While they had the bye at the weekend, the Breakers returned to the court for round one on October 3, hosting Shepparton Gators at Benalla Indoor Recreation Centre in the opening contest of the season, and it was a dominant showing from the tip off.
With only two players from the 2023 season returning to the court for game one in Sam Beks and Aaron Fry, the new-look Breakers took a few moments to get up to speed, finding themselves down 2-11 early on, but worked back into the contest nicely to establish a 21-15 lead over the Gators by the quarter-time break.
There would be no sluggish start to the second term, though, as the Breakers broke the contest apart with a venomous burst, effectively rendering the contest over as the half-time buzzer sounded.
In a stunning display, the Breakers poured in 23 of the first 25 points of the second term amid a 34-10 quarter, with 16 of those points coming from the hot hand of Aaron Hamill, as Benalla opened up a mammoth 55-25 lead by the main break.
Things only got worse for Shepparton, too, as the Breakers forged ahead in the third term, shooting 13 of the first 15 points after the half-time interval, and going on to outscore the visitor 22-7 in the third term to lead by a massive 77-32 margin at the final change.
The Gators steadied somewhat in the final term, but Benalla still won the quarter 15-13, as they romped to a mightily impressive 92-45 victory upon return to the league.
Hamill led the way in terms of scoring, sinking eight long range shots from beyond the arc as part of a game-high 32-point effort, while Spencer Wright (15), Robbie Hamilton (10) and Beks (10) were handy contributors, each scoring double digits.
The Breakers then travelled to Myrtleford Indoor Sports Stadium the following day for the second game in their double-header opening round fixture against Myrtleford, where they were given a bit of a reality check by the Saints.
A slow first half saw the Breakers trail 22-38 at half-time, but their ability to score quickly was once again on display in the third quarter, where they exploded for a massive 32-13 term to surge into the lead, up 54-51 with a quarter to play.
But the slow start proved costly in the end, as the Saints won the final quarter 22-15, and the game 73-69, to hand Benalla its first defeat of the campaign.
Matthew Bartlett top-scored with 19 in his first outing of the season for the Breakers, while Hamill (15) and Wright (14) were again industrious in defeat.
The Breakers return to the court in round three this weekend, where they will host 2025 runner-up Wallan at Benalla Indoor Recreation Centre on Saturday night.
