Geelong United’s Taylor Mole possibly sidelined until after Christmas

A Geelong forward will be “lucky” to get on the court this year after an injury sustained early in the pre-season was revealed post-match.

Geelong United play its opening game against Townsville Fire on October 30. Picture: Peter Foster.

Geelong United could be without forward Taylor Mole with a back injury until after Christmas as it licks its wounds from a disappointing opening round loss.

Senior coach Chris Lucas confirmed after the team’s 26-point defeat to Townsville at Geelong Arena on Wednesday night that Mole, who joined the club after a stint with Mackay in NBL1 North, had sustained the injury during the first week of pre-season and would be out of action for “quite a while”.

“If we got her back by Christmas we’d be pretty lucky I think,” Lucas said.

“She hurt it in the first week of pre-season, five weeks ago at practice, she’s got a plan and we’ll get her back on the floor.”

Meanwhile, Lucas said Round 1 was a “huge learning curve” for those who had never played at the level before, with the likes of Israeli import Daniel Raber, Hannah Hank, Elissa Brett and Jaz Shelley finding their way in the league.

Geelong United coach Chris Lucas confirmed Taylor Mole was unlikely to play this year. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images.

“I think it was a huge learning curve for the girls that had never played WNBL and how tough the league is,” Lucas said.

“If we can’t learn from it, we’ll get into a video session (on Thursday) ... the video doesn’t lie.

“At both ends of the floor I was pretty disappointed, Townsville they took us out of our stuff and we weren’t able to execute versus pressure and an inability to play against physicality at times was really poor.

“A little bit disappointed to be quite honest.”

Lucas said nerves could have been a factor and some players were slightly overwhelmed by the occasion with over 1100 people in attendance.

He said United lost control of the game at the end of the first period, early in the second and after half time where the visitors shot the first seven points.

In a nine-minute period, either side of the opening break, United were outscored 14-26 and never really recovered.

“We were taking poor shots and they were just running it down our throats,” he said.

Jaz Shelley looks for an option against Townsville. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images.

“I challenged the group (at half time) to try and find a way and get it back to single figures, and then they make five points straight away and I think that deflated our group.

“At the end of the day, I’ve been through this before, as long as we’re aware of it.

“Then rebuild and reload for next Thursday.”

He praised the game of Keely Froling who led the scoring with 15 points, but she had little support apart from solo bursts from Hannah Hank and Raber.

“Apart from that there wasn’t really anyone else who stood out, and I think jelling a new team takes time and our identity as a team, that’s not us, we’ve actually been doing pretty well at practice,” he said.

“Did they get caught up in the moment? Maybe.

“Lynetta’s been injured, Dani’s been injured, I don’t want to use them as excuses but we’ve been out of whack a little bit.

“And pre-season has been difficult, we’ve had people coming in and out all the time, jelling is going to take time, our system is going to take time.

“But we have to learn from tonight.”

Geelong United player Taylor Mole. Picture: Peter Foster.

Fire coach Shannon Seebohm expected United to respond and become a “force” in the league.

“I’ve got no doubt they’ll bounce back next week and they’ll have a good season,” Seebohm said.

“They’ve got a lot of players that haven’t started in the WNBL, haven’t played in the WNBL before.

“I’m sure he’ll be all over it, he’s one of the best coaches in the league in terms of preparation and making adjustments.

“I think Geelong’s one of those places, it’s a special basketball town and sporting town so I think people will get behind the team here.”

Geelong United suffers tough induction into the big league

Geelong United’s historic WNBL debut has not quite gone to script on opening night, unable to contain Townsville Fire’s multiple offensive options in a 26-point loss.

After a promising start from the home team, the champions of two seasons ago skipped away with back-to-back 24-point quarters which silenced an expectant crowd at the Geelong Arena for the league’s opening round.

By the final break, the visitors held a 28-point lead and had shot almost twice as efficiently from the field, while six of the game’s top seven scorers wore Townsville singlets.

Geelong United coach Chris Lucas. Picture Kelly Defina/Getty Images.

Keely Froling producing a lone hand up forward for the home team, landing 13 points to half time, but the Fire would win 84-58.

Earlier, there was some heavy duty support from local stars of the Geelong sports scene, including Cats greats of different eras in Billy Brownless, Andrew Bews, Tom Stewart and Mitch Duncan while United recruit and AFLW gun Monique Conti arrived just before tipoff.

Pre-game, Geelong United board member Jess Chappell was proud to declare the city’s newest elite sports team had attracted a wealth of corporate sponsors while the association had just ticked over 1000 local teams for the summer season.

However, United went into the match without Taylor Mole due to a lower back issue with a starting five of Froling, Gemma Potter, Jaz Shelley, Lynetta Kizer and Haley Jones who had only been in the country for little over a week.

Townsville’s Zia Cooke drives to the basket against Keely Froling. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images.

And setting the tone for her opening half, it was Froling who put United on the board for the first time in the club’s history, tipping one in from under the rim.

In defence, US import Jones applied several tough blocks but couldn’t quite have the same impact up the other end.

The Fire’s offensive passing was far superior at times while United’s ball handling wasn’t quite as clean and were guilty on occasion of some ambitious passing that was easily picked off by the visitors.

Shelley, who was fumbled the ball a couple of times early, eventually threw a punch with the team’s first threeball.

Jaz Shelley scored seven points for United. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images.

After taking a seven-point quarter time lead, Townsville kicked further way through the hot hand of Nyadouth Lok who would drill a pair of threes from the same location while Zia Cooks continued to threaten beyond the permitter.

The opposition would nail a third of their three ball attempts for the half.

Geelong created enough opportunities to score but lacked the offensive cohesion their opponents exhibited as Kizer put herself in foul trouble with three midway through the second term as frustration grew amongst some United players.

It will no doubt take some time for the team to jell under senior coach Chris Lucas.

However, the injection of Hannah Hank provided some spark, draining two foul shots and was then hit up by a brilliant pass from Sarah Elsworthy for another two.

Former Geelong players Billy Brownless and Andrew Bews cheered on United. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images.

With a 14-point buffer at the main break, matters were far from settled, but the Fire made a strong statement, collecting the opening seven points to deflate the home team.

Just as Hank would do in the second, Daniel Raber put up some handy points in the third, but she had little support as the visitors extended their lead into unreachable territory.

An Elsworthy shot got jammed between the rim and the glass late in the third term, perhaps summing up the night for the debutants.

Originally published as Geelong United’s Taylor Mole possibly sidelined until after Christmas