Redbacks spoil Hobbs comeback for Hawks but lose Wagner

THE Perth Redbacks continued their strong form spoiling the return of Bryton Hobbs for the Perry Lakes Hawks on Friday night with Joel Wagner outstanding before injuring an ankle that will now leave him sidelined for at least the next four weeks.

The Redbacks beat the Hawks at Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre by 20 points on Friday night to have now won eight of their last nine Men's SBL matches to further consolidate a place in the top eight, and move a step closer to a top four position.

The Hawks were welcoming back star guard Hobbs from a wrist injury for his first game since April 1 and he started off the bench, but once he hit the floor it signalled Wagner to take over the game at both ends of the floor.

The Redbacks captain helped his team to a 37-point opening quarter and while the Hawks continued to fight, they were never able to get the margin under single-digits the rest of the night with Perth going on to win 113-93.

The stars of the Redbacks all had tremendous nights with Michael Vigor finishing with 20 points and 13 rebounds despite foul trouble limiting him to just under 30 minutes.

Jourdan DeMuynck had a strong all-round performance with 23 points hitting 4-of-7 from three while Reed McConnell delivered 20 points making 6-of-11 from downtown. Ben Smith delivered 13 points off the bench and Lewis Thomas 12 points, 16 rebounds and five assists.

Wagner was having an outstanding night with 11 points and eight assists up until midway through the third quarter when he landed awkwardly on his troublesome ankle after a mid-air collision with Hawks guard Ben Dixon.

Redbacks coach Nik Lackovic was delighted with the efforts of Wagner up until that point particularly against Hobbs, and knows others will need to step up in his absence just like they did early in the season with Michael Vigor and Lewis Thomas out.

"One of the areas that we really try to put teams under pressure in is with our floor spacing and when we have great floor spacing with the shooters we have on this team, Joel is able to create and get in seams," Lackovic said.

"We knew Bryton had been out and missed quite a few games, and my team isn’t the most athletic and they don’t mind me saying this, but their athleticism is in their IQ and they know how to read situations to get each other in certain spots to be successful.

"Joel was exceptional and somebody is now going to have to step up with him being out for the next few weeks."

After starting on the bench having missed the past 15 games, Hobbs was understandably rusty for the Hawks but he got better as the night went on finishing with 15 points, four assists and two blocks while shooting 6-of-16 from the field and appearing to struggle at times on his right hand.

However, he was starting to find his groove in the second half and Hawks coach Charles Nix is confident he will keep getting better to help Perry Lakes fight to hold on to its playoff spot following a third successive loss.

"We expect him to take a couple of weeks to get some touch back, 10 weeks is a long time to be out. He's been training for the last couple but it's a different intensity when you're playing. We expect him to get better in the next few weeks," Nix said.

"It's more about having the players around him getting used to playing with him. He plays at a different pace to everyone else in this league. It's about getting people back acclimatised to his skill level.

"It's going to take him a few weeks but we expect him to get back to the same level he started the year with sooner rather than later."

The Redbacks now turn their attention to trying to make sure Wagner is healthy for the playoffs following his ankle injury and Lackovic is confident of others stepping up with Smith to come into the starting line-up and DeMuynck to pick up a lot of the ball handling duties.

"I think he's going to be out for at least four weeks and we won't rush him back, he's too valuable for us and his health is the No. 1 priority. It's now an opportunity for somebody else like it was at the start of the season," Lackovic said.

"He is a hard player to replace because you can't replace Joel, he is the heart and soul of this team, and is an elite defender and just so selfless. But we just have to prepare the best we can and move along. We have great momentum and hopefully it continues."

There's little time for the Redbacks to adjust to life without Wagner in the short-term with them heading to Morley Sport and Recreation Centre on Saturday night to face an East Perth team led by Tom Jervis, Sunday Dech, Rhys Vague and Drew Williamson who are trying to breaking into the top eight.

"It's a great opportunity for us to continue to measure ourselves against good sides. We beat a good side tonight and we are playing well, but we still have a thirst to want to get better and a great way of doing that is playing against a team like East Perth," Lackovic said.

"They are loaded and we've put this game behind us already, and are talking about doing all the right things in preparing the team and their bodies through rehab, and sleeping and eating well.

"The guys will have a look at the game tape and edits and we'll prepare as well as we can to play a really strong East Perth team."

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Sebpix Photography




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