Barlow Gives Tigers Bite

The Age

Friday November 9, 2007

Martin Boulton

DAVID Barlow's impressive return from injury gathers pace tomorrow night when the undefeated Melbourne Tigers host the Sydney Kings at the State Netball Hockey Centre.

Almost 12 months after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament, the versatile guard/forward told The Age it was "a dream come true" to be home in Melbourne and playing for the Tigers.

"At times, I still feel a bit rusty on court, but I'm loving playing again, loving the training and just being part of the competition again."

The 205-centimetre sharpshooter was in his third season with the Kings when disaster struck last year, but said being closer to family and joining the Tigers eased his frustration.

"Physically, I'm fine now, really happy with how my knee feels and I'm just focusing on the season and winning the championship."

The 24-year-old said he had "always admired the Tigers" and at training yesterday with his new teammates in Sandringham, where he grew up, he was clearly relishing the opportunity.

Growing confidence in his knee has also led to more court time, including a flawless 14-of-14 from the field against the New Zealand Breakers two weeks ago.

Along the way to a career-high 37 points, Barlow set a National Basketball League record, breaking the previous equal-best performance of 10-of-10 from the field.

"That game was a lot of fun . . . hopefully, that sort of thing happens more often."

Barlow's stunning performance against the Breakers earned him player-of-the-week honours, but with a tough challenge against Sydney coming up, he's only looking forward.

"I got pretty used to playing alongside those guys, so it should be interesting coming up against them. I want to win, I want to win real bad, but I want to win every week."

Coach Alan Westover said Barlow's determination and versatility made him a valuable acquisition.

"He's been terrific and I've been saying all along he'll only get better," Westover said. "I've seen flashes of what he's capable of doing, but he's still coming off a knee, so he's not 100 per cent. He'll be hitting his straps as we approach the midway point of the season and we'll expect big things from him."

Sydney beat Brisbane by five points in a fierce encounter on Wednesday, and Westover says the Tigers must continue to play a team game.

"Every time we're challenged, we seem to rise to the occasion, so it's good to play them and evaluate exactly where we're at," he said.

"We have eight guys shooting over 50 per cent, so everyone's contributing. Tommy Greer, one of our younger guys, is coming in and playing valuable minutes, Nathan Crosswell and (Daryl) Corletto have been real solid and efficient. Stephen Hoare has had a fantastic season coming off the bench (and) when we've got other guys chipping in like that, it relieves pressure from the starting group and makes it a real team effort."

Sydney coach Brian Goorjian said the Kings' victory over the Bullets was among the best he'd been involved with - setting the stage for a thrilling clash between the league leaders.

© 2007 The Age

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