Aaron Fearne in a letter to the Taipans members.

So now we turn our attention to our two vacant import spots.

My priority will be ensuring we get a lot more athletic than we were last year, and we have to find a couple of guys who can also really defend.

At this stage we'll be looking for a long, athletic three-man who can move his feet and play with some length and quickness.

We’ll also be looking at a point guard, who also needs to be really solid on the defensive end.

It will take a lot of research to get our imports right. There isn’t a set timeline. It could happen before we head over to the US in July to recruit, or it might be a month after I get back from Vegas. If you find someone you really like a decision may need to come sooner rather than later.

There’s no exact science with it though, so we’ll keep watching video, talking to our contacts and gathering as much information as possible.

We’ve been pretty good with our imports recently though, so hopefully we can find those final pieces to get us back into the playoffs again.

I hope everyone’s looking having a relaxing NBL off-season. A huge thanks to those who’ve already signed up as members, and we can’t wait to get back on-court for some pre-season games and of course on 17 October for our first regular season home game.

We really need an identity this year. Slow, halfcourt type of game or run and gun.

Since we became more athletic a little while back, it seems Fearne has confused the players as to what he expects from them

Not long now:)

Stay tuned.

I hope....... the wait is killing me.......... at least we haven't heard any Dunigan or Homicide rumours yet this year....

He needs to get imports right or he could be out of job after last years effort....

Jayson Wells!

Ubaka!

That's interesting. A certain Cairns Regional Council member mentioned the name Ron Dorsey to me three months ago

Wasn't Shane Edwards playing over there in this years Summer League with someone?

hahaha SS i doubt the CRC have any idea who the imports are - esp 3 months ago!

They can't even get the m2 right on my rates notice!



Wookiee Edwards played with the Cavs summer league and was on their extended roster for some of last years season.

saying that though, Ron is one of the fittest humans i know. Potentially he's still in his prime and could be an asset in the right team. Lock down defender, solid 3% and get get above the rim.

According to twitter they've signed Torrey Craig from South Carolina Upstate.

If they sign him and Dorsey they will have a great import duo imo, 2 athletic, long allround players,

its what i wanted the 36ers to do, move Gibbo to PG and sign 2 athletic/veratile swingman, similar to the mould the Dragons/Tigers used to have in there title seasons with Tucker/Thomas, Darden/Smith as the imports.

Craig is a forward, who is going to run the point for Cairns?

http://www.midmajormadness.com/2014/7/30/5950603/torrey-craig-langston-hall-travis-wallace-sign-pro-contracts

They have Corey Maynard, Shaun Bruce and talk of Gliddon doing some PG duties, so i spose it will be between those 3 guys.

I reckon it could work if the Maynard is a good rookie, which he sounds like and can play atleast around 20 mins per game.

That was me above sorry.

Thats a good question Mystro, but if Dorsey is also on the radar it looks to be the direction they are going in.

Also if they plan to play Maynard half decent minutes and give Cam Gliddon a shot at PG which sounds as if they want to, is there room for a import pg?

I dont mind them trying it to be honest, i like the idea of clubs signing 2 athletic swingmen as the imports, you can usually get pretty good bang for your buck, they usually are fairly entertaining to watch also, and if you get it right they help you win also, i would have been happy for the 36ers to do this with Gibbo at pg.

Dorsey was only a rumour and I would think the 2nd import will be a PG as per Fearne's comments higher up the page

Is 'Mr peace, love and unity' himself trying to discredit me? Seriously, considering the venue they play at and their current financial position, do you not think they'd be in frequent contact with local govt?

And you'd think they would've had a recruitment plan in place long before that, surely. Any professional sporting recruitment team would... actually maybe not the Taipans. You're right there.

Be it the first stages of contract talks or just some kind of wishlist, I'm not sure. That's all I was told.

I should be laughing at you for being ignorant and belittling the club's recruiting efforts. Fearne casts a wide net and always has plenty of options available.

Why are we even laughing at each other? Jesus that's the kind of thing fifth graders do.

Skip Mills is another ex-Taipan, he has eked out a pretty good career in Israel since leaving Cairns. He's more of a combo guard but that probably fits well with Gliddon and Maynard, with Criag possibly playing some SG too?

Can someone remind me of the situation with Gliddon and wanting to play point guard? Did he say he expects and demands to be starting PG?

They're totally re-signing Ubaka :P

They need a top line pg or they will get schooled by the Jacksons and Martins of this league.

http://www.onlinechester.com/content/craig-going-down-under

Perhaps Dorsey is still a possibility as the full article at the above link says that Craig is ticketed to play shooting guard and point guard for the Taipans. "They want me to use my length to defend and to come in and score," Craig said. However, it then goes on to say that he has been given some areas he needs to work on by (? NBA) scouts, including his ball-handling ability !

Maybe old man Larry Abney is returning?

wooooooow SS did you get out of the wrong side of the bed mate? Relax, It was a joke......
I've heard the Ron rumors as well, but I've heard them for the past 2 seasons since he left.


The 2 wings idea makes sense to me. I think Glid, Bruce, Maynard can handle the majority of the primary ball work. Anything extra is a bonus. I'm with Jonno in thinking i don't think there is a lot of room for another PG.

Will be an interesting couple of weeks to see what happens.

The_Champ33 - how old is Abney now? he'd be on the sunny side of about 57?

Mind you even at 57 he'd probably run rings about some in the NBL.

He only ran rings around himself in his last stint!

ahhhh yeah i forgot about that - retired mid season with a leg injury.

Alright, take him off the list.

Dewey Michaels? He still active?

hahaha oh what could of been!

I think there is still a petition kicking around from 2011 to bring him back!

Reid is actually a real baller. I streamed a fair few of his games in the PBA and man was he impressive