Rollers Out of Medal Contention

On Paralympic day seven the Australian Rollers have fallen to Great Britain, 51 to 74, taking them out of medal contention.

Entering the 2016 Games there was high expectation on the Rollers to bring home a medal.

These expectations were dissipated on Wednesday night (WST) following an upsetting loss to the side from Great Britain.

The Rollers, led by Western Australian Brad Ness, started the game strong, trailing by just two points at half time.

It wasn’t until the start of the third quarter that Great Britain began to assert their authority on the game, notching up 14 points to Australia’s four early.

This break did not go un-answered however, with Australia fighting back to score nine points to Great Britain’s one, thanks to the efforts of Western Australia’s Shaun Norris and fellow team member Brett Stibners.

Despite their efforts, Great Britain still went into the three quarter break with a seven goal lead.

Heading into the final quarter of the game the Rollers were going to need to perform well above their previous efforts in order to come away with the win and head into the semi-finals.  

Unfortunately Great Britain’s defence was too strong and the opportunities that the Australian’s received were not capitalized on. 

Scoring just six points in the final quarter, at 38%, was not enough for the Rollers and the Great British team finished on top.

The Australian Rollers will now play off for fifth spot on Paralympic competition day ten.