Pretty average article. Didn't have quotes from Beveridge and misquoted the Melbourne assistant coach.

While I believe that the United staff did have information provided to them from the timeout, if Bevo was only just inventing that play on the night (ie he didn't have a well-practiced last second shot play to go to) then that is poor coaching.

I cannot believe that is the case though. He is much better coach than that.

What makes you think they had info provided to them?

The timing of the comment from the United coach, came right at the end of a summary of Bevo's play by Shane Heal. If he was the super scout that we've been told he is then his input should have come earlier.

Not that anyone couldn't take an educated guess where the ball was going though.

That assistant coach was at the back of Melbourne's huddle at the start of the time-out and in the same spot when they switched back. He didn't have an i-pad or mobile phone in his hands and neither did the other staff around him.

It's definitely possible someone else approached him with the info (it would be good to see a wide shot), but I don't see anything in the question he asked Demopoulos, or the way Melbourne defended, that confirms they saw the time-out.

I don't think they did much with the information (that they wouldn't have already done) but I don't believe the assistant coach saying he scouted the Hawks properly.

Now if Bevo is saying he only drew up the play then and there, one of them is lying.

This from Oscar Forman suggests Bevo often pulls out things they haven't done much of:

http://www.nbl.com.au/featured-news/r14-preview-sydney-v-illawarra/

You'd imagine it would be a variation of something they know well for a game-winner though.

I would agree with that too. I don't believe that he invented the play then and there. Might be the first time they've run it during the season.

"Also from my observation, Demopolous doesn't confer with his AC's prior to addressing the players, so that is probably why the conversation happened late in the time out as opposed to early."

That doesn't give the "super scout" theory much weight then. The club and players defended him as the guy who is so good at his job that he knew what play they'd be running. If he wasn't going to be spoken to until after DD had spoken to the players, then his brilliant scouting is irrelevant.

Because thats what United said after the game. They said its his job to scout the Hawks and he made an educated guess about which play they'd be running.... its just that the info he had straight after the Hawks timeout and when the players had left the huddle.

You're not understanding the point. I'm not talking about what he came up with, I'm talking about WHEN he came up with it.

Speaking of timing, what a waste of mine.

Liam Santamaria said on Twitter the two possible plays Illawarra could run were communicated to Demopoulos while Goulding was at the line, before the timeout.

That isn't what he/they said initially. You don't get two bites at the cherry when trying to explain your way out of something.

Whether it is professional or not, I think that there was some communication, through the Melb Asst Coach, that was the result of the cameras being in the Hawks huddle.

The timing of the comment, the way in which it was said by the Asst, and the seemingly surprise of Demopolous when he heard it make it pretty clearly the result of 'spying'.

If the Asst coach had his scout down so well then he should have been consulted at the start of the timeout for what the Hawks may run.

There is a lot of ways that the message may have got through to the Asst coach but my guess is that a viewer sent a txt through to one of the players not suited up and then that was passed to Asst coach.

As previously mentioned, a wide view of MU for the entire TO may give the answers.

Now whether this is unprofessional is another matter. I personally don't care to have cameras in the timeouts as most of the time the coaches aren't giving messages that mean much to the average viewer anyway. Unless of course they start to play Shawn Dennis's timeouts again. They were classic and great viewing, if you are over 18...

The timing could easily be because the assistant felt Demopoulos hadn't covered that option in the time-out.

"Liam Santamaria said on Twitter the two possible plays Illawarra could run were communicated to Demopoulos while Goulding was at the line, before the timeout."