The Mount Gambier Pioneers hit the road this weekend for a tough NBL1 South conference double.

The Castec Rural Pioneers men and OneFortyOne Pioneers women will play the Ringwood Hawks on Saturday night before backing up on Sunday against the Ballarat Miners.

Castec Rural Pioneers head coach Richard Hill said he was hopeful that sharp shooter Nick Marshall would return from injury this week to bolster his side.

“We have got a crazy run with nine games to play in just over five weeks, the last six games are three doubles in a row,” he said.

“We have got a Melbourne double this week then we are home for a single and then we have got three doubles in a row.”

The run to finals starts this weekend as the side travels to Melbourne to take on Ringwood Hawks, who they defeated earlier in the season, plus the Miners who they are yet to play.

“We played Ringwood here and won by 13 or 14 earlier in the year, they are a middle of the road team, they are like everyone, it does not matter who you play, if you do not play well you get beaten,” Hill said.

“We have not played Ballarat, but they are good.

“Ballarat are surprisingly in the bottom third of the ladder, their best team is very good, but they have had some players missing.

“This weekend though I think they will have everyone available.

“They are very dangerous, I hope they beat some of the teams that are above us and that will be very handy.

“It is not the toughest road trip we have had, but any road double is hard.”

OneFortyOne Pioneers head coach Matt Sutton said his side was in good shape heading into a tough series of games.

“It’s a hectic end to the season which is all part of the fun,” he said.

“We are looking forward to the challenge, this weekend will be extremely tough.

“We have never beaten Ringwood and they are the defending champs, we are eager to get that game under way.

“Last time we played them we lost by 10 or so, we were down by a lot and brought it back.

“We are looking forward to it, they are very good, maybe they are not having the season they wanted, but they have added an import and Marena (Whittle) is back after the world cup.

“They will be at full strength and will be tough.”

Sutton said his side was also looking forward to Sunday’s match against Ballarat, with the Miners sitting 18th on the ladder.

“We have not played Ballarat yet, they are tough as well, their wins and losses might not be what they were wanting,” he said.

“They are tough and play a couple of unique plays that we are going to be ready for.”