Dragons captain Mark Worthington

The Crazy John’s South Dragons find themselves somewhere they haven’t been this season: in the midst of a two-game losing streak. Despite that recent lack of form, the Dragons remain in first place on the NBL ladder going into Saturday night’s huge clash with second place New Zealand.

Besides being a “1 v 2” game, it’s statement time for two teams who want to get some momentum heading into finals.

“It’s just another game, but we need to put the two losses behind us and show to ourselves and the rest of the league that we weren’t just a fluke at the start of the season,” Dragons captain Mark Worthington said.

Head coach Brian Goorjian said after the loss to Perth, that the “cornerstones” of the Dragons’ success – defence and rebounding – had disappeared. Worthington ventures down a similar path.

“We called ourselves a blue collar team at the start of the year,” he said. “And our names have been in the headlines every week and maybe we’re starting to believe our own hype.”

The team’s leading scorer continued. “It’s a bit of a reality check and a wake up call that the season doesn’t stop after 20 games.”

Tremmell Darden, who led the Dragons with 19 in the loss to Perth, added, “We need to get back to basics, back to what got us here. It’s time to finish strong.”

The game will be played at Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre (MSAC) and a packed house is expected.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Worthington admitted. “We’re playing at the place where we train all the time. It’ll be much closer and intimate and hopefully our crowd will really be loud. It’s going to be good.”

All tickets for Saturday’s game must be bought through the Dragons office. To buy tickets, simply phone the office on (03) 9690 6600 and pay by credit card or come into the Dragons office at MSAC in Albert Park and pay by cash or credit card.