Bathurst's Liam Kirkland and Kurt Lansom to feature for Orange Eagles in 2023

The Orange-based basketball team gets its Waratah Youth League season underway on Saturday night, but there'll be two Bathurst youngsters in the squad.

Liam Kirkland and Kurt Lansom, who have both represented the Bathurst Goldminers at junior level, will both tip off for the Eagles against the Shoalhaven Tigers from 6.30pm.

Eagles coach Troy Hogarth wants his team to be for the region.

READ MORE:

"We've got two guys from Dubbo in the team and they travel over once a week for training," he said.

"Liam and Kurt come over twice a week, so we've got a mixture of Bathurst, Dubbo and Orange players in our team.

"We're the only option in the Central West for these players and we're trying to put the best team, from across the region, on the floor."

Lansom still plays junior basketball for the Goldminers, having featured in the most recent round of the Western Youth League at Bathurst last weekend.

A current St Stanislaus' representative too, Lansom has been described by Hogarth as a "very good outside shooter", who "opens up the floor because of his threat".

Kirkland, who has since graduated from the Goldminers, is another "very good outside shooter".

"He's a very handy ball-handler and an aggressive drive to the basket," Hogarth said.

"He's a very good finisher under pressure and he's that inside outside threat, that can really make a difference for the team."

Hogarth said he had tried to attract players from Lithgow to join his team, but the travel to Orange for training and games proved too much.

He's still eager to welcome players from Lithgow in the future, as well as any other players from various centres across the region.

"We want anyone interested to consider playing in the future," he said.

As Saturday night's match is the first round of the season, Hogarth is hoping to "pack the joint out".

"We want a really big crowd there, to support our team in the first game of the season," he said.

"We expect people from Bathurst to come, whether it's family or friends or people interested in basketball."

Saturday night's game will be played at the at the Sir Neville Howse Stadium (Orange PCYC).

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: