United buzzing ahead of return to the court

After a week off due to the FIBA Break, Melbourne United are eagerly anticipating the chance to hit the floor in front of their fans once again.

Speaking after his group’s training session on Friday, Head Coach Dean Vickerman said he could feel a ‘buzz’ ahead of the matchup with Cairns.

“I really think we got out of practice what we wanted today,” he said.

“There’s a real buzz about just getting ready to play again… today that excitement of getting back to playing a game at home and for something that really counts again (was back) so we’re looking forward to seeing Cairns.”

This will be the first time United have faced the Taipans this season. A win on Sunday would make them the only club to have picked up a victory against every team this season.

Vickerman, along with his captain Chris Goulding, will be keeping a close eye on Cairns’ clash with the Brisbane Bullets tonight.

“I think it’s important to say that you’ve found a way to beat every team in this league,” he continued.

“Cairns have got a game tonight against Brisbane, we get to see what kind of adjustments they made in the FIBA window… see their full roster and how they put it together.

“(Cairns are) young, athletic, they like to play uptempo, switch on defence and make life difficult for other teams,” Goulding added.

“We’ll have a close watch of them tonight and come back in tomorrow and really pick apart where we think our advantages are and the things we need to be careful of and have a good game plan going into Sunday.”

While his huge performances have helped propel United to a 10-2 record, Goulding wants his group to stay motivated to continue their winning ways.

“Just keeping that hunger (is the goal).”

“Yeah we’re on top of the ladder but we haven’t done anything. There’s teams we haven’t played yet so we need to be as hungry as we were 11, 12, 13, 14 games ago before the preseason started.”

Sunday’s game will carry extra importance to Goulding, Vickerman and co as it marks United’s Member Appreciation Game.

The pair talked through how crucial the club’s members have been this season, and over their time with United.

“I think they’ve been such a stronghold of what we’ve been doing this year and in years gone by,” Goulding said.

“Attendances are at record numbers, we feel that every time we step onto John Cain Arena, we know it’s going to be a big crowd, we know our members are behind us and they’ve done a great job of helping us get some wins this year.”

“I love this week,” Vickerman continued.

“It’s an opportunity to go and thank them and appreciate the sell-outs that we’ve had so far and the energy that they’ve given us.”

There’s still time to lock in your seat to Melbourne’s first three home games of December for a fraction of the price of walk up tickets, or become a part-season member to pick and choose which games you want to see across the remainder of the NBL24 season.