Renfrew, Scotland | Renfrew have enjoyed a two week fixture hiatus whilst the league was on pause for the SBC Scottish Cup Finals following a weekend off in the calendar, to prepare for the closing weeks of the season and a strong playoff push as the race for the 4th and final SBC Playoffs berth heats up.
Coming back from the extended preparation period, the squad head to the capital to take on the 3-11 Edinburgh Lions as they look to take their second win on the bounce, before hosting Cup Finalists West Lothian Wolves on the 26th February, tickets available here. The challenge of the Lions is not one taken lightly, with Head Coach Johnathan MacLeod identifying a number of challenges for the team,
"They're a big side, they rebound the ball well and can threaten us with sizeable mismatches," MacLeod commented, "we have put in the work and watched the film, but we are aware of the danger Lions can pose with a few guys being able to heat up from 3 in their back court and if we don't take care of the little things, it will be a long afternoon."
Renfrew will be looking to improve on their ugly 58-48 victory at home to the Lions earlier in the year. In what was a disastrous offensive outing, the coaching team were happy with the defensive showing, but are aware a poor shooting night again could spell trouble. Renfrew will look to new signee Shay Graham, signed after the first matchup, who has been clicking in the starting lineup, with a number of Rocks' on a good run of form, with shooter Liam Stevenson currently enjoying a good spell from beyond the arc as well as Matthew Keegan, who's recent form has earned him a number of starts recently.
The 5-7 Rocks had a much improved outing against 2nd placed St Mirren, in what was mostly a one possession game throughout before falling away in the final minutes, but bounced back with a huge 33pt win over North Lanarkshire before the break, to start the playoff run in the second half of the season.
An improved look from the team has the coaching staff happier, with Head Coach Johnathan MacLeod proud of the response to challenge of making playoffs.
"It was good to show that we can compete with the top end of the table, like I know we have been able to, it was just about applying ourselves in the right way," MacLeod said post game. "We have transformed a bit, shook things up in practice and got a place where I am happier. I was disappointed with the loss to Saints, which, in itself is a sign of improvement considering the first time around, we were right there, but experience down the stretch was the difference. We knew coming into it that it was our best shot at one of the top 3 to improve our Playoff chances, so dropping that one hurts, but we're not out of it yet. The win over Chiefs is a real numerical sign of the growth, 29 points better than the first time we faced off, so I am very pleased with that, the guys have done well. Every game now is a cup final for us."
Renfrew need to ideally win all of their remaining 8 games to secure a historic first ever Playoff berth with one or two results going their way, with two of those coming against a much improved Falkirk Fury and Scottish Cup Champions Boroughmuir Blaze. 6 wins can secure a Playoff spot too, but with a reliance on other Playoff contenders to drop points.
A full list of remaining Renfrew Rocks SBC fixtures can be found via the Game Hub.
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