Coaches working through growth areas ahead of Sydney clash

Following their tough loss to the Cairns Taipans on Thursday evening, Melbourne United’s coaches are keying in on what needs to be done ahead of the Grassroots Game against Sydney on Sunday afternoon.

United showed flashes across the four-point defeat, leading by as many as 14 points and creating great looks for stars like Chris Goulding, Rayjon Tucker and Xavier Rathan-Mayes (56 points combined).

Speaking at the post-game press conference, Head Coach Dean Vickerman said while his side showcased a portion of what they’re capable of, there is still so much more his group can do on the court.

“We found some good offence, we found some ways to get (Rayjon Tucker) downhill, we found some ways for the ball to move a little bit more,” he said.

“We held them to a score that we’re happy with, it’s at the other end that we’ve got another 40% growth in who we are offensively.”

These sentiments were echoed by Vickerman’s assistant Justion Schueller, who said United displayed a major strength in their ability to turn defence into offence.

“I thought we played some of our best offence for the season so far when we shared the ball,” Schueller continued.

“We moved it around, we were able to really push score lines out and that was coupled on the back of getting consecutive stops and being able to run out from our defence.”

Looking towards Sunday’s blockbuster clash with the Sydney Kings at John Cain Arena from 4pm, Schueller said he is hoping to see a sell-out crowd cheering hard for Melbourne.

“The crowds are fantastic, they’re doing their job for us.

“We can’t wait to get in here on Sunday, go against Sydney who we owe one too. They embarrassed us last time so we’re looking forward to playing in front of that sold-out house and having them help us get over the line.”

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