THE Albury-Wodonga Bandits are highly confident they can make a bold early statement of their intentions when they host the Canberra Gunners in their SEABL season opener tonight.
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With a revamped roster of exciting talent, the Border club has high expectations of a successful campaign.
Coach Brad Chalmers said he was in no doubt the Bandits would open their account with a win at the Lauren Jackson Sports Centre.
The Bandits will be without former Hobart Chargers star Deba George, who has a family commitment, but Chalmers said he expected imports Donte Nicholas and Cory Dixon, along with fellow recruits Daniel Sepokas and Clay McMath, to fill the scoring void.
“Very confident, they’ll (Canberra) be tough no doubt,” Chalmers said.
“If we come out hard, get after it defensively, we should get the win and start the season the right way.
“It’s a great opportunity for Donte, Cory and Dan to have some freedom to score.
“We’re pretty prepared and looking forward to getting into it at last.
“We knew we wouldn’t have him (Deba) for the opening game and that can be a positive in a way, we get to see how the team fares without him, as could happen if he got injured.
“No doubt it’s a blow not to have him out there, but I’m still pretty comfortable we’ve got the balance to get the result we want.”
The Gunners have also had a season of player turnover, with imports Garlon Green and Matt Staff moving on and Canberra stalwarts Jamie Mesman and Jonathan Miller also not returning.
In their stead, Canberra has opted for just one import — North Carolina Central guard Ebuka Anyaorah — while also nabbing Mount Gambier pivot Ben Allen.
Chalmers expected a stern challenge from the visitors.
“Most of the previews say Canberra will be a bit of a force to be reckoned with,” he said.
“And they’re in our conference, so that’s always big, we really expect them to be tough.”
Tip-off at the Lauren Jackson Sports Centre is 8pm.
