A spot in the final four isn’t the only carrot dangling in front of the Navexa Geelong United Youth League Men inย Saturday night’s elimination final meeting with Camberwell at Geelong Arena.
If United can overcome the Dragons, it will not only keep its Big Y Youth League 1 championship hopes alive but also confirm a spot in next year’s inaugural Youth League Qualification Series, which keeps the door open to playing in Victorian Youth Championship (VYC) in 2024.
It’s a scenario not lost on coach Luke Beard.
“It’s big for the club,” he said. “It’s what we’ve been looking for since the start of the year.
“When I spoke to Matt (Paton, director of coaching) about this role, one of the KPIs for me was to get us back up to VYC.
“I think, with the list we’ve built, we’re on the verge of doing that.”
Beard says he will constantly remind his players that more than keeping their championship hopes alive is at stake for Geelong United.
“You’ve got players like Hamish (Goodier) that are injured and want to be out there helping,” Beard said.
“He’s going into a final year of Youth League next year, and he wants to be playing at the highest level.
“And it’s where, as a club, we should be.”
NBL1 SOUTH WOMEN’S PRELIMINARY FINAL TICKETS
Geelong United won the first meeting with Camberwell, 75-67, in Round 7 thanks to a 21-point, nine-rebound performance from Marach Marach.
In Round 14, at Geelong Arena, the Dragons kept United to just 19 points in the first half as they claimed an 84-61 road victory.
Beard says he has scouted vision from both games this week.
“They match up pretty well on us and us on them,” he said. “It’s going to be a tight contest.
“They went through the season undefeated last year, and they haven’t lost many players.
“They’re a well-drilled team that’s got a culture of winning.
“It’s a team that I respect, and we’ll be throwing everything at them.”
Beard hopes to draw a similar crowd that turned out for the final-round win over Sherbrooke on Saturday night.
“We love the support,” he said. ” You can’t help but smile when you look around, and you see so many young faces getting around the guys and wanting high-fives and singing the song in the rooms and cheering them on.”
Tickets for Saturday night’s game are just, and $8 will be available at the door. Card only.
