league MVP Angela Beadle, captains Sarah Parsons and Rosie Moult, and rising star Chelsea D’Angelo to carry the scoring load. The Lady Cobras added some bench depth last week with the signing of WNBL champion Allison Downie, with the athletic forward set to give Kilsyth a big boost on the glass and excellent versatility on the defensive end.
Following Friday night’s opener, the Lady Cobras will head north to take on longtime rivals, the Launceston Tornadoes. Launceston has established itself as a league powerhouse in recent years, and have provided some classic battles with the Lady Cobras, including two straight South Conference Championship games — which Kilsyth narrowly won on both occasions.
With a home-friendly schedule to come, a successful road weekend would set the Lady Cobras up beautifully as they look to secure the league’s best regular season record for a third straight season.
The new-look Cobra Men will unveil their much anticipated lineup on Friday night as they take on Hobart in game 2 of Friday night’s doubleheader. After narrowly missing the postseason in 2017, the Cobras have re-tooled in a big way for 2018, adding electrifying import guard Isaac Turner, and rising NBL stars Dane Pineau, Sam Daly and Felix Von Hofe to join forces with team captains Owen Odigie and Chris Patton, and Kilsyth junior, Ben Ursich.
With the ability to roll an all-NBL lineup out on the floor, the Cobras possess one of the league’s best starting groups but also boast some impressive depth, with Ursich, Desmond Owili and Tariq Naqqash producing strong campaigns for the Cobras in 2017.
The Cobras face a difficult opening round test, with the daunted Tasmanian road double sure to challenge a youthful Kilsyth that will be without their head coach, Justin Schueller. With Schueller absent due to junior Australian team commitments, Kilsyth Basketball Manager of Basketball Operations, Mark Watkins, will assume head coaching duties for opening weekend, looking to put the Cobras in a favourable position as they get set for a four-game homestand starting next Saturday.
The Cobras weekend schedule is as follows:
Friday April 6
Kilsyth Lady Cobras @ Hobart Chargers – 6.00pm tipoff | Livestats
Kilsyth Cobras @ Hobart Chargers – 8.00pm tipoff | Livestats
Saturday April 7
Kilsyth Lady Cobras @ Launceston Tornadoes – 6.30pm tipoff | Livestats | Radio
Kilsyth Cobras @ NW Tasmania Thunder – 7.30pm tipoff | Livestats
Follow us on our Facebook page for updates over the course of the weekend.
