BasketBall

Robbins, Martin Will Play

Tuesday 9th February 2010

Author: Riley Stuart

Photographer: LMSC

Injured Wildcats’ playmakers Brad Robbins and Damian Martin will battle through niggles, and are set to line-up in Perth’s top-of-the-table clash with arch rivals Townsville this Sunday.

The blockbuster fixture pits first against second in the final game of the regular NBL season, with the winner to claim a guaranteed home final, and more than likely, the minor premiership.

The match will be broadcast FREE, LIVE and EXCLUSIVE to LMSCTV.com.

Though the third placed Gold Coast could yet steal top spot on the ladder, should results swing their way.

Martin, who had an abdominal strain, was a late withdrawal from the first match of Perth’s recent three game road trip.

Although the point-guard did not line-up against Cairns, he returned to take part in the subsequent bouts with Gold Coast and Melbourne, despite still carrying the injury.

Meanwhile Robbins, who was sidelined by a suspected broken rib after half-time in the moral-boosting win over Melbourne, is also set to take the court ahead of the Crocs' encounter.

‘They’ll definitely play this week,’ Wildcats’ coach Rob Beveridge told LMSC.com.au exclusively on Tuesday.

‘They’re a bit sore and sorry of themselves at the moment, but those two are arguably the strongest kids, physically and mentally, in the league.

‘There’s no way that they won’t play, they’ll just battle through and that’s what they’ve done,

‘They’ll battle through these injuries.’

While the Wildcats have enjoyed an abnormally even spread of contributors over the course of the season, missing point-guards will always have huge repercussions on a team.

Clearly relieved at the thought of having his two chief playmakers firing ahead of the finals, Beveridge spoke of how the injuries unsettled his side, particularly in the lead-up to the Cairns match.

‘It was only an hour before the game that we decided that we couldn’t play Damien Martin because of his injury.’ he said.

‘That unsettled the rotations, people had to play out of position and things like that.

‘It something that we probably should have done a better job of.’

Ahead of a pressure-cooker environment this Sunday, the wily coach, who is incredibly in his first year at the club, hinted that his young chargers had learnt things on the trip that perhaps he could not even have taught them.

‘The game against the Gold Coast was probably the first time where we’ve had a real play-offs type of situation, where both teams were really desperate to win.’ Beveridge admitted.

‘They (the Gold Coast) went to a level that we probably didn’t have the experience to handle, but what that did show us that we had to grow up really quick.

‘24 hours later, the pressure that Melbourne was putting on us, we actually handled, and that’s something that you can’t teach.’

Perth take on Townsville this Sunday, February 14, from 4pm WST.