So you wanted another big to sit behind Balls/Johnson? I think our big man rotation will do better than alot of people think...They are going to be a hell of alot more mobile than most others...Apart from Melbourne I don't think any team has a SIGNIFICANTLY better big man rotation than us.

as well as melbourne who are just huge
helliwell, walker, greer, neville etc.

there is perth with matty knight, redhage, wagstaff

townsville with ben allen schencher hinder

adelaide with johnson holmes ballinger


sydney with kazzough janev knight

the big man battle in the league is going to be a lot stronger than everyone thinks

to me - it doesn't appear to be a very well balanced roster BUT everyone raves about Marty Clarke's coaching ability.

The fact that the NBL only play 1, maybe 2, games per week, the best coached teams SHOULD win on most occasions.

They do seem small in the frontcourt and average defensively. No problem with Johnson and Ballinger as the starters, but Dowdell is not a centre and barely a power forward, while Holmes is undersized as a PF even though he rebounds well.

I dont think there is anyone there who can really defend Redhage, Vukona, Petrie, McCullough etc at the four spot.

But every team in world basketball has their weaknesses, as long as Ballinger and Johnson stay healthy and perform near their best the team should at least win 10-12 games, if not a few more.

My own preference would have been for a genuine 3 man along the size of a Cattalini, Kevin Brooks, etc who have played in 36ers line ups of the past.

Keeping to the criteria that the Coaches set in selecting a player who had played in the league before, who would be a better choice for the same $$$ and was willing to join the 36ers?

Is 'suga' Daniel Eade?

Signing Ruck Ruckert on top of Balls/DJ/Holmes/JD would be ridiculous. A swingman was always the way to go, I was just hoping for a taller, more athletic one rather than a short shooter.

i think the team is going to be much better than people are expecting. we have alot of players with good different qualities and as long as marty exploits there strengths on game day we should be able to beat any team in the competition. it will be interesting to see this team come together i think they have alot to offer. i personally think going big can be a huge problem and i dont think tigers are going to be a big threat if we steal and hit the fast break which i see being one of our strategies

36ers certainly are going against the trend with this roster.
the idea the longer 3 will make for deeper/higher rebounds.......plus the bigs wont be out shooting the 3 (out of their range)makes for more highly contested rebounds under the bucket.

there are ways to counteract the 'lower down the ladder' big teams........but the good big teams will belt the 36ers!!!

Anon - 16 PPG in 27 MPG, that's not that bad. Not that many averaged more than 15 PPG last season.

i see your points when looking at the paper, but im still very sceptical of saying we will get belted. what good are bigs for boards if there are no boards to get. but in saying that i like entering the league as an under dog then proving other wrong. it will give good bragging rights to those of us who believe we are a good team this season. each to their own.

Cheeky Isaac, those 16ppg were in the 48 minute format, which is a different, more stat abundant style, especially for someone like Devries who was a complementary scorer rather than a primary option for WSR.

But even converted to 40mins, 13-14ppg would be decent for the Sixers, and I doubt putting points on the board will be their issue.

Thanks mod for removing the big tip link, this is why I don't like linky, bit.ly etc

I'm quite happy with our team , coaches , training and the like.

" So , in every individual the two trends,
one toward personal happiness
and the other toward unity with the rest of humanity,
must contend with each other. " - Freud.

The Sixers have a decent line up of bigs, they'll cause a few teams some problems and the Import choices look better than in previous years.
Just a matter of sitting back and seeing how the season plays out now.

Your rebuttal failed when you started with Ninnis.

I think the issue really is Dowdell. If Burston, or Loughton or even Ben Knight were in his spot I think people would be happy with the team. Clarke seems confident he can get the best out of Jeff, will be interesting to see.

Would take Burston, Loughton or Matt Knight in a flash as a big off the bench, as all three would be a great compliment to the current pieces we have. Lets just hope Dowdell can repay the faith Clarke has put in him.

surely Camel deserves an award as Hoops' first ever poster to quote Freud to prove a point.

While in a perfect world Burston, Loughton & Knight would be fantastic players to have,all would want to start in front of DJ and they would be ALOT more expensive than Dowdell.

Being that the main factor in getting DJ here was the starting position I really doubt that those 3 were really viable options for the club. There is only so much salary to go around and I dare say the majority is tied up in Balls, Winder & DeVries.

Also would any of those 3 fit into the points system with our current squad? Dowdell would have been cheap both salary & points wise.

All Dowdell has to do is defend the post and grab some rebounds, he isn't going to be getting heavy minutes.

paul, yes, different game format which is why I specifically quoted his MPG where others haven't always done so. And in the 40 minute game, you might only need a reliable 12-14 PPG from your third contributor - especially in a team which is fairly evenly spread across at least 9 spots.

With Dowdell, I can only think that the points value was the primary issue.

Im not convinced the bigger teams will dominate our shorter team? I cant see all of the Tigers bigs chasing our smaller and quicker guards through screens and closing out on open shots? Just as we will struggle with their height on defense, they will struggle with our speed, agility and shooting abilities.

With a bigger line up, the players are slower and generally not as good with the dribble, so our smaller line up should be able to get into position quicker, even on help D and get back to close out on their open man and we should be able to get in there for a few steals and fast breaks!

My social team has the biggest line up of all teams and we struggle alot of the time with the smaller, quicker teams that can shoot. With the argument of longer 3 point line equals longer rebounds, I have found with our bigger line up in social that the ball often rebounds over the taller guys and out to the guards, so not sure that it will be a massive issue?! As long as we do the fundamentals of rebounding by getting position and boxing out I think we will be ok.

I think the key if you are going to go small is to be really fit, be able to shoot really well, good ball movement and good team defense.....I think the Sixers and Marty can get the job done and may surprise quite a few teams and supporters!! :)

anon 095 i agree with Elite, your rebuttal was an epic fail of mass proportions. i think most people knew ninnis was a fail so to say he was ok and then to include cortez in the same sentence was a double fail. i remember how sceptical people were with the cortez pick and it was with good reason.

Tornado, I couldn't agree with you more.
I am excited about a "small" team pushing the ball up the court and every chance the get and hustling their butts off on D. I think we will see a very different team this year

I think 'faith' is where the concern comes in.

We're putting faith in DJ to step up to a starting role, faith in Hill to turn his form around, faith in Dowdell to perform, faith in Winder to be able to handle the ball and distribute etc.

Marty has his first season cut out for him pulling it all together. Looking forward to Game 1 - should be interesting.

I think everyone has missed anon 095's point.

But hey, while we're at it, Volgomort had faith in Jason Williams.

There. I said it.

Traditionally, as long as you forget the past few seasons, the 36ers have been a fast breaking, 3 point shooting team. The team put together seems to fit that mould. The other consideration is that last years team, could easily have won several more games, with better coaching and player decision making. With a change of coaching staff and 5 new players, this team should perform better.

Can't believe there are all these negative comments and EC isn't among them.

My concern isnt just that the team is small as such, but that it isnt quick or mobile or athletic either, particularly in the 4 and 5 spots.

Perth won small last year but Schenscher, Redhage, Cattalini, Young and Wagstaff was a talented group with a lot of different strengths. Johnson, Ballinger, Dowdell and Holmes don't have nearly the same quality.

Having said that I think the team will be competitive, and given the age of players I don’t think the team has been put together to win this year, it is very much a future project.

Guess question what is seen as negative and what are basic concerns or question.
I am sure even Clarke realizes this team is small but believes best combo from who available and funds available.
With Johnson our only real tall at 21 and reasonably inexperienced along with Adam who although great player not a strong under the post player or inside defensive player or rebounder and back up Centre only just PF size and not rated by many B Ball experts .
Leaves Holmes battling away against many bigger bodies again both on the boards and defensively wise.
Yes this team with a good coach and stronger defesive work from all can work but cant say it would be your ideal line up if we had a choice even with budget etc restrictions.
But to win going down shooting like the early Symth days will be exciting.
But have to remember all those point scorers ,point guards etc were Mee, K.B , Cat, not small players by any stretch and of course had experienced Centre and back up centre as well

It's all a bit of armchair expert / internet expert fun. Truth is, anything can and will happen between now and the grand final series.

Buy your tickets, spread the word and cheer hard like every year.



Remind your friends - we serve beer.

what beer will be available again. i remember coopers has nothing to do with the dome any more, thats more disappointing than anything regarding this upcoming season

SRT070, the biggest negative for the upcoming season is that we won't be able to drink Coopers at the games.

Big sexy, i personally believe so. im a big coopers fan. its a shame they are no longer selling at the stadium anymore. as foresee a pretty exciting team to watch i am predicting the no coopers will be my biggest disappointment. it just wont be the same.

i thought earlier this year they would have taken the advice of hoops forum dwellers suggested by me to get the naming rights for the stadium call it the coopers beer gardens or the coopers house of pale etc.

NO COOPERS?

The hell?

I retract my previously posted alcohol related optimism.