Townsville Fire coach Shannon Seebohm’s secret plan to contain Geelong United in WNBL season-opener
Townsville coach Shannon Seebohm has revealed his secret plan to contain Geelong United on Wednesday night when the WNBL’s new club opens the 2024/25 season at home against the Fire.
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Townsville coach Shannon Seebohm has revealed his secret plan to contain Geelong United on Wednesday night when the WNBL’s new club opens the 2024/25 season at home against the Fire.
While Geelong will bring a freshness on the court with a raft of young players, inaugural coach Chris Lucas is no stranger to the league.
The former Townsville coach led the Fire to back-to-back titles in 2014/15 and 2015/16, featuring in four-straight grand finals during a golden age for North Queensland basketball.
Seebohm said his team was prepared to face a Geelong side that would play in Lucas’ trademark fashion.
“We’ve scouted their personnel and we have an idea of what all their players do, and Chris has been in the league a long time so we have a bit of an idea,” Seebohm said.
“Coaches have some tendencies and things they like to do, so we’ve been preparing for that.
“Chris trapped a lot of our ball screens last year, so we’re trying to be ready for that. He’s had decent sized guards against our small guards before and he’s tried to post up a few times, so (we’re) just trying to be really for little things that we think they may do.”
Geelong and Townsville share a few similarities this season; they both have very young teams with one 34-year-old veteran and two younger ‘vets’ in their mid-20s.
Despite being less than 48 hours from the season-opener, Seebohm revealed he was still not certain who would start on Wednesday night.
“I’ve got a bit of an idea but I haven’t settled on it,” Seebohm said.
“We’re going to look at some stuff at practice today, different line-ups and that sort of thing, and hopefully that helps make that a bit clearer.”
One of the biggest minor storylines will be Fire recruit Alicia Froling’s battle with her twin sister Keely.
The two forwards are set for a physical battle on the court – something Seebohm said Froling had been bringing to the Fire pre-season.
“She’s one of the leaders in that area. She always brings effort and physicality,” Seebohm said.
“She’s played with some great players when she was in Bendigo who play like that, so she’s picked up a lot of things throughout her career.
“It’s great that she’s been able to bring that to our team.”
The Fire launch their season in Geelong on Wednesday night, tip-off at 6pm AEST.
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Originally published as Townsville Fire coach Shannon Seebohm’s secret plan to contain Geelong United in WNBL season-opener
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