Wil Rantall impresses in Warrnambool Seahawks' Big V game

Wil Rantall, who was picked for the Victorian under 16 team in 2021 but was denied a chance to compete due to COVID-19 restrictions, played 13 minutes in the Seahawks' 68-53 loss to Warrandyte Venom at the Arc on Saturday night.

Seahawks coach Alex Gynes, who was influential with 25 points and 19 rebounds in his first game of the season, said the 15-year-old deserved his opportunity in the Big V.

"I have a lot of trust in Wil. He plays his heart out and that is what you want from a young kid," he told The Standard post game.

"Sky's the limit for him. His work ethic is going to see him go a long way if he sticks at it.

"He knocked down a three, so it was nice for him to see a three go down as well."

Two experienced players - James Mitchell and Liam Osborne - also impressed the coach throughout the topsy-turvy contest.

"James was a great in (after missing round one). He had his head down and kept working and was persistent," Gynes said.

"Liam came in and controlled the tempo through the game and found some mis-matches down the stretch when we needed a basket."

The Seahawks, who are now 0-2, trailed at every change.

They were five points adrift at half-time and 10 in arrears at the final break.

Warrandyte burst out to a 16-point advantage early in the fourth before Warrnambool slashed the margin to seven midway through the term.

Gynes said the Seahawks spent too much time on the back foot.

"They grind away and use the full shot clock and they're a team who has played together for a long, long time so we knew what we were coming up against," he said.

"They play hard defensively and if we're not moving and persistent, we're not going to get open shots. They clog up the lane and that is where we failed a little bit, with our ball movement and spacing on the offensive end.

"In saying that, we still got the open looks we wanted to. I dare say our shooting percentage isn't where we need it to be.

"But credit to the boys, we played it out and had to roll the dice at the end there to try and pinch it."

Gynes said there were patches in the game where the Seahawks controlled the tempo and took the right shots on offer.

"They didn't drop but with a bit more run under our legs, we'll polish up on those areas as the season goes on," he said.

The Seahawks were without Josh Dyson, Ash Keen, Benson Steere, Nathan Hardingham and Riley Nicolson.

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