Interview with Rockhampton Rockets Assistant Coach Darren Richardson
How is the season going so far?
The season is going well at the moment with a huge weekend ahead. The team is starting to gel slowly but it will definitely take some time.
On how the team has improved over the course of the offseason?
It is a new era for the Rockets and it is hard to say we've improved from last year at this point because the guys who have been a part of the program for a long time were extremely successful. So we aren't expecting any immediate success, I think the improvement will come over the next few seasons.
On last week’s game vs. Logan. How did the game unfold and were did you feel you lost the game?
We were happy with effort and the performance particularly by the younger guys who got their first real taste of the competition. The difference simply came down to executing in the last 3 minutes. Logan were simply just better at that time. Mitch Young was enormous!
On Friday night’s game vs. Toowoomba. What does Rockhampton need to get the win?
Toowoomba put up a good effort against an in form Townsville side so we are definitely not taking this one lightly. It appeared they played a type of match up zone so we will need to be ready for that if it arises. They run out of it well so defensive transition will be a key also.
On Sunday massive game @ Mackay. How do you contain Mackay and what you think is the key battle?
Both teams traded wins in the preseason and they were both very different games. We shot the lights out in game 1 and they simply out muscled us in game 2. They showed very hard on the on balls in game 2 and that took us out of our offense so we need to better on that front. They also beasted us on the rebounding stat so hopefully Tommy and Auryn can improve our rebounding this weekend so we can run a bit more. A massive game which ever way you look at it!
