DeMarcus Gatlin helps Geelong United atone for poor round 1 loss with 98-72 win over Ballarat

Tough conversations followed Geelong United’s horror round 1 loss, with one man taking it upon himself to spark an emphatic response on Saturday. Plus, United women’s defensive show.

Geelong United's DeMarcus Gatlin starred in his side’s round 2 win over Ballarat Miners. Picture: NBL1

Geelong United needed a response and it was veteran guard DeMarcus Gatlin – the self-described “head of the snake” – who took it upon himself to get after it.

A week after its horror season-opening 50-point loss to NBL1 rivals Mount Gambier, United pulled off a significant seven-day turnaround to outplay Ballarat Miners, 98-72 on Saturday night to secure the Mark Leader Shield – named after the former NBL player and Geelong Supercats coach who passed away from cancer in 2023 – alongside its women’s team.

Jill Leader (third from right) presents the Mark Leader Shield to Geelong United's DeMarcus Gatlin, Grant Wallace, Megan Moody, Jaz Shelley and George Blagojevic. Picture: NBL1

Gatlin set the tone from the get go, putting up 20 first-half points – ultimately finishing with 31 at 86.67 per cent efficiency – and six steals, his defensive mastery translating into easy offence to keep United apace with the Miners early.

Reflecting on last week’s poor showing, the 50-point blunder didn’t sit well with Gatlin.

“We feel like we let our fans down, we let ourselves down, we’d had a tough pre-season and to come out and play that poorly, we definitely wanted to come out and give our fans a show and I think we did that today,” Gatlin said post-match.

“(Last week) we just focused on our intensity, creating our identity, which is just to play hard.

“I feel like I’m the head of the snake and when I come out and I’m aggressive, I’m leading and I’m being positive, it’s contagious for the rest of our group and I definitely wanted to come out and do that today and I think everyone followed.”

Geelong United's DeMarcus Gatlin gets a wide open lay-up on Saturday night. Picture: NBL1

Coach Grant Wallace praised his veteran guard for his “remarkable” performance, which came on the same day Gatlin’s young son arrived from the US.

“He was one really embarrassed (by round 1) … he wears Geelong with pride so he led a lot of the discussion,” Wallace said of his captain.

Forward Tristan Forsyth took over in the second half to finish with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while American Kaelen Malone also impressed in his second game with 20 points – including four threes – and nine assists, both newcomers looking better connected in the line-up after their later pre-season arrivals.

“Last week, Tristan only practised one time, so lack of chemistry; this week we got to play quite a bit, we’re starting to learn each other, figure out what each other is capable of doing and I think we’ll start playing our best basketball as the season moves forward,” Gatlin said.

Meanwhile, Marach Marach (12 points) again impressed off the bench with several dunks, but showed a new dimension with his outside game, hitting several pull-up jumpers, while Owen Odigie, who is returning from two injury interrupted seasons, looked strong on the boards (seven rebounds) before he was managed late in the game ahead of next week’s double-header against Waverley and Bendigo.

Wallace, who felt he also got more out of his bench after a tough initiation last week, said he couldn’t be prouder of his team for their response and “effort”.

“To turn it around in seven days is really remarkable, and we had some good conversations during the course the week which we needed to,” Wallace said.

“But now we’re back to square, and two games into a long haul – we need to play like that every week.”

Assertive defence steels United in back-to-back wins

Geelong United overcame early shooting troubles in a 33-point win over Ballarat to maintain its winning start to the NBL1 South women’s season.

Led by captain Jaz Shelley, who was one rebound shy of a triple double despite finishing the game on bench with the game iced, United’s aggressive defence translated into a second-half steamrollering of Ballarat Miners, 94-61.

Geelong United's Jaz Shelley, pictured during round 1 of 2025 NBL1 season, was impressed with her side’s defensive efforts in round 2. Picture: Monika Berry

A strong defensive start – United had 9-0 first half steals – set the tone despite some missed buckets, though a drop in intensity in the second quarter allowed the visitors to retake the lead late in the second quarter.

But late points to Shelley and Gemma Potter gave United a small lead heading into the second half, before returning refocused, their assertive defence facilitating their offence, a trio of quick threes from Lilly Rotunno and Aleks Connolly breaking open the game as United outscored the Miners 50-20 in the second half.

“We honestly didn’t play our best offensive game but to keep them (Ballarat) to 60 points is really good,” Shelley said post-match.

“Having defence as our staple but also have some young kids step up for us when maybe some of us were having an off-night (was positive).”

Shelley admittedly, was one who struggled on offence in the first half, including a missed open lay-up and shooting at 22 per cent, but found her footing late in the game with several eye-catching assists and six points in the fourth to finish with 19 points (at an improved 30.43 per), nine rebounds, 10 assists and three steals.

“The first half was a bit rough, I think we were just second guessing our shots,” she said.

“But the second half we had a better mindset and once we get our defence going, our offence really flourishes.”

“I think I needed to be able to step up in a different area today, it was an off-shooting night for me, so to be able to assist and rebound and get some steals was something I think our team needed so I kind of honed in on that towards the back end of the game.”
Forwards Hannah Hank (24 points at 60 per cent, 12 rebounds) and Dakota Crichton (19 points at 70, eight rebounds) were United’s most effective offensive weapons, both also going 100 per cent from the foul line.

“She’s such a tough kid, she can go and get and-ones whenever she feels like it,” Shelley said of 19-year-0ld Crichton.

“We’ve got a bunch of confidence in her, that she’s going to be a huge piece for us.”

• United play Waverley away on Friday night, before returning to Geelong Arena on Saturday (5pm women’s, 7pm men’s) against Bendigo Braves.

Originally published as DeMarcus Gatlin helps Geelong United atone for poor round 1 loss with 98-72 win over Ballarat