Hawthorn Magic at BigV Tournament In Frankston

Updated 12 March 2008

Over the weekend, both Hawthorn Magic senior teams participated in the annual BigV Tournament at Frankston.

The mens team were put into a joint division made up of teams from Division One Mens and Youth League One divisions of the BigV competition. The first game for the Magic was against the Sherbrooke Suns on Saturday afternoon. Sherbrooke defeated the Magic in the 2006 Grand Final series. In the offseason, Sherbrooke added All Star 5 player Josh Smith from Bulleen and would prove a tough task first up. The Magic proved their championship credentials by accounting for the Suns 71-58. Following the opening victory, the Magic had a close encounter against Bulleenn's Division One side, beating them 45-44. The Magic returned to Frankston Stadium on Sunday and were first up on court, defeating the Southern Peninsula Sharks 52-48. A high scoring game against the Altona Gators would complete the round robin part of the tournament as the Magic ran out winners 76-72. The finals beckoned for the Magic following their winning form in the round robin. However, the Magic would be derailed in the semi finals by the talented Melbourne Tigers Youth League side, going down 63-39. The Tigers would go on to win Divison One of the Frankston Tournament.

The Magic women, featuring an abundance of youth, began their Division One tournament against the Coburg Giants. The Magic got off to a winning start in a close one, 34-32. Diamond Valley were up next and the Magic continued on their way, winning 58-54. On Sunday, the women defeated the Sunbury Jets 44-43 in a nail biter before sailing past the LaTrobe City Energy 53-45 in their final group game. Hawthorn progressed to the semi finals with their undefeated record where they once again came up against LaTrobe City. The result was no different as the Magic moved on to the grand final 61-38. The Magic would come up against the Diamond Valley Eagles in the grand final. However, the team would struggle as they rested veterans Hannah Lowe and Emily Matheson. This time, the Eagles got the better of the Magic 58-38.

Overall, it was a successful tournament for both teams as both made it deep into the tournament. Both teams were able to tinker with their rotations in preparation for the season proper which kicks off on Saturday March 29th at the Boorondara Sports Complex from 6pm.

Elsewhere, 2006 Hawthorn Referee of the Year, Nick Crowe was plying his trade with whistle in mouth down at Frankston. Nick will be making his debut this season in Division Three of the BigV competition.

Off the court, Hawthorn were well represented in Frankston as our technical officials stocks were bolstered. Angela Greatorex, Peter Pratt, Alex Scott, Lisa Davie and Ben Hickman all completed the Level One Scoretable course. Meanwhile, Paul Higham and Kevin Ng completed the Level One Statistics course while Ash Mabilia and James Puli were briefed on the workings of the new Live Stats package that will be used at BigV games this season. Look out for these guys on the Hawthorn scorebench this upcoming season.

2008 Hawthorn Magic BigV Fixtures
2008 Hawthorn Magic BigV Squads
New Look Magic Women Kick Start Pre-Season
2008 BigV Season Photos in the Gallery