ALBURY-Wodonga Bandits coach Brad Chalmers says he is confident the defending SEABL champions can enjoy a successful trip away this weekend.
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The Border club hits the road for the first time this campaign with the always tricky double of Kilsyth tomorrow night, followed by perennial powerhouse Knox on Sunday afternoon.
The Cobras are yet to open their account, having lost their first two games on the road and Chalmers admitted he was keen to get a win first-up before tackling the Raiders the following day.
“Yeah I think that’s the crux of it, to get that split,” Chalmers said.
“And then if good things happen and you get two wins, then that’s a fantastic result.
“It’s already been proven that it’s going to be difficult to win at home or away this year, so to get some momentum and win three or four games in a row is what it’s all about.
“Our focus for most of the year again will be to split the road trips and take care of the home games; that should leave you in a pretty good spot.”
But the reigning coach of the year was in no doubt as to the challenge awaiting the Bandits.
“I think Kilsyth are going to be pretty good,” Chalmers said.
“(Kilsyth coach) Grant (Wallace) has gone in a different direction this year and they’ve got some good guard play.
“I think they’re going to be a handful all year for sure, we’ll need to really focus on them.
“As for Knox, they look like they’re giving a few of their younger kids some confidence.
“They have those four really good players and it’s just a matter of putting a fifth player next to them.
“They’re going to be right around the mark again as well, they could just as easily be 2-1 or 3-0 instead of 1-2.”
The bonus for the Bandits is Sunday’s game against the Raiders is at the State Basketball Centre, a court that holds few fears for the Border club.
The Bandits shocked the league last year when, in the space of three weeks, they defeated both Knox and Dandenong there on their way to the conference and league titles.
“It’s a fantastic venue to play in,” Chalmers said.
“As a player, it’s a great facility and I don’t know it’s done them any favours because most travelling teams probably like playing there now. We’ve got good memories there.
“For me, this weekend is more about consistency for us, we don’t need to be overly high with our level of play.
“I’d rather be more consistent than go from these big highs to these big lows over the course of a game.”
Chalmers said niggling injuries to captain Nick Payne, centre Momo Ntumba and defensive specialist Michael Watson had vastly improved over the Easter break.
“We’ve had a break, trained pretty well and it was a good chance to freshen everyone up,” Chalmers said.
“We’re in a pretty good space mentally, we just want to get going and play some games and I think a double-header will be good for us.
“Regardless of the result, just having that continuity of back-to-back games will be good.”