I hope Carson and Davidson make a speedy recovery because the Hawks really need a break.

Hawks struggle every year and now that someone is willing to inject money in the team I hope they get a fair crack at success.

Cam Gliddon talked about how he wanted a starting position and was a little overzealous in his expectations of what the club should do for him IMO.

All of a sudden theres Wilbekin, Sobey (who i really rate!), Maynard all capable guards.

Gliddon is in for a battle this year. Good competition for Fearne.

My wife went to the game and said Ervin was really good, setting up a lot of plays, everywhere, so maybe the statistics didn't tell the full story, or the statisticians missed a few.

I reckon Gliddon will come in to this season a little selfish. He's already shown a bit of reluctance to pass already this pre-season

Assists are counted on the last pass before the score so yes a lot of work from outside can be missed and creating space by drawing the player is always missed along with any defensive shut downs a player may be involved in as well, which Erivin is an active participant of. Stats are not the be all and end all of basketball.... You need to watch the game to see who pays well.. Someone can post 30 points and be really crap at the defensive and and a team can still lose due to that scorer creating holes in a defensive structure. Happens all the time in junior basketball where the kids that defend and work the mid floor are never recognised for their contribution and it is always about the ball hog !!!

Worried that Craig might not work out? Early days yet and I like his athleticism but 2/11 shooting? Similar to his second game at the Blitz.

lets not forget that this time last year the Gong got smash and Rotnei looked ordinary..... I don't think the absence of Davidson is helping them at all, size and efficency seemed to be their biggest problem last night.

What I've seen since the Blitz and last night looks good as far as Taipans cohesion goes. They seem much more polished than this time last year and a lot more 'natural' - if that makes any sense.

Wilbekin is an outstanding talent and I think Craig just needs a bit more time to get used to the ref style and game flow. Writing him off now is..... premature...... again look at Rotnei last year.

Proof will be in the pudding though - bring on game 1 of the season!

Snakes up at half time tonight 42 -26
http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/44205/11/78/96/37BKkuczHh4g/

Speak of the devil, Craig is 4/6 at half time and is having an excellent game.

Ervin has his cranky pants on too......

Hello... Ervin 9 assists…..

Geez what is going on with the Hawkies? I'm worried.

A couple of comments re: Gliddon and Craig are a bit off the mark.

@MACDUB - Gliddon is already a starter and was last season's team MVP. He and Wilbekin will be the main ball carriers. Whilst Maynard, Bruce and Sobey provide some good back up they will mostly be competing for game time amongst themselves rather than putting a lot of heat on Gliddon for game time.

@Anonymous #495675 - your confidence that Craig won't last the season is somewhat misplaced I feel. Fearne publicly stated after the Blitz that he was very pleased with both his imports and he is not a coach who is inclined to cut imports. Craig looks a good all round player to me and is a good fit for the team.

Spot on Twinkle.

I don't think Fearne has cut an import since he's been head coach in the League

Fearne not cutting import = cairns can't afford to cut import and replace them

You can cut an import 90 days into their contract without financial consequences

Yeah the point I was trying to make is Fearne hasn't cut an import due to oncourt reasons - he mentioned it last year. Whether that's due to money is another question.

I think the public response would be it's about loyalty but I'm sure the reality is they can't afford to cut imports because there is no other money to replace them.

Again, it doesn't cost money to replace imports in the first 90 days of their contract

Whilst lack of money would be a factor, Fearne stated he does not like cutting imports because he feels it is too disruptive and he also said the solution to not having to do this is to do the research about who you are getting in the first place.

Could be that the Hawks are missing Davidson a bit - replacing him with Ballinger who is new to their system.

I think that has a lot to do with it Issac.

The Hawks rise and fall on Davidson's shoulders, can't see Balls having that same impact.