Thunder's NBL1 South fixture shake-up to 'give more people a chance to come'

Story by Emily Clooney  The Advocate

Friday night basketball will become a regular occurrence for the North West Thunder, with the NBL1 South side set to take to the court at the new time on five occasions in 2024.  The 14-round fixture will see the Coastal side play in front of their home fans eight times, including the season opener against the Hobart Chargers on April 6.
The addition of an extra two Friday night fixtures was welcomed by Thunder chairman James Leslie, who was confident they would attract strong support from the North-West sporting community.  "We did a few this year but the way it was playing out [with the fixtures] we didn't have a lot of options," Leslie said.  "It's no different [the Friday nights] to Saturdays, but it is about mixing it up and giving people a chance to come if they can't get there on the weekends."
The Thunder will play three double headers with the Launceston Tornadoes, with the first match to be played at Elphin Sports Stadium in round two on April 12 against Waverley Falcons.
Leslie had mixed feelings about the fixture, which see the team play three games in a row at home before hitting the road for five straight away games.  "I love starting [the season] with Hobart but we have got a lot of condensed home games, which is always a bit of a challenge for us," he said.  "We get these long runs of home games and we can't do anything about it.  It's a challenge for Sam [Armstrong] to make sure the players are in good shape and travelling well."
The Thunder will make the long journey to South Australia in round three, when they face Mt Gambier on Friday, April 19.  They will not take to the court again until Sunday, April 21 against Keilor Thunder, with the extended trip one Leslie hoped would become a "culture building exercise".
Recently-appointed coach Sam Armstrong has been busy putting the team together, Leslie said, with confidence levels high that the right group would be selected.  "Sam's team is Sam's team, and that's the beautiful thing about how we're running this," he said.  "He's putting together a really impressive group of kids who will be at the squad trials on December 7.  In his words, he wants people there for Thunder."
The NBL1 South home-and-away season will wrap up on Sunday, July 14, with the Thunder to hit the road for the final round.