Sport
21 November, 2025
Two games left for Blazers to secure a victory
It’s last chance saloon for the Maryborough Men’s Blazers this weekend, aiming to leave their season-ending double header with a long-awaited victory.
While 2025 will go down as an unfulfilled season for Maryborough, the Blazers have an opportunity to showcase their untapped potential against two teams currently inside the finals places.
Firstly, Maryborough will host the third-placed Melton Thoroughbreds, who can officially book their ticket to the finals with a win on Saturday night.
That isn’t the only Blazers encounter that will severely impact the finals race. They’re also scheduled to play the Mildura Heat on Sunday, who are currently holding onto fourth by a thread.
Precisely 1.44 percent is all that currently separates the Heat from the Bendigo Braves in fifth, meaning any minor slip-up could see the Heat tumbling out of the playoff picture.
The Blazers would be happy to oblige towards the Heat’s demise, especially after losing a hotly contested battle to Mildura back in round three, 73-63.
Poised for a climactic finish with the match tied at 59-59 with eight minutes left, the Heat activated their clutch gene, going on a 10-1 run to ice the game.
Maryborough’s unflattering 0-8 record doesn’t truly indicate their competitiveness this season, losing half of their games by 10 points or less, including a heartbreaking four-point defeat to the Braves last Friday.
While their defence is comparable to last season, currently ranking fifth in points allowed, Marybo-rough’s offence is suffering from a season-long debilitating drought, with routine dry spells causing teams to go on game-changing runs.
The Blazers have slumped from the fifth-best offence in 2024 to dead last in points scored, currently averaging 73.6 points a game.
Maryborough was a raging inferno of scoring early last weekend, possessing refined ball movement and elite finishing in the paint to build a double-digit lead at quarter time.
With four qualified players averaging over 10 points this season in Jacobs (23 points), Neill (13), Swards (10.6) and Carter (10.3), alongside the efforts of Darcy Bond and Harry Alsop, Maryborough has the weapons to compete with the Thoroughbreds and Heat.
However, consistency and efficiency will be key if the Blazers are to earn a victory to reward their efforts this season.