[South01]

Herbie rides again for Geelong Supercats

Bradley Green

November 24th, 2009


ANOTHER major piece of the Geelong Supercats line-up has fallen into place with Nathan Herbert agreeing to suit up again next season.

There had been speculation that Herbert would take an extended break from the game next winter after playing back-to-back seasons in the SEABL and NBL since 2006.

However, new Supercats coach Jamie O'Loughlin confirmed yesterday that Herbert - who is currently playing with Adelaide in the NBL - had committed to another year with his hometown club.

"He will miss some games early in the season because the crossover of the two leagues," O'Loughlin said.
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"He'll have a bit of a break to freshen himself up because the season's are so tough, but it's great to have Nathan on board again next year."

The 25-year-old Herbert passed 200 career games and 3000 career points for the Supercats during last season's play-offs.

Herbert is averaging 6.3 points, 2.8 assists and 1.3 rebounds so far this season with the 36ers, above his NBL career average.

Meanwhile, O'Loughlin has formed a summer training squad of 25 from which he will finalise his roster and rookie-list spots next year.

O'Loughlin said the squad contains the Supercats' 2009 list - minus import Clifton Lee - topped up with some juniors who have the potential to see solid minutes in upcoming seasons.

"The kids that we've picked we see some potential in and if they can realise that potential through training and being involved in the team, we will have found the next crop of Supercats to take over from the current group," O'Loughlin said.

"We're not looking for five or six ready-made players.

"We still have a core group in that mid-to-late 20's range that has plenty of time left.

"While we need a short-term plan, we also need to plan for the mid-to-long term and that's what this squad is.

"We're trying to make sure that we can continue to keep churning out quality groups year after year."

Geelong Supercats 2010 training squad: Dane Bow, Tom Boyle, Chris Brown, Braith Cox, Chris Daniele, Chris Dunlop, Daniel George, Matt Hardiman, Keith Harrison, Lachlan Headlam, Nathan Herbert, Jordan Hughes, Paul Hutchison, Sebastian Loader, Ben McCawley, Jamie Medved, Isma'il Muhammad, Stefan Osborne, Nick Owusu, Jason Reardon, Michael Rebula, Ben Suchanek, James Swallow, Matthew Vale, Mick Watson.