Ladder:
Brisbane
Melbourne
Cairns
Sydney
Perth
Adelaide
NZ
South
Townsville
Gold Coast
West Sydney
Wollongong
Singapore

COY Westover
ROY M. Knight
DPOY Mackinnon
Sixth Man Hoare or Barlow
MVP Anstey
MIP Gibson

I've got Darnell Hinson in my Sportal Dream Team because his name is Darnell. And he was cheap.

I'm taking Larry Abney for MVP. Could have won it last season. Sammy Mac would have to be a chance again. Don't rule out Chappell - he was huge when playing with NZ.

MIP - Tovey of Sydney. Kid can play.

Ladder:
Brisbane
Cairns
Melbourne
Adelaide
Sydney
Perth
New Zealand
Dragons
----------
Townsville
Gold Coast
Wollongong
West Sydney
Singapore

COY: Westover
ROY: Janev
DPOY: Sammy Mac
6th Man: Barlow
MVP Sammy Mac
MIP: Gibson

Ladder:
Melbourne
Brisbane
Sydney
Perth
Cairns
South
Adelaide
NZ

Gold Coast
Wollongong
West Sydney
Townsville
Singapore

COY Westover
ROY Jawaii
DPOY Mackinnon
Sixth Barlow
MVP Mackinnon
MIP NG


Most Technicals - Brendan Joyce!!

I am predicting that Cairns will be the bust of the year after what i saw here last weekend.

Cat needs surgery NOW not in a few weeks, not in a few months, NOW. They guy cant walk so how are they expecting him to be as big a contributor as he was last year.

They are lost without Darnell on the court which my mail suggests will be a few weeks in before he has seen action.

Abney looked lost / disinterested.

The only upside is them getting Jawaii to a long term deal now to stop the big $ vultures circling overhead next year and beyond.

If i was the owners throwing the money around at older players to the level of what i have heard they are paying, if i dont make the final 2 this year i may want to find another hobby.

Crazy! ;) I hope NZ do well, but it's so hard to know how they'll go until they play with Penney in the team.

Just can't see Goorjian letting Sydney fall that low. They have had a successful pre-season without any imports and missing other key players from game to game. Their new power forward is a guy that Melbourne were looking at, and the Kings were very happy that the Tigers went with Muursepp instead to leave Victor for them.

"The only upside is them getting Jawaii to a long term deal now to stop the big $ vultures circling overhead next year and beyond."

HA HA HA HA HA HA

One of the Big dollar vultures already got him, sunshine.

NBL LADDER
1 Melbourne
2 Cairns
3 Brisbane
4 Perth
5 South Dragons
6 Townsville
7 NZB
8 Adelaide

9 Sydney
10 WSR
11 Blaze
12 Slingers
13 Wollongong

AWARDS
COY Westover
ROY Loughton
DOPY Rosell Ellis
6 Man Egan
MVP Kavossy Franklin
MIP: Gibson/Drew Williamson

It will be a good year if the Sixers break 50% W/L.

For mine:

1. Brisbane (solid, well coached, team of stars)
2. Melbourne (ditto, just a little less so)
3. Sydney (look no worse than last year and could be better with good imports)
4. Perth (perennial position)

5. Cairns (in a shock Brisbane of 2 years ago fashion)
6. South Dragons (Will win more than 50%, but not really challenge)
7. Adelaide (Could move up a spot or two with luck)
8. New Zealand (Great team on paper but will self destruct like every other Breakers squad)

9. Blaze (Lose too many games from D Joyce turnovers and B Joyce technicals)
10. Townsville (Thin squad, not going to get over the loss of Newley)
11. Wollongong (Maybe the least impressive squad around, lost all of its stars from last year)
12. West Sydney (Will show spirit and courage and lose)
13. Singapore (Barely have a squad)

i stand corrected Dicko, well done

Melbourne - Anstey will lead to another title
Sydney - Sav will help them rise again
Cairns - if they overcome injuries could be there
Brisbane - have some cracks
NZ - a lot of talk about Penny but Jones is also back
Perth - poor bench will hurt unless Redhage becomes Aust
Townsville - still some quality
Victoria - guards will get them into 8

Adelaide - sorry
West Sydney - will give 100%
Gold Coast - not good enough
Wollongong - poor
Singapore - poorer

COY Westover
ROY Bradshaw
6 man Gibson - would start at most clubs
MVP Anstey - he has the hunger again

1. Brisbane (Better team than last year)
2. Sydney (once they include 2 good imports plus Sav make them a contender)
3. Melbourne (Solid result, Import combo not good enough though)
4. Cairns (injuries already and will not finish where they want, will take too long to gel)
5. South D (once they figure out how to play D will be a tough gig)
6.New Zealand (may be Lemanis last season, good additions but all the same players, can win just from the outside)
7. Perth (Fisher will be found out, Rodges never plays 2 good years in a row)
8. Gold Coast (early signs say they will win there fair share and with a record of under 500 will scrape in)

9. Townsville (agreed still enough talent but reliant on few)
10. Sixers (still cant defend and nothing has changed if we are honest with ourselves, Phils last year)
11. Singapoor (poor cos they will be)
12. West Sydney (young and will improve)
13. Woolongone (could be one of the last few years of this franchise, why pick Cooks?)

MVP - Sam Mac again
COY - Georgian for making it back to the GF
Most Improved - Greg Vanderjact
Defensive POY - Joe Ingles
ROY - Nathan Jawai

Axel - how can you say the Sixers still can't defend?

Additions of Davidson, Chappel and Dench go a long way to addressing that issue. Cooper no longer has to step up as a help man and try to block shots as a last line of defence tactic, so he should stay out of foul trouble.

Davidson will work any guard in the league into earning every point and assist they get. Chappel will address our biggest hole which was defending the oversized 3-man.

Maher is a soild defender and rebounder, as is Sutton. Copes is actually a very smart defender who works hard off the ball and still rebounds well.

Ng - can hassle up the floor and is quick, but will still get out-bodied. Our only glaring weakness IMO

The Doctor,
I agree with only one name and that is Davidson he is the only real defender the team has.
Chapell and Dench are not defenders which is part of why Joyce never tried to change his mind to leave the Hawkes.
Maher has never been a great defender, but as his body is getting older he struggles to keep the quicker guards in front.
Sutton and NG maybe at a pinch, but even Sutts looked suspect against quicker guards in the ABL.
Copeland may be smart but shouldnt see time IMO, he would be in the bottom 5 for his position these days.

It is only my opinion but for me this team is not any better than last years team defensively, the area we have improved on is scoring power so i hope we can just out score teams.
I am a sixers fan but just feel there isnt enough Davidson types that just refuse to get beaten, and if we continue to use a so called match up zone it just promotes poor D.

Again the Doc, only my opinion, but fear at the end of this season it will be right.

I think the Sixer should give it a real crack this year. I have to agree with the Dr's Medicine. We should be more mobile and able to defend up the court more.

Plus as I was drilled before about Maher being the NBL's best Pt Guard. We now have signed a Pure Pt guard is Davidson so we can now get the ball over the half way line.

I think we will give it a good crack or atleat the games will be worth going to in the way of the sixers trying to win

NBL LADDER
1 Melbourne
2 Sydney
3 Brisbane
4 Cairns
5 Perth
6 Adelaide
7 New Zealand
8 South Dragons

9 Townsville
10 Gold Coast
11 West Sydney
12 Wollongong
13 Singapore

AWARDS
COY Goorjian
ROY Matt Knight
DOPY Glen Saville
Sixth Man Aaron Grabau
MVP Martin Cattalini
MIP: Adam Gibson

If Cat was going to win the MVP his best chances were last year and he did that on a healthy body. Cat Man has a serious problem with his foot that will see him struggle this year and I hate to say that cause I am huge fan of Cat.

1.Cairns (abney, black and tucker as new signings)
2.Brisbane (Still as powerful)
3.Melbourne ( will drop maybe a spot or two)
4.South Dragons ( Groves and horvath good inclusions)
5.Perth ( Going down on a slide from here on)
6.Adelaide ( will definetly improve)
7.Sydney ( an average team on paper)
8.NZ Breakers (good list but will under achieve)

9.Townsville ( abney and newley gone)
10.Gold Coast ( first year will tell alot)
11.Singapore ( barely have any talent)
12.West Sydney ( just very young team)
13.Wollongong ( no talent left at all)

1. Brisbane
2. Melbourne
3. Cairns
4. Sydney
5. South
6. Adelaide
7. Perth
8. New Zealand

9. Townsville
10.Gold Coast
11.West Sydney
12.Wollongong
13.Singapore

AWARDS
COY Westover
ROY Alex Loughton
DOPY Brad Davidson
Sixth Man David Barlow
MVP Sammy Mac
MIP: Ng the ninja

How people can make predictions at this stage is beyond me. What have we actually seen so far that would give any sort of impression of what is ahead this season? Obviously teams like Brisbane and Melbourne who were the top 2 teams last season and with little change this season will do well again. I could not begin to predict how good or bad the Sixers will be. Once again we have many new recruits, and not all of them have played a game yet. I thought they looked pretty good last weekend and with the absence of Chappell, Motteram and to some extent Maher, I was especially impressed. Then the game in Port Lincoln on Friday came as a complete surprise as to why they could not overcome Perth. Perth a team that is not that highly rated and were missing a couple of key players should have been a pushover. All it did was to add some confusion as to what they are capable of. As for XY's comment about it being a good year if the Sixers break 50% W/L, I don't think management was aiming that low in the off season recruitment. I would be pretty disgusted with all this hype about the hard work done in the off season to put together a team on the floor that the fans could be proud of and then only return a 50/50 win/loss ratio. Much more has to be expected and hopefully much more will be achieved. If I had to make a prediction on the Sixer's success this season, I would say they will be very successful subject to minimal injuries to key players (particularly Maher), Chappell fits in well, and we get consistent performances from Copeland. Davidson and Ballinger have already instilled confidence in what they can do.

I agree with you EC. No-one really knows but they are having a stab in the dark.
Even with one new member everyone still needs time to gel. (4 to 6 weeks....)
It really depends on what teams have done in the off-season, changes in team structure, changes in offences/defences etc etc etc.
Then there are injuries.

EC and Sturty - that's what predictions are. Guesses based on the information available at present. That's why the predictions have been very different, because there are so many variables. What's wrong with that?

And EC - very strange how you begin a post with "how people can make predictions at this stage is beyond me.", then you promptly make a prediction.

And Axel - I did forget Ballinger. Very good defender and rebounder. Not saying the Sixers will lock teams down this year, but their defence will be much improved.