The Tornadoes lost four of their first five games but have bounced back since Mansfield’s return in game five to win their past three matches.

Derrick Washington’s side sunk 115 points in a 24-point win over Albury last weekend, and no-one enjoyed the scoring fest more than the Tornadoes’ skipper. 

“I’m starting to get a bit of a gist for what we want to do here and the style of play we want to be playing which is a lot more up and down, high tempo,” Mansfield said. 

“I’m not sure what our three-point percentage was in Albury but I know we hit a lot of threes - it’s definitely a fun style of play I’m really enjoying.

“We work well when we’re pushing the ball and shooting the ball with confidence.”

At 4-4 the Tornadoes are back in the hunt but the hard work is only just beginning, starting with Saturday’s home clash against fifth-placed Sydney Uni.

The next fortnight will also bring meetings with top-eight sides Nunawading and Canberra. 

“It’s still going to be a pretty tough season, we’ve got some teams coming who are higher on the ladder so we definitely have a tough schedule ahead of us.

“It’s going to take a lot of work to be able to put wins on the board but I think it’s definitely good for our confidence, we’ve got three in row now so we’re hoping to get the fourth on Saturday.”