Storm rolls on as finals picture looms

BELLARINE Storm men’s head coach Luke Beauglehall says his side knows there is still a long way to go in the season, but he’s glad to see the squad gelling at the mid-way point of the campaign as finals aspirations loom.

The Storm sit inside the top four after 11 games, boasting a win-loss record of 7-4 and seeded in third place on the standings, one game ahead of McKinnon.

Beauglehall’s overall grade of his side’s performances in 2024 have been “very good” with a couple of close results also falling the Storm’s way.

“The last few weeks we’ve decided to win via tip-ins rather than holding a 20-point lead, so that’s always a good feeling when we come away with those,” Beauglehall said, laughing.

“We’re always happy to take the wins, we’re finally starting to find our strengths and where we work well together.

“Just starting to trust and believe in each other a little bit more, which is why I think we’ve come away with a couple of close ones.”

The Storm next go up against a side they have yet to face in 2024, Pakenham, who sit outside the top four.

Pakenham has had an up and down, losing its import player Malik Colvin-Seldon to overseas play and have welcomed new import Tiras Morton.

Beauglehall also praised Pakenham stalwart Joe Davis for his efforts this year, averaging 15 points and six rebounds.

“Our defence is definitely our strength, when that is up and about, the rest of our game flows. We don’t have trouble scoring, we have a lot of talented scorers, but getting stops forces games to go our way.

“We play Pakenham twice in the second half of the season, so we’re excited to see what they throw at us.

“We know they have home town stadium, which they love to fill out and make a lot of noise. They’re a really even team and can have any one player go off on any given night.”

Bellarine has the King’s Birthday Long Weekend off to rest but will play Pakenham next Saturday away at 8pm.

The Storm’s next home fixture is on June 23 against Shepparton.