With a top-two finals spot guaranteed, Ballarat Miners coach Brendan Joyce says fans can expect to see some younger players get opportunities for his side over the final three weeks of the season.
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The Miners played all six of its players off the bench on Wednesday night's win over the Geelong Supercats, five of which are part of Ballarat's youth league team. This came partly because of an injury to import guard Marqueze Coleman and a 25-point lead down the stretch of the contest.
Ahead of the Miners' game on Saturday against Hobart, Joyce said he has discussed the chances for more playing time with his bench players.
"We've talked about opportunity coming at different times," he said.
"I spoke to (Zach Dunmore, Ross Weightman and Tristan Fisher) before our last game and told them there's going to be more minutes available but you're going to have to earn them.
"There's no point playing people if they're not playing well... Zach probably grasped the opportunity more than anybody else on Wednesday."
After the Miners game against the Supercats, captain Josh Fox said he always loves to see the younger players get an opportunity for the senior team.
"It's amazing, those guys work just as hard as we do, they don't get the recognition they deserve," he said.
"At practice they give us the toughest match-ups and help us prepare for every game... it makes me more happy to see some of them score than myself."
Joyce and Fox aren't taking Hobart lightly however, as they are well aware of the Huskies' ability to cause an upset.
"Hobart are a dangerous team," Joyce said.
"Frankston were the last team to beat us and Hobart beat them at their home gym.
"We know what they do... if we play like we did on Wednesday night we'll take the win. I'd say the guys are feeling pretty confident but it comes down to playing the right way and being consistent."
Fox echoed his coaches sentiments about Hobart.
"I expect them to come out hard... it'll be a tough game, they're an athletic team but we're always excited to play an opponent we haven't seen yet."
Coming off a win against the sixth-placed Melbourne Tigers, the Huskies are in a must-win situation as they sit just outside of the NBL1 top-eight.
A win would go a long way for their finals push as they have five games remaining over the final three weeks.
The Ballarat Miners will host the Hobart Huskies on Saturday evening at the Minerdome in a double header with the Rush from 6pm.
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