IT may not have shown on the scoreboard but Dubbo Rams coach Tim Griffiths believes his side is starting to show real signs of progress.
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The Rams were on hand to witness a three-point shooting masterclass on Saturday evening at the Woolshed as they went down to the Liverpool Spartans 71-39.
The Spartans, an unknown entity as they are a cross-pool rival for the Rams, produced sublime shooting from beyond the arc and it was something the Rams failed to handle all match.
“They’re one of our cross-pool games, they’re in Pool D, and they’re not a bad team but they just shot the lights out with their three-point shooting and we were a bit slow to close that down,” Griffiths said.
“But overall I thought as a team our defence was much improved but that didn’t show in the scores.”
Despite the disappointing loss, the performance of captain Dan Medway was a real highlight for the Rams.
Medway was at his inspirational best and despite only scoring seven points, his real work was done in providing assists and leadership on the court.
“He had an outstanding game and lit things up,” Griffiths said of Medway.
“Mark Willis played really good and tough defensively, Damien Reid was good too and Jordan Morrow played his first game back.”
While the three-point shooting of Liverpool was the biggest factor in the match, Griffiths said another disappointment from the Rams’ point of view was the way they failed to capitalise when getting on top.
The Rams controlled the ball well at times but could not make it count enough.
“I believe six of them would have been in any side as three-point shooters, I haven’t seen a team shoot like that from the perimeter,” Griffiths said of the Spartans before speaking about his own team.
“There were parts of the game where we were winning quite convincingly in two or three-minute patches but then we’d have a brain fade and lose our way but that’s just the team maturing.
“Overall, I think we’re on track to become a good side.”
The Rams’ attention now turns to this weekend’s road trip to the nation’s capital where they meet the Canberra Gunners and Queanbeyan Yowies in a double-header.
With some players unavailable, it is sure to be another challenge for Griffiths and his side but the coach is optimistic after some promising signs against Liverpool.
“Our defensive rotation was pleasing from a coach’s view as well, it didn’t show in the score but it involves a lot of work around the key and that’s important against teams like Queanbeyan who work the ball around well,” he said.
