Wake-up call for Rangers

By Paul Pickering
DANDENONG Rangers coach Warren Dawson is hoping an old rivalry can wake his troops from their early-season slumber when they host traditional foe Knox on Friday night.
The Rangers went 0-2 for their Canberra road double on the weekend, slumping to the bottom of the SEABL East conference ladder – at 1-4 for the season – ahead of the Good Friday clash with the highly-fancied Raiders (3-3).
Dawson delivered a frank assessment of his side’s deficiencies after the back-to-back losses to the Canberra Gunners (95-76) and the AIS (102-94).
“Our defence is woeful,” he said, conceding that Dandenong’s trademark pressure and discipline had vanished in the first month of the season.
“We‘ve shown in patches that we‘re more than capable of winning, but we seem to relax when we have the opportunity to close the game out.”
Dawson was livid with his side’s intensity in the first half of Saturday night’s game against the Gunners, in which the home side had 16 offensive rebounds in a 28-9 board count.
That translated to a 14-point deficit at the break, and Canberra was never really threatened on its way to a comfortable victory. The Rangers received typically solid contributions from Vince Inglima (23 points, eight rebounds), Brent Hobba (20, 8) and Dusty Jura (15, 11), but the Gunners had five double-figure scorers – led by forward Jon Holden (23).
Dandenong’s ‘big three’ got some help from back-up centre Matt Witherden (15, 12) in Sunday’s loss to the AIS, yet the visitors had no answers for the sharp-shooting students.
AIS big man and reigning SEABL Youth Player of the Year Brock Motum (32, 8) was perfect from the field, shooting 10-of-10 to go with 12-of-14 from the free-throw line.
Meanwhile, former Dandenong Rangers junior Anthony Drmic had a quiet afternoon against his home club, scoring six points in 20 minutes on court.
Dawson urged his team to be ‘more ruthless’ in its approach to Friday night’s game.
“Knox is arguably the best team in the league on paper,” he said.
“They’ve been a bit up and down, but I have no doubt they’ll want to kick us into the gutter.
“I don’t think we’ve been desperate enough, so that should be our total focus right now.”
Dandenong’s Lady Rangers had the weekend off before meeting Knox from 5.30pm on Friday. Tip-off in the men’s game is 7.30pm.