Supercats flying high ahead of battle with Bendigo

WHEN Geelong United Supercats guard Liam Herbert joined Grant Wallace’s side for season 2023, he had no idea he would become a week-to-week starter. Now, he is playing a key role in his team’s current winning streak.

Herbert, a 22-year-old guard, had spent the last few years on the Geelong Football Club’s VFL list, but now features as one of Geelong’s prominent backcourt players among the likes of captain Demarcus Gatlin, the league’s leading scorer in Gabe Hadley and fellow first-time Supercat Nick Velasquez.

Coupled with Geelong’s impressive six-game winning streak, Herbert has been named a starter in two of his last three appearances, a role which he is relishing at the moment.

“I was not at all expecting to be called on as a starter this season, I hadn’t played basketball really at all the last four to five years, just playing footy,” Herbert said.

“To come into the squad, to start pre-season pretty late, it’s been awesome to receive the trust that Grant has put into me.

“I’ve loved every minute of it so far. I really missed playing basketball and I’m really enjoying being back.”

Herbert has played basketball at the international level, representing Australian in 2018 as an Under 18 representative, winning the Asia Cup in China.

He then switched his focus to football and then played the 2019 Talent League season with GWV Rebels and earned Vic Country selection as a result.

Herbert’s focus then switched back to basketball following a training session before the beginning of the season, where he was selected to the final squad.

Through 10 games, Herbert is averaging 7.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists. This also includes an average of 22 minutes per game, accumulating over 20 minutes on six different occasions.

“Playing at Geelong Arena is so different to playing in a VFL game,” Herbert said.

“You might get a fair few people at a VFL match on any given day, but it doesn’t feel like it.

“In the NBL1, playing in a packed stadium, the noise travels so much and it’s just awesome to be a part of.”

Geelong United’s six-game winning streak takes on an old foe in Bendigo Braves on Saturday night in Bendigo, after losing out to their regional rivals back in Round 2, 86-96, but Herbert believes the side has gelled in the past month and is ready to even the ledger.

“We all think we owe them one after our last match,” he said.

“They came in earlier in the season and got us on our home floor, so we feel we have to do the same to them, but that only happens if we play hard.”

Geelong United next returns home on June 3 when they host Knox.