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Holding a double-degree in Business Marketing/Sport & Recreation Management gives an insight into the passion and knowledge that Mark holds for sport and recreation. To compliment his studies, Mark currently works in numerous roles within profession sport both during the week and on weekends. Mark was also heard from time to time on Western Australian radio, providing an expert insight into various sporting issues currently being discussed in the media.
On a personal note, Mark is heavily involved within his local sporting community, in particular with his basketball and indoor netball commitments.
As well as being the co-owner/manager with Daniel (DJC), Mark’s main areas of interest when it comes to writing are AFL, Cricket and Basketball, however as can be seen he will write on any sport and every sport! He is also responsible for keeping everyone as up to date as possible using the Pen and Paper Sports Facebook page.
This Sunday night at the Cage the Melbourne Tigers take on Eddie Gill and the Townsville Crocs. The Tigers go into this game having lost five of their last six, including the double overtime thriller against New Zealand. Townsville on the other hand head into the game having won four of their last six, they have also defeated the Tigers at the Cage the past four times they have visited. So how do the Tigers turn their fortunes around?
The answer is simple, they need to rebound or someone other than Cam Tragardh needs to rebound. "Trigger" is averaging 6.2 rebounds per game and tonight he comes up against the leagues second best rebounder in Jacob Holmes, averaging 9.7 boards per game. To make matters worse for the Tigers, Crocs big man Luke Schenscher has returned to their lineup and after playing two games back should be ready to break out and dominate. I should also mention that Trigger is 206cm while Schenscher is 216cm, he is going to need help boxing out and clearing the key for a Tigers player to grab the rebound. The Tigers are getting outrebounded by nine boards per game and also allowing 15 offensive rebounds per game, for them to win those statistics need to be working their way back towards a more even keel.
When these teams last met it was Round 6 and the game went into overtime after Eddie Gill missed a free throw that would give the Crocs the lead. Gill was also the inspiration for the Crocs after scoring 30pts for the night, 28 of those coming in the second half! Peter Crawford was also exceptional with 23pts and could have had much more if he had knocked down some of the open shots offered to him. The Tigers guards need to be up in the faces of all of the Crocs guards because every one of them can knock down the three, they cannot afford to allow such open shots this time around.
Also when these teams last faced off, Ayinde Ubaka and Ron Dorsey combined for only 18pts, this time they will combine for much more. Dorsey has finally found his rhythm with the Tigers and is becoming the scoring machine we were all waiting for. Ubaka had to take a back seat while Patty Mills was in town and since he has left, Ubaka has been lighting up the floor once again. His unorthodox, quick release means he can get any shot up he wants and as ugly as they look at times, they always seem to drop and if there is a big shot that needs taking, Ubaka is the man for it.
In this game I expect the Tigers to still get beaten on the boards, they simply can't match it with the rebounding power of Jacob Holmes, Luke Schenscher and Elvin Mims. However I do think the Tigers will win the game, Ubaka and Dorsey will shoot a high percentage from behind the three point line, Cam Tragardh will continue to lead the league in scoring and Daniel Dillon won't dribble the ball so much while there are wide open passes he should be making.
Tigers by 3
MV
Image courtesy The Age
