It will be a busy weekend for the Griffith Demons as they prepare for a doubleheader to get their 2019 MIA League season underway.
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The side will head to Leeton on Friday night to take on the Eagles before backing up on Saturday for the grand final rematch against West Wyalong at West End Stadium.
The Demons and Eagles were meant to face off last weekend however player unavailability over the long weekend saw both teams reach an agreement to move the clash to this Friday.
With the busy weekend, men's coach Andrew Cullen knows he is going to have to change his approach to ensure his players don't burn out.
"I'll be managing the team as if we will be playing an 80-minute game," he said.
"We have a couple out on Saturday so I have to look after those guys who will be backing up from Friday.
"It requires a different approach, and I probably won't be implementing some of the more intense defensive strategies because of the doubleheader.
"My focus will be managing the minutes so that we still have a relatively fresh side for the Saturday game."
Heading into the weekend, Cullen isn't sure what to expect and put it down to the nature of the competition.
"It can be a funny competition at times," he said.
"You can come up against one team and then play them again two weeks later, and they are completely different.
"It's hard to compare our squad when you haven't seen what the rest of the sides have to offer."
Despite not really knowing what his side will come up against, Cullen sees no reason why his side can't at least match their performance of last season which saw them finish as runners-up.
"Assuming everyone has basically the same team, I don't see why we can't," he said.
"We have been training quite well, and our advantage is that we are young and have a strong shooting team."
With the MIA League coming back to life after a brief hiatus, Cullen is pleased to have senior basketball back on the menu.
"It has created a platform, and hopefully we are able to make something out of it," he said.
"There is a real issue with basketball once you are past the age of 18 and I'm glad to see it going again.
"We see it as a good stepping stone."
The action in Leeton will get underway on Friday at 6pm with the women's clash.
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