Clarke steps down from Kalamunda coaching gig to look towards junior development role.

Hope Kalamunda continue their gamestyle. Big improvements shown year after year.

Wasn't their game style that helped them improve. They finally had some talent. Two legitimate imports and a very good young big man were the reason they improved. That game style won’t ever win them games if they don’t have the players to make it work. Watch for them to fall back down the rankings if they don’t keep the talent next season.

I give Tigers a decent chance of upsetting Wolves in this series.
If J Bowie is fit and healthy??

I think the Wolves are vulnerable.

Wolves have done incredibly well to be where they currently are.
But the warriors are aging.
Sebba and to lesser extend Trian are not the players the were 12mnths ago.

Seb
2017 - 12pts
2018 - 5pts

Trian
2017 - 18.5pts
2018 -13.5pts

Both Ironmonger and Maxy have also halved their point production.

Billups is likely the league MVP, Huntington having one of his better seasons.
I think Sullivan is serviceable at best but at times he hurts them more then he helps.

Will be interesting series.

For Willetton it comes down to there role players making shots. The games where the Tigers are in games against the top tier teams or beating those teams is when guys like Burston are making plays/shots.

If Willeton can hold Billups to a reasonable score, below his average even then they will be ok. They are extremely weak inside.

Burston could take over games if he wasn't so unselfish, his court vision and passing is on another level. No trolling or messing about either this is my honest opinion and i'm not a willo supporter.

^^
"Tigers, Slammers and Cougars obviously didn't have the seasons they had hoped for after promising 2017 seasons.
The Hawks and Buccs showing huge progress over the last 12 months and are both now serious contenders.
Interesting to note both the Redbacks and Wolves improved seasons after being grand finalists in 2017"

Okay so tigers lost Ray Turner, Slammers lost Tre Nichols, and Cougars lost Billups, all three have been MVP's or on the SBL All-Star Five. Obviously they weren't going to have the same season as their promising 2017 seasons

Hawks adding the 2017 MVP in Jacob Holmes is huge progress, clearly the team was going to be better

Redbacks added Hussey and Mo and Wolves added Billups, its not interesting that they have improved, it was expected

Great article from Liam Hunt on the SBL website.

Fantastic to see him playing for the club he loves and grew up supporting.

I wouldn't say Bucc’s are hated at all..
I think they are probably the most admired team of all rival clubs.

Always great to play against, play hard (mostly fair) they have passion, they have history, always putting solid seasons together year in year out, always seem to attract talent year after year.

Only fault is they do seem to crumble in big games at the pointy end of the seasons..

Will have home court all the way through to the big dance, so hopefully they should get there!!
It could be the year of the BUCC!

they blitzed thru the finals in 2014 and fumbled in the GF to a red-hot Eagles team. This team is better than their 2014 team so ideally they will go 5-0 and win their second 'chip

it was their best regular season since 2001. 2001 resulted in a grand final loss :/ Many great teams have been minor premiers and runners-up

Buccs always end up underachieving.

Its the Buccs championship to lose. They have 4 Americans and three good locals. They have breezed through the regular season with minimal teams giving them a crack. If they don't win the entire thing it is a huge under achievement with the team they have paid for up there.

My only concern is adding 5 players, maybe your 5 best players into one season.

Do the care? Do they buy in? Does it mean to them what it means to the others?

Tigers pulled it off in 2010, bringing in a whole starting 5 so its possible.

Redbacks still the team to beat!

How are Redbacks the team to beat?

because LAKO

Hussey/Redhage/Vigor/Smith/Barrows/Wags are just so much for domianant then any other side.
I expect them to sweep through both rounds and win GF by 20pts!

Redbacks have a very strong team but that exact all-star line up have lost to Perry Lakes and Geraldton in the second half of the season.

Not so sure they can sweep the finals and win the GF by 20, I think Hawks, Buccs and Reds all have great chances of winning the lot, should be fun

Lakeside were humiliated by the mighty Hawks tonight. 13 in a row!

pretty dire up in joondalup too. the tigers had no chance - that 3rd quarter was unreal

rocko for the sweep. They can take game 2 up there. Classic finals gero, love to fall short

Hawks humiliating the Lightning is a bit of a stretch. Hawks should be this good with that team, their start to the year was embarrassing.

Lakeside with a young line up missing one of the better imports in the league. Hawks too good but

Lol the Hawks has 1 import for the first 10-12 games of the season but they didn't make excuses even when they were 6 and 8. They just worked on their issues and managed to reel off 13 straight wins. Lightning were horrible last night. If it wasn’t for a few 50/50 fouls which sent Alexander to the line they would have been blown off the court. Purser absolutely dominated him. Holmen went all Mutombo on the Lakeside guards. Ryan Smith did Ryan Smith things and Clarke guarded Michaels and any bag he was switched on harder then that have been guarded all years. They were flat out slapped by a better coached,better focused Hawks team.

haha ^^^ this guy is the coach or his assistant

yes. when the above mentions their exact record then you can't help but feel this is the coach writing it. No one else cares that much either.

this forum brings out a few gems every now and then. That hawks post was one of them.

So what if it posts the exact record? is it that complicated for SBL website access?
Hawks gave them a hiding, pretty simple. The game was never in Lakesides grasp. Holmen was a monster and purser almost clocked up another triple double.

mike clarke did a great job up in kalamunda. he made them relevant again. hopefully they can get the right coach in who can build on the work mike has put in over the last three years

Great job?
We seen some of the worst basketball in the history of the SBL under his watch.

With the "locals" that he put 3 years into, you added Timms and 2 x legit imports and still no finals.
Sad way to go out.

Why?

Makes sense.

wolves may need to look at a decent import or 2 and take a bit of heat off kidner,ironmonger,martin so they can play less of a significant role.interesting to see who takes them on . my tip would be robbins.

truth , your on the wrong forum.

MVP voting aside, is Daniel Alexander the best player in the SBL?

Daniel alexander's rig maybe MVP though!!

Clarke made Kalamunda relevant? In what aspect? Every other team around the league scouted for chaos basketball and if they made shots they could win a few games, if they didn't then they would get blown out.

So yeah some of the guys on his squad had better points production. Its because in the three years they took more shots than they ever had before in their lives. So did the opposing teams, go figure. Put those kids in a normal team with structure and a coach who wants to win games, and they are back to plebs.

100% agree with above.
Half of those players would not be invited to a pre-season let alone suit up!

They were the laughing stock of the league.
The fact people used to openly joke about playing Suns to boost stats was alarming!

interesting take that people say they were the laughing stock of the league. they finished 2 wins outside of playoffs. If all their players suck as has been said then what does it say about the teams they were within a whisker of knocking out of the playoffs?

the team that made that last spot in the playoffs, only 2 wins ahead of suns had Curtis Washington, Josh Ritchart, Greg Hire, Kevin White, Ryan Godfrey, Beau Samuelson, Luke Travers, Jarryd Griffin, Beard brothers as well as Dexter Kernich-Drew and Sunday Dech for short stints.

3 wins ahead were Tigers who have Armour, Scott, Bowie, Diagne, Black, Noordhoek

Not to mention the teams they finished in front of apparently had more on paper with their rosters.

You can make a case for anybody, finishing anywhere.
I deal with facts over the course of a full season.

They had 2 x quality imports and Timms.
That team should have been playing finals unless
a) Bad coach
b) Bad local players
c) both above

All teams below them on ladder had sub par imports, 1 import or no locals.

It is what it is.

They have been a league joke for too long now.
A new coach can fix this.

WSBL Quarter Finals Game 2 Preview

Lakeside @ Perry Lakes

Hawks threw everything at the Lightning and came up short. Rotation players Green and McCarthy likely away with school sport nationals. Mansfield has to keep Burton off the glass. Can Lakeside shoot at Bendat is the question as they chase the big dance. Lakeside to sweep 2-0 by 16.

Perth @ Stirling

Perth wiing by a big margin last week, I can't see Jas Martin having a bad game twice. Stirling's Johnson However needs to provide a target down low and try to slow Stiendl. Perth wins the matchups across the board, Backs sweep 2-0 by 24.

Rockingham @ Mandurah

Rocko need to win on the road to stay alive and if they play to what we have seen this year they can get it done on the road. The loss of Bourne has been tough to cover so late in the season. Magic smashed them by 24 at home early in the year. Magic are very tough at home with a good crowd behind them. Palusna near unstoppable. Mandurah in the sweep 2-0 by 8.

Willetton @ Suns

Suns stole game 1 at Willetton by 7 on the back of 31p from Ciabattoni. Suns are 6-4 at home this season. Tigers did win up the hill this season by 11. Tigers need to get Ashlin Payne more shots (more than 7 at least) and some how slow down the Ciabattonni show who plays well at home. This will be close but Suns have the best two players on the floor.. Suns to sweep by 10.

Any men's previews?

Love the WSBL previews coming from the Lakeside coaching staff.

only team in the finals with their best 7 players available, surprised they haven't mentioned that in their previews lol

Every team is missing a starter except Lakeside. Just a fact u seem to miss in your previews Craig.

Banged up v missing are 2 different things

^^ perhaps you could do a preview then rather than bag everything someone else does, at least combo tries to promote the league not tear it down!

Kalamunda need AND1 back sponsoring!!!

Can someone do a men's preview? I don't follow it closely enough to know what is happening but am interested in a summary or whatever.

Thanks!

Redbacks "big 6" haha

Kalamunda banter is cringeworthy

Kalamunda need Bad Santa and Warren Khun back.

Absolute scenes with the Buccs flying in Alex Ducas for this game.

Pretty sure Ducas has only played 3 games, so how many do you need to play to qualify for finals?

If Ducas was injured and spent time on the injury list earlier in the season he may have managed to get enough games up and been eligible for finals. Kind of like what happened with Shervill at Lakeside.

all 4 WSBL QF series result in sweeps. Big upsets for Kalamunda and Mandurah. Massive flop for Rocko - Mandurah should have sealed it in regulation but Gatti missed two free throws.

All this fly in stuff and bs injury crap and playing ring ins for2 fames annoys me!

Saturday SBL action:

WSBL
N/A

MSBL
Buccaneers vs Flames, Game 2, Activewest Stadium, 7:30pm - Flames 1-0
Lightning vs Hawks, Game 2, Lakeside Recreation Centre, 8pm - Hawks 1-0
Tigers vs Wolves, Game 2, Willetton Basketball Stadium, 8pm - Wolves 1-0
Redbacks vs Senators, Game 3, Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre, 8pm - Tied 1-1

Any word on who has applied for vacant coaching positions?

classic buccs fizzle out once again. Flames sweep the series behind Godfrey's massive night

From minor premiers to quarter-final exit at the hands of the eighth-seeded Flames. It's becoming an annual tradition for Geraldton to crumble at the business end of the season

win streak over for the Hawks. Game 3 tomorrow @ BBC 12pm

senators stun the reigning champs, move on to semi finals with a 2-1 series victory

*hit the road jack, wont be coming back*

4th quarter collapse. Lacko got out coached again. No adjustments from the night before. Disappointing end. Lacko still can't beat a zone and can’t recongize when opponents change their tactics against him. He is a good recruiter and training coach but terrible game day coach.

HAHAHAHAHA hope all that money Redbacks and Buccs spent was worth it!!!

The playoffs are crazy. 1st and 3rd seeds out. 4th and 5th going to a decider. The loss of one rotation player in any of theses series can change the outcome dramatically. An injured Wunderberg cost Gero more than they could have imagined and Ryan Smiths injury really hurt the Hawks. The league is so close and competitive despite what the win/loss record of the regular season has shown. What a great playoffs so far.

Wolfpack are loving it!

Lakeside vs Hawks was a fantastic game. . Bryan Michaels had the game of his life and got them over the line. Hawks shot badly for 1 period and it cost them the game in the end. Lakeside a real chance today.

No one cares if Lako is ok.

Not sure what's wrong with Smith but he was on bench in hoody and pants. Massive loss for PL if he’s out for long as he was the X factor in their run. Really was playing some of the best basketball he’s played in the SBL.

heard Smith did an ankle at training

Hawks break their first round hoodoo, Holmen, Purser and Cummins come up big. Almost as satisfying as seeing Lacko bounced in the first round

Hawks get up. What a huge game. Both teams evenly matched and it showed. Holmen and Cummings again showing their class.

Holmen could have had 40+ points but missed a number of gimmies. Hawks on to semis for the first time since 2013. They have home court advantage against Flames. Hawks vs Wolves GF

The Lightning lived and died by the 3 this arvo. Cummings hit 6 of the Hawks' 7 made 3s, that compared to Lakeside who went 14-of-35. Michaels could not back up his Game 2 performance. Alexander was limited a tad due to foul trouble. Good battle between Holmen and Alexander. Coach Daniels was very odd rotations with his wing and forward players - they rarely get more than 4 minutes together before being pulled. How's old Prue playing back-to-back 40-minute games this weekend? Still a monster at his age following two years away from the league. I hope he's back next year - he's an asset to Lakeside and the league. He gives his team so many second chance points, hence why they shoot so much. He also had 13 points tonight to go with his standard 15+ rebounds.

Lakeside will be a serious threat if they can keep the core they have together next season.

Redbacks??
WHAT. THE. HELL.

LACKO can you please explain how you lose a game with Redhage,Barrows,Roberts,Hussey,Vigor,Smith and Wagner.
I honestly do not know how this is even possible.
You should be able to pull that team out of a pub at 7pm and say game time in 1 hour and they would win more then they lose!

First round exit with that team is criminal.

Lacko is a notorious under achiever. Got lucky with Redhage fresh off an NBL season. Got greedy this year adding 2 huge egos in Hussey and Barrow. Preaches depth and development all year and then had no one he could count on when it mattered most

Only reason Stirling won is because the refs didn't even let Lee Roberts play. If Roberts played more than half a game he would have killed them like he did the first game. 13 and 6 in 18 minutes of basketball is on track for another 30 point game. So to the person above he did have a player he could count on, the refs just didn’t let him play. Horrible refereeing. But congrats Stirling, you won with 3 extra players on your side. Foul Roberts and redhage out and you’ll get the sure win!

I want to hear from Lacko, how embarrassing.
That team is SUPER STACKED, is this the worse preforming team in SBL history??

Lako has exposed himself now as the worst coach ever, even though he won a title last season.

A garbage can could have coached that team to a championship.

Joel barely played in game 3 as he got knocked out within the first 2 minutes of the game. Actually ended up having to come back on the court to try close it out as they had run out of players.

haha who thru out the refereeing card. It became clear that Nik's 7 and a half man rotation (w/ Gattorna) did not pan out. Redhage was not the same Redhage he was last year. Roberts had one good game all year. Vigor was average. Smith was not a streaky as he was last year. They came down with a thud

No dynasty for Lako. Even with splashing the cash he's a one hit wonder!

I wonder if they will put out a desperate call to Marshall Nelson for next season. It turns out having Hussey over him wasn't the upgrade they predicted.

Redbacks and Buccs will probably have new coaches next year. Disappointing performance from both teams in the first round

No sympathy for the buccs as they almost have a new team every year. Even though it must be tough to recruit and keep talent in a rural town.

But you have to feel at least a bit for Wunderberg. 400+ games and probably his best chance at a grand final win with the redbacks bowing out early and he can't even suit up for the finals due to injury.

if only they had Loughton back for the finals!

Wolves have to be faves now. They are so much better than anyone left. Great coached teams tend to have an advantage at this point of the season and Etteidge is a damn good coach.

no-one has mentioned willeton . what a soft exit . not only the men but the women. both coaches signed before the finals for another 2 years ?

Reputation??? Settle down bud, at the end of the post season the team with the best finals success will be remembered, not the most reputable team hahahaha

Redbacks proved that the team with the most skilled and most likely the most expensive players wont neccessarily win you a championship so who cares if they are spending Major money?

Steve Black = average coach. Bowie was sub par this year, albeit he had lingering injuries. Diagne was a massive downgrade from Turner. Damien Scott can't be their only effective guard. They basically needed an upgrade at every position except for SG

Forrest is the only jnr worth going after on that Perth roster. He's probably going to leave anyway with college looking likely.

Forrest is the only jnr worth going after on that Perth roster. He's probably going to leave anyway with college looking likely.

Lako can always go back to his burgeoning poker career.

Ethan Vlahov left for college a few days ago. Expect Gattorna and Forrest to follow suit next August. Vilardi might be someone they want to develop if he isnt headed over to the US himself at some point.

Bowen and Nelson have moved onto bigger and better things and so they should.

There is some junior talent coming through that program, keeping them there is another challenge

Kalamunda has the best juniors

Ballsup, Rockingham were 4-2 without imports (66%) to start the year, and finished 16-6 (72%). They won at a better rate once their imports arrived. The more telling thing with Flames was they lost 3 of their last 5 without Bourne, without her they looked hopeless.

Willetton started hot with Whitcomb, but also lost Harper for the season after 12 games. Were 9-3 with Harper, yet lost 4 of their first 5 without her.

Smart move re: familiarisation.

Agree too.
Shocking preformance by Lacko!

Why would you appoint Lako as head coach?

I know he is an ex-Redbacks championship winning player but still...

So since everyone is so knowledgeable, who would be the ideal replacements for Lacko and Blacky

For Lacko? A paper bag would be a start.

No really, in all seriousness name some coaches. Who is around that is capable for MSBL?

Mark Utley
Dion Dagastino
Wayne Creek
Michael Haney

All have had head coaching experience in MSBL and would be capable

easy move Nixy form the ladies to mens

And what are they all doing now? Are they up to date with the current trends in basketball. If you think those coaches or any current ones are interested in developing juniors at SBL level then you are seriously mistaken.

To be honest, if they advertised Head Coaching Job MSBL 2019.

Your base players are Roberts,Barrows,Redhage,Hussey,Wagner,Vigor and Smith.

You cant tell me that Joe Blogg's from Wednesday night D grade could not get that team out of the 1st round??

Seriously!

They recruit the best team but a dud coach. Boggles the mind.

Nix and Petrik all better options to move over from women's

So funny that someone said Roberts had one good game all year. Like he's playing for stats every game to get another job and takes sbl seriously or something hahahah. This is casual keep in shape time for him. Then goes off and plays in big time leagues. Hilarious.

To old skool (Stirling fan), of course they went on a 25 to 11 scoring run to end the game. They were playing against red backs d league team at the end hahahaha

Can Lacko come back on here and explain what went wrong?

700844, assuming you are correct, I'm sure Roberts teammates, coach, and club were happy for him to be so casual, and not take it seriously and let them all down while getting paid. He and the team would have all got together after the loss and pissed themselves laughing at us thinking Perth and him wanted to win!

[Then goes off and plays in big time leagues. Hilarious.]

not in a while he hasn't. Second tier comps

Bryn Arnold put in a complaint to BWA claiming the refs those them the game.

Hopefully the irony isn't lost on him; seeing how he is one of the most arrogant and vengeful referees ever

That is a hell of a lot of talent to not win it all.
Dear oh dear...

Etto sits back with big smile.

Arnold never put in a complaint to BWA. He tried posting to a BWA group, it wasn't permitted because he didn’t have access.
Yes, he did claim the referees lost them both games.

Um, Roberts is a great import but settle down. To call him the best import the league has seen recently is reaching considerably...

as fun as it is to read all this redbacks fall out what are peoples thoughts on the next round of matchups?

Stirling was given no chance of beating redbacks. Do they have the capability for another upset?
Hawks have a lot of firepower and in great form. Can they continue their run?
the ageless wolves continue to position themselves as championship contenders and are now looking like the peoples favorite to take it out
Rockingham, the most talented 8th placed playoff team have just knocked off the season leaders in a 2 game sweep. Can they bring that same dominance into this next series?

Yes with Lacko's clossal meltdown and the Bucc's well doing Bucc's things come finals its wide open for the Wolves.

I actually think the Hawks could beat the Wolves, especially considering the GF would be on the Hawks home floor.

If you asked the Wolves who would be their biggest challengers they would of said Redbacks and then likely Geraldton.

Hawks maybe next best chance especially with GF at Bendat.


Wouldn't that be a treat for us all.
Lacko eliminated in spectacular style in round 1, then Etto losing the unlosable when again heavy favourites in a GF!

Whoah.. never said subpar? He's a great import i was only questioning the "best the league has seen" part.. he is high character and always produces. But the league has seen some impressive imports

"Also, how does fouling out Redhage & Roberts mean that your D league team is now on the floor?"

Ben Smith and Michael Vigor also fouled out, Hussey was limited by early foul trouble and played with 4 fouls, and Wagner was concussed.

I thought you said you were at the game?

Wolves have beaten Hawks before in a GF at Bendat. However, I believe this year's Hawks team is better than their 2011 squad. Wolves have a similar identity this year as they did in 2011.

Do you mean the Joondalup Hawks?? I mean considering they are training at Bendat after the Hawks practice is pretty insane but it would be hilariously funny if they don't even make it past Stirling

Wow at the Wolves hate. They have lost half the Grand Finals they have been as favourites so are trying to rectify this by becoming more familiar with the venue of the final beforehand. Not arrogance just a precautionary step.

it would be funny if Stirling and Rockingham followed suit and they all started training at Bendat

agreed makes perfect sense and if my club was in the same boat i would expect the same

There is very limited court availability at bendat so probably took whatever space was available. Surely they wouldn't have chosen a late night session time

Hawks should be moved somewhere else anyway. Bendat should be completely neutral.

^ Just like the MCG is completely neutral for AFL...

Poor point as SBL has nothing to do with AFL.

my mate plays for wanneroo and he reckons the boys feel flat training at Bendat, blames it on the extra commute from Joondalup. Don't know how they manage to play road games then if they are that soft, but hey its not me training/playing so...

looking at BWA annual report they get over $500k form admissions, and over $300k from nominations , so probably 90% would be from hawks affiliated people (for training hire, wabl, domestic, juniors, seniors etc) so above comment is correct but low.

If any other club/association played there Bendat would generate the same turnover.

The Perry Lakes Hawks were based in the Floreat area before BWA - their offices were once in the city. BBC replaced Perry Lakes Stadium. There is no where else Hawks could be based. The Hawks are an isolated association in the western suburbs. Other clubs wish they could have the luxury of playing at the home of basketball. Not Hawks fault.

back in the 1980s, Stirling and East Perth had stints at Perry Lakes Stadium. There are simply no facilities at Bendat BC to cater for any more tenants. You have to remember, being based at Bendat has disadvantages as well. Hawks have to compete with Lynx and Wildcats and State champs and country champs. They have no access to courts during summer. There is no way another association will ever move to Bendat

"Hawks should be moved somewhere else anyway. Bendat should be completely neutral."

hahaha yeah rightio - where would you move the hawks?

Poster who says Roberts has played in second tier comps, do you even know why? Wasn't basketball related. And to be one of the faces of a league that’s top 5 in the world, you have no idea mate. Give him the respect he deserves and has worked so hard for

From someone who knows the BWA well, the annual report doesn't consider Hawks admissions. BWA and Hawks are two completely different organisations. Hawks admissions come in, goes to Hawks, and the court hire goes to Venueswest, NOT BWA. The admissions on the BWA report at WABL Finals, State Champs, Country Champs and probably SBL Grand Final.

BWA doesn’t include a single Hawks income in their books. There is a serious misconception that BWA favours Hawks, with the exact same thinking above. As someone said, Hawks simply work in the same building. BWA work in the same building as Wildcats, yet they have ZERO to do with them.

Can we put a nail in this discussion. it's the exact same discussion as the AFL Grand Final. Bendat is the home of basketball, fitting that the GF is played there. not to mention, why would BWA move the Grand Final away from their offices. Resource wise it would be suicidal. If Peter Campbell from Facebook had his way, the Grand Finals would be played at Morley...

nope, court hire for Hawks goes through BWA. Hawks pay BWA to use courts. BWA run the day-to-day operations at bendat. BWA control the courts, whereby they pay nothing for their own use. Venues west have NOTHING to do with the place anymore

I work for BWA and can categorically say that you are wrong.

^lol what the hell are you doing on this forum? this forum is for numpties to rant and make shit up. Plus it's good banter. It's like when Gavin Field's mother commented on here a few months back - sad times.

"I work for BWA and can categorically say that you are wrong."

oh dear, we've stooped too low people. We've got supposed BWA staff patrolling this forum haha

[Poster who says Roberts has played in second tier comps, do you even know why? Wasn't basketball related. And to be one of the faces of a league that's top 5 in the world, you have no idea mate]

SBL 2nd tier comp
Italy Serie A2 - 2nd tier comp
Israel National League - 2nd tier comp (the Winners League is the top comp in that country).
Argentina TNA - 2nd tier comp
Germany ProB - 2nd tier comp
Japan B2 - 2nd tier comp

Even his college - Findlay is NCAA division 2.

Not ragging on the guy, but poster who really had a sad about the guy mentioning he played 2nd tier comps isn't exactly wrong.

Roberts is a beast. He outworks pretty much everyone on the court and that is how he is successful. He is bigger stronger and more physical so when he gets to higher leagues that advantage diminishes.

Interesting that his averages were so much lower this year than the last season at the redbacks. Was he hurt? Bad coaching? Not enough ball to go around?

will all 3 country teams in the MSBL be looking for new coaches next season?
there was constant talk all season the catalano was no good and just took the job because know one else put there hand up or applied.
what about paul craig - multiple championship winner and knows his stuff.

you would think that ray evans has run his race as well, people are bagging lako and evans slips under the radar.
what about big dan hunt coming back to gero to perhaps coach ?it sounds like his son liam is going to base himself in Geraldton. dan logical choice.

giants is the most interesting one with scott rubbery departing the job.
their fill in coach nicholls done a good job and is still in kalg - maybe he is the logical choice.

I hope all 3 clubs can get organised early and get back up into the top 4 teams in the league once again .

Interesting that his averages were so much lower this year than the last season at the redbacks. Was he hurt? Bad coaching? Not enough ball to go around?

Bad coaching for sure.

They should hold a royal commission into Lackovic and the Redbacks 2018 SBL season.
1st Round exit! It really is beyond belief.

Repost correct thread. Sorry.

Why when you go to SBL website first article is from June 24th??

"Trending" in the SBL is the 2018 Fixtures being released.
"Latest in SBL" Has week 15 game recaps.

Maybe I need to get with the times as assume all the info is now on twitter/facebook?

Surely updating the website during finals isnt hard!!!
No wonder we get viewed as bush league by outsiders.

Ray Evans didn't lose those games for Geraldton.

^are you suggesting he lost them for the bookies?

Hey sorry all, can anyone help me out.

Ive been away for work in Tristan da Cunha (South Atlantic Ocean).
No reception/internet out there except via Sat phone.

Anyway Im flying back to Perth tonight, going to catch the Redbacks Men's semi final game tomorrow.
Can anyone tell me where they play?
Cant find it the website (only had quick look).
Have they changed the format?

Pleased to hear.

shit troll. Thanks for taking the time to come up with a great back story though

Actually it was pretty original I thought.

Its Friday afternoon,

Relax it was good!!

Any thoughts on SBL main award winners

hopefully the Magic can hold on against Redbacks in game one. Be great for them to return to the GF - they need a title. 0/5 in grandies

I think the Suns may be slightly out of their depths...

carn the magic #fktheredbacks

Yeah the suns are. Considering Schwagmeyer didnt even play.

no swaggy for Lightning and no ciaba for Suns. Dire effort by the Suns

Lakeside with the dream run. First game with a starter injured all year, and happen to play Suns without Chiba and Williams. No Boag for Magic next round, with Haleen and Klastorny both hurt too.
Great team and deserved champs, but would love to see them play someone with all their players

Redbacks had everyone, at home, no Emma K for Magic.
Good luck on the road with Em back

SBL threads have the weirdest trolls.

Hawks may be done. Holmen out for the game and may be done for the season. Rockingham looking great.

I dont think the redbacks-magic game 2 will be decided by a missed call on the last play again, redbacks to win by big margin

So as each hour,day and week tick over the league is self destructing around itself, and one man is sitting with a big smirk on his face.
All the ducks are lining up nicely for old mate Ettridge.
No Buccs, No reds, Holmen gone down.

Hawks not only played poorly but they are in a semi final now with two starters gone. Holmen being the most recent and in game so to make adjustments like that on the fly when he is a very huge part of the offensive and defensive strategy is hard to over come. I honestly feel so awful for Jacob as he is a great team guy and has respect from lots of guys around the league.

Hawks will have an uphill battle for sure.

is rintala going to be available this weekend for the suns.
also is ciabattoni available this weekend.

if both these girls are unavailable we could possibly see another major blow out - even without schagmeyer. was that result on Friday night 51 points a record semi-final loss.

not sure if steindel got injured Friday went down hard, and limping after game apparently.

Hawks are too well drilled to not give game 2 a red hot crack. They have enough left even without the missing guys to cause Rocko some serious issues. One thing that you can count on is that they won't go into the game underprepared and without a solid plan in place. Just need to stick to what’s worked this last half of the year.

Hawks will most definitely give game 2 a crack. They have a very deep team and need to simply stick to their guns.

"not sure if steindel got injured Friday went down hard, and limping after game apparently."

No she looked at her dominating best and played a very very good game right to the final siren when unluckily her game winner just rimmed out!

Should be a cracking series.

Yep, SA has overtaken us. Didn't think that was possible until the DJgate affair.

Wanneroo won the GF in 2011 because of Greg Hire, Wanneroo will lose the GF in 2018 because of Greg Hire

Guys like Salinas, Huntington, and Iliadis aren't the same players they were when they won the 2015 GF

The Flames men hype machine might be revving too high prematurely...

Guys like Salinas, Huntington, and Iliadis aren't the same players they were when they won the 2015 GF


Huntington is probably playing the best basketball he has for a very long time, if not ever.
But yes, the others are waaaaaaaay down on 2015 form.

WOLFPACK

It's not that Purser can't contain Hire, it's that once Holmen went down, he had to do the work of both a 3 and 4 man. The two have a long battle history and Hire always gets the upper hand.

Purser is consistently one of the SBL's best defenders

Purser vs Hire - Who wins

3 point shootout
local government mayoral election
magazine sales with their face on the cover

I was more thinking GQ magazine

Purser for new mayor of wanneroo ;)

most posters on this forum must be from one of the teams who are no longer in the finals, has gone mighty quiet around here, not even the trolls are active anymore

SBL is boring to be honest

LACKO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

top sbl forum topics

lako ego
ettridge ego
lako cant coach against a zone
jake burstons mole
sbl is a bush league
parking at bendat
sbl write ups
sbl website is crap
hayden noordehoek in the gym
hawks have an unfair advantage
where is Random?

the sbl website is crap though :P

Josh Garlepp and Nic Cody are frequent conversation pieces as well

Lightning v Magic WSBL GF; Hawks force Game 3

no WSBL games 3s this year. Lakeside will take the grandy by 20+ points, another L for mandurah's empty club cabinet

Purser with 29 points tonight. Massive step up to fill Holmen's shoes. Hire big again - how's the continuing Purser/Hire saga? One of them will be the difference in game 3

In fairness to Mandurah, they're missing their best player. But they’re about to be 0-6 in finals

Lakeside haven’t played against a full strength team all year. Lightning by 30

#historywillbemade......

Didnt Rockingham win the MSBL GF last week?

Lakeside going for first title since '06, while the magic are looking to avoid being 0-6 in GFs

Did Rocko have the grandstands behind the team benches full last night?

well over 1,000 there last night

#historywillbemade

suck shit Rocko!!!

send an SOS, Travis may be missing from this forum for a while

Hawks would have taken down Rocko in 2 had Holmen not gone down.

hey R@ndom, could you please give a GF preview for Wolves v Flame... oh ,wait

206-211 same anon poster.

Weak.

not straight after, it was played a bit later

Didn't R@ndom pick Perry Lakes to win the GF at the start of the season. Also who cares if the song got played. They just won a series they were being widely tipped to get swept in after Holmen got injured. All week the Rocko train was hurtling along proclaiming how they were going to be Grand Finalists and how the Hawks had no chance of beating them in the series. I doubt the song was played deliberately but it was kind of funny. There was a completely new DJ doing the court side stuff from usual. Pretty sure it was the DJ who will be doing the GF. Probably working on his set list for the GF.

Not sure the backlash on Rocko.

They knocked off No.1 seed in Geraldton in straight games. HUGE EFFORT.
Getting 1500 people to the game on Friday, packing out Bendat on Saturday.
Well done to the club.

Yeah for sure once Holmen went down and leading 1-0 they should of progressed but they did lose in two very tight games.

A lot of praise must go to Coach Parsons (and the players for buying in to what he is selling).
Surely he is COTY once again.
Down 1-0 and a 20pt lose at home to bounce back and go on the road and force a game 3, then finish it the next tight was amazing.
No Holmen or DT.
He has done this before when Gavin went down and got it down in 2016.
Amazing effort.

I don't think the Perry Lakes DJ for game three was one of the regulars they usually have.

R@andom is one of the most unbias sbl personalities there is. If anything he is always more critical of his team when they underperform and as you can see by his post earlier, the first to give credit where credit is due.
i dont understand why people target him and call him one sided?

Trav, keep up the good work mate

Good luck to the grand finalists
Can Mansfield win his first WSBL championship?
Can Mandurah break the curse?
Can ettridge get one back for the one Parsons took a few years ago?
Will Hawks add another cup to trophy case?

"Mandurah played it after their win as well"

Mandurah have never won a championship tho? I heard they were 0 from 6 in Grand Finals, could be wrong

Have a look at the Redbacks squad that was eliminated in week 1, compare that to the Hawks team that suited up on the weekend and will now play off in a Championship game.

Nice to see the underdogs get there moment in the sunshine but boy oh boy these two grand finals this weekend are going to be some old fashioned beatdowns, Hawks and Magic couldn't combine there total score and reach 100

Yep, Wolves with the absolute dream run.

Etto's most feared opponents before finals started.

Redbacks
Geraldton
Perry Lakes (at Full strength)

They avoid them all.

Surely Ettridge cant stuff this one up.
Although if anyone can choke on the GF stage we no its him!!
Wolves should win by 30pts plus!
GO HAWKS!!!!

We need a lineup summary for each team to see how they compare

The outcome of this year's GF could be similar to Wolves vs Slammers in 2015 - a boring, slogfest blowout. Hopefully the Hawks can make a game of it. They have the grit and grind. Such a shame Holmen isn't apart of it.

Wolves very very very lucky!!!!

Agreed but the wildcard is Ettridge has choked before to an awful Lakeside team in a GF. It could happen again.

What player left?
Im confused.

Oh Hire, sorry thought they were talking about Hawks.

Ettridge is the new Scott Morrison.
He is Steve Bradburing his way to 2018 title.

PS - Lackovic can be Peter Dutton.

guys, Ettridge did not coach the Wolves in 2013 and 2014. He was not the coach in 2013 when the Wolves lost to Lakeside - Craig Friday was. This is Ettridge's sixth season as coach of the Wolves ('11, '12, '15, '16, '17, '18). He has been a grand final coach in five of his six seasons.

The wolves are in the hot seat, but never count out the heart of a champion. The Hawks have 6 guys (coaches and players) who have been in championship games and won, they know what it takes and Parsons will have them ready to go for sure. The Hawks boys have been battling all year and had injuries all year. They went on a 5 game slide early on and no one gave them a chance and now look where they are. One game away from an amazing run.

BREAKING

Hire is a stooge.



More not to come.

Hawks and Wolves split during the regular season

Hawks got demolished by the Wolves but was in the middle of their 5 game slide.

Since then they have won 16 of their last 18 games, including a 2 point win against Wolves.

Everyone saying Wolves will wipe the floor with Hawks is crazy

Hawks are on their home court
they have momentum
parsons has beaten ettridge in a similar situation before. Cockburn without Gavin Field were given no hope of beating the Wolves back in 2016.
The hawks actually create some matchup issues for Wolves. They dont really have anyone who matches up on Purser very well at all.
Carlwell could be a BIG problem for them too.

If Ben purser can play like he did against Rocko in game 3, the Hawks will win this game

agree re match-up issue with Purser, but with no Holmen, Billups is a massive match-up issue for the Hawks

Yeah the problem is Carlwell cant guard anyone on that team.
They will have to hide him in a zone to keep him on the court.

Wolves would have to be the biggest GF favourites that I can remember.

That is no disrespect to the Hawks, what they have managed to do so far is unbelievable to be honest.

Hawks best chance is to sit in a zone with a bit of man in there every now and then to mix things up, and hope the Wolves just bomb from deep and don't make too many.
We all know with Etto and his ego it wont allow for him to make in game changes when he is being out coached.

Hawks best option is to just play the way they have. They have nothing to lose here. They have been doubted all year and surprise surprise......

dont forget the wolves have been training at Bendat

Since October 14

Maybe poster 549 meant since Oct 14 2017!!

training at bendat since October 14, 2017?!? negatory

Yeah on and off

all except for the cummings v sullivan matchup

cummings v illiadis?

Could be a slog fest, but Lakeside by at least 10+

fun fact: the magic have made 6 grand finals but faced just 3 opponents. Hawks ('03, '17), Tigers ('05, '09) and Lightning ('06, '18).

Good Luck Mandurah.
Milo deserves a championship!

if Milo deserved a championship she would have it by now, what Milo really deserves is a glass of milk, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a sprinkling of malt, mmmm delicious

Where's the Lakeside coaching staff preview this week?

if Milo deserved a championship she would have it by now, what Milo really deserves is a glass of milk, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a sprinkling of malt, mmmm delicious


OMG, thats so funny!!
That is an absolute gut busting classic, I see what you did there.
You took Milo as in the players nickname, then you word played it with the powdered drink.
That is so awesome.
You should get on the panel "Have you been paying attention" with gems like that.
I wish i could hang out with you, even ifs just for your lunch break!

I quite enjoyed it, although I prefer my Milo as a hot drink with a side of marshmallows

33-33 HT

Mandurah Chokers, 0-6 in grand finals

they had the game though... up 10 with 5 minutes left. To allow a 21-0 run at the end epitomises the Magic program

new thread http://www.hoops.com.au/forum/43837-wa-sbl-sept-off-season-2018-19/

Too many haters against Magic and i dont even follow the WSBL, reaching the GF is no easy feat and that is what reflects their program, regardless of the result.

Also all the keyboard warriors hating this or that, particularly against the SBL, where are you know acknowledging the great job they have done on the promo of the final series, great Semis and streaming the GF's and posting recaps of the game.

Cant wait for 2019 Season

There is streaming for tonight?