Sturt Sabres (14-4, 1st) v Forestville Eagles (13-5, 2nd)
Saturday September 1, 8.15pm at Adelaide Arena

The Sturt Sabres can cap off an incredible season if they can defeat the Forestville Eagles in the Central ABL men’s Grand Final.

The Sabres, who were eliminated in the First Semi Final in 2011, lost star players Jacob Holmes and Jan Warbout at the end of the season. Head Coach Scott Butler then resigned as the season was virtually beginning.

Yet, after a 0-2 start, led by Coach of the Year Tom James-Martin, Woollacott Medallist Tom Daly and Central ABL All Star Five member Tim Klaosen, the Sabres recovered to be the best team in the regular season. Despite losing to the Eagles twice during the minor rounds, they defeated them 73-72 two weeks ago to be the first team to advance to the Grand Final.

In contrast to the Sabres, who have had two byes during the finals, the Eagles have been playing every week. They kicked off their campaign with a 105-77 victory over North Adelaide in the Qualifying Final, prior to going down to the Sabres. They then thrashed Norwood 102-74 in the Preliminary Final, eliminating them for a second successive season. The Eagles had previously lost to Norwood three years in a row.

Daly (18.4 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 7.6 apg) and Klaosen (14.9 ppg, 7 rpg, 2.7 apg) are not the only ones who can get the job done offensively for the Sabres. Darren Ng (17.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 3.1 apg) was the game’s leading scorer in the Sabres’ Semi Final win over the Eagles, while John Marriott (5.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg) showed poise in knocking down the game-winning free throw after time had expired.

However, they do not have the wealth of offensive options that the Eagles do. The fact that former NBL superstar Rashad Tucker (10.9 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 5.1 apg) is only fifth on the team in scoring says it all. Tucker did it all in last year’s Grand Final with 30 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists, so loves the prime time and could be set for a big one.

Ahead of Tucker in the scoring department are Brad Sullivan (14 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2 apg), Trent Fildes (13.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.2 apg), Brad Haydon (12.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.8 apg) and Adam Doyle (12 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4 apg). All are capable of scoring in a hurry.

On the last two occasions the Eagles have played the Sabres, they have only managed to score 72 points. They scored 36 points in each half of their Semi Final loss, by far their lowest scoring halves of this finals series.

Aside from a 50 point first half in the Semi Final, the Sabres have repaid the favour by struggling to score against the Eagles. They scored just 55 points in their Round 11 defeat, and only 23 in the second half of the Semi Final, where they had little answer for the Eagles’ zone defence.

The stage is set for a brutal encounter with points hard to come by. That would suit the Sabres, although the Eagles will do everything they can to speed the game up.

The Eagles are the more likely team to have a hot streak at some point, which could be the difference between the two teams on the scoreboard.

By James Woite