After 11 games and several razor-close finishes, the Tamworth Thunderbolts men have finally secured a home victory. And what's more, they did so in front of the same raucous Tamworth crowd that has turned out in force to every one of their games this season. "It was due, and we had a fair few supporting," Tamworth coach Kane Butler said of his side's 96-79 win over St George Saints White on Saturday. "I think there would have been about 250-300 [people in the crowd] ... they turned up for it, started strong and it was good to see." Shortly after the Thunderbolts women scored their own 66-63 win over Lismore earlier that evening, the men were inspired to go out and do the same. And while there are still improvements to be made, Butler was "happy" with their performance. "We still need to guard the ball better," he said. "But I'm happy with how we stuck together, and we haven't kept a team in the 70s for a while, so it was good to see." The theme of the 2023 season has been continual growth for Tamworth. At the outset, Butler, the rest of the support staff, and the Tamworth basketball committee all knew that immediate success was unlikely and that they would most probably have to endure hardship for at least a season or two before becoming real competitors in the division. But under the leadership of Butler and captain Scott McGann, and with the additions of American imports Allante Harper and Kyle Gupton and state league veteran Rhys Chillingworth, the side has started to become a threat to all teams in the competition well ahead of schedule. "We weren't a deep team at the start of the season," Butler said. "Five or six players were running through and giving us good contributions, where now it's 10 or 11. So it's huge to see, and when you've got a young squad, you just build and it's a process. "I think we're going pretty well in that regard." And the importance of the win not just to the players, but the crowd in attendance as well, was clear after the final buzzer. "It was great to sing the team song," Butler said. "We haven't sung that at home yet, and it was pretty good to see the young fellas come in and sing it with us. "It was a good win, and we had the family there which made it even better." Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: