Major setback for Southland Sharks

The Southland Sharks have been dealt a massive blow ahead of their NBL clash against title favourites Harbour Heat in Auckland tomorrow, with two key players ruled out.

Sharks skipper Luke Martin was involved in the deciding game of the Australian NBL grand final series for his Wollongong Hawks club last night and is not available to play for Southland until next week's match against Hawke's Bay.

That news has been compounded with vice-captain Ian Cathcart also uanavilable for the trip north because of a calf muscle strain.

Southland will be up against it tomorrow with Heat's squad one of the most talented in the league. They feature Tall Blacks Corey Webster and BJ Anthony, the workaholic Dillon Boucher and two outstanding American imports in Rick Rickert and Kavossy Franklin.

Sharks coach Richard Dickel said it was unfortunate not to have his full complement available, but it was a challenge his side would embrace.

"That's just the way it is. At the end of the day it's five against five out there. The cards aren't stacked in our favour, but we've got nothing to lose and we'll give it our all."

Cathcart shone for Southland off the bench in last weekend's 105-90 overtime loss to Hawke's Bay and Dickel said players like Andrew Wheeler, Paratene McLeod and Pete Burgess would have to pick up the slack in his absence.

The Sharks had their full squad together for only one week before the Hawke's Bay match and Dickel said the side's combinations on court were slowly coming together with time.

If Southland are to push Harbour they will need a strong contribution from Martin Iti – who had his moments in the Hawke's Bay, but was also a little quiet in patches. "We need Martin to be more aggressive," Dickel said. "They're a fairly solid team, but I think we can do some good things close to the hoop."

American import Rene Rougeau will also be looking to make more of an impact for the Sharks, with the 1.98m small forward in foul trouble for much of the Hawke's Bay game.

"It usually takes three or four games to adjust to what the refs are calling," Dickel said. "He got two or three fouls that were a bit dubious ... He'll learn from that, though."

Tomorrow's match at the North Shore Events Centre tips off at 3pm.

THE TEAMS

Southland Sharks (from): James Paringatai (captain), Mike Rose, Daniel Munday, Rene Rougeau, Martin Iti, Gareth Dawson, Andrew Wheeler, Paratene McLeod, Pete Burgess, Bubba Lau'ese, Izaac Williams, Tavita Bower. Harbour Heat (from): Kavossy Franklin, Corey Webster, Dillon Boucher, BJ Anthony, Rick Rickert, Daryl Cartwright, Reece Cassidy, Dan Ryan, Houston O'Riley, Brad Anderson, Karl Noyer, Sam King, Morgan Nathan.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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