And go...

Is there a link to the SBL Blitz for live stats and boxscores beginning this weekend?

I can't see anything on the SBL website

AWHOOO

1st

Good to see the Transaction Tracker on Facebook is being kept up-to-date.

Bowen is listed.

#14

Would anybody out there have any old SBL Media Guides that I could have OR borrow. Lost the ones I had (pre 2000) due to moving. Interested in statistics from the early years of the SBL. Can pick up if near Yangebup area. Thanks - Email [email protected]

Good to see that there is a potential new whipping boy for this thread instead of the Suns. Expect Koberulz to be offering plenty of excuses for his beloved Redbacks.

After seeing most teams at the Blitz, and assuming that some players are still to arrive, here are my rankings for the season...

1. Flames
2. Buccs
3. Hawks
4. Wolves
5. Senators
6. Lightning
7. Tigers
8. Giants
----------------
9. Suns
10. Eagles
11. Redbacks
12. Magic
13. Cougars
14. Slammers

I think the Cougars will do better than 13th

Word is no imports at all this season, so Field will have to average 40 to avoid the last couple of ladder positions.

They went 11-15 and have since lost their 2nd and 3rd leading scorers in Pesava and the big import. And only picked up a couple of Lakeside bench players in Bell and Vinci.

They won't be horrible but that's a downgrade in my eyes.

With my associate more busy than a high end hooker on at tax time these days working in the fire and emergency services communication centre, I thought i would give this preview thing a crack and see how it goes. If it is putrid then i will aim to convince him back to do this regularly for us this season seeing due to work commitments he can't fully commit to the radio program either

Wolves at Perry Lakes (Grand Final Rematch)
Karma is a wonderful thing - I know random went and asked the wolves coach for an interview after the semis at Bendat when the Hawks beat the Flames. I then have it first hand both from random and also two wolves people who were in the group with BE that he then proceeded to go off at random and finally suggest 'how about you just f... off hey, just f... off" Given I and many others still do not think TY or Holmen said anything wrong (If you actually go back and listen to the segment on the 98five podcasts you will hear TY say it was a great initiative by the Wolves and that communication could have been better regarding timing of the photo - that was it) it was a sad turn of events for it to end up that way but then, as mentioned at the start of the preview, karma is a wonderful thing and without the brains trust in Brennan on the sideline during the Grand Final, the wolves coach had no backup plan to the Hawks in the final game of the season. Wolves have earnt the great slogan #Boughtnotbuilt in the off season (some superb efforts by the gero boys) amid their recruiting efforts and lack of trust in their junior program. Hawks have added Sovine but retain a large portion of their championship winning side. Seeing the banner being raised will peeve off the wolfpack faithful knowing they were so close yet again but they will need time to gel. Hawks again the victors by 4 in a fiery affair to open the season

Magic at Lakeside (Blowout Alert)
Its the first game of the season and it already is very hard to make a case for Mandurah in this one! Durnin is a great pickup but unless their new import is an absolute stud then it could be a very, very long season for Trahair and the Magic Men. Lightning at home easily by 28

Tigers at Cockburn (Twilight 7pm Tipoff - Great Innovation!)
Local derby between two southern powerhouses and it puts Coach Nener up against his former junior club. Willo always look great on paper but its time coach Black and the boulevard boys brigade need to start to fulfill that promise after many years of the boy crying wolf if you get my drift. Field will need 40+ for the Cougs to be a hope here, but I can't see the Tigers going down. Willo by 12

Senators at Perth (No Shawn No Spiders?)
No ring for Lackovic and the Redbacks last year led to a mass exodus at the end of 2018. Wagner the only Championship player of note remaining means it will be a struggle for Perth to even remain finals contenders if the Blitz is anything to go on (was that an U18 WABL team they put out against the WA Country State Team!?) Warwick with a slightly new name, updated logo and uniforms and seats in the grandstand now make a huge off-season all the more exciting if they can push into the top 4 this season. Solid imports and another year of experience for their locals means they will once again be finals bound. Warwick to start in style beating Perth by 11

Suns at Mandurah (Battle of the Bald Coaches!)
Double header for the Magic sees them hosting the visiting Kalamunda in this one. Great opening 'road trip' for coach Utley as he travels all of five mins to MARC for this one. The Suns just may be the surprise packet of 2019 and I can see them pushing hard for a 7th or 8th Finals spot I think - it would be great to see what random thinks once he reads this and gets over the issue of me putting him out of a job lol. Possibly a winnable game for the Magic at home but back end of an opening weekend double header and a young fresh Kalamunda team will be keen to get Coach Utley a debut win. Suns by 5 on the road

Giants at Joondalup (Goldfields upset or Wolfpack mauling?)
Coach Creek embarks on his second stint as coach of the Kalgoorlie-based outfit known as the Giants as they head to the northern suburbs to take on the Wolves. Joondalup on the quick backup after playing Perry Lakes on the road the previous night and will want to at least split the weekend 1-1 if they happen to go down to the reigning champs on opening night. Giants with a couple of highlight reel type imports but whilst that may get bums on seats up in the Gold Capital, it doesn't necessarily translate to wins. Wolves by 16 at home

Flames at Geraldton (2018 Quarter Final Rematch Showdown - Game of the Week!!)
My tip for game of the week as Rockingham head up to the Midwest to take on a Buccaneers side who will welcome Dayle Joseph into the head coaching role. After their upset win over Geraldton in last years Quarter Finals, including Game Two up in the Midwest, defeating the Buccaneers on their home court will hold no fears for the Flames under new coach Ryan Petrik. Should be an absolute humdinger played in front of a packed Eighth St Stadium but with Hire likely to be unavailable due to Wildcats commitments, then it is advantage to Geraldton here. Buccaneers by 2 in yet another classic between these two sides who are quickly developing one of the better rivalries in the League.

Eagles at South West (Finals hopefuls vs Wooden Spoon Favourites)
Losing Durnin was a massive loss for the Slammers and how they fill that void could very well determine whether or not they register a win in 2019. Such is the gaping hole that his departure has left, alot of pressure up both ends of the court will now be placed on the South West imports to lead the way for what is expected to be a very young and inexperienced team outside of their American born players. East Perth open their season on the road and with returning Coach Forde likely to be unavailable due to NBL commitments, it will be interesting to see just who takes the coaching reigns for the Morley club in this one. Not sure if or when South West will get a win this season, but I can not see it happening here - with or without Forde on the sidelines. Eagles by 21 to open the season well

Giants at Kalamunda (Flip of a coin for final game of the opening week)
Double headers are always tough in the SBL, Double headers on the back end of the opening weekend for two teams with questions about their depth and both pushing for one of the 7th or 8th Finals spots realistically in 2019. Suns should be coming off a win from their game the previous night against Mandurah, whilst the Suns have the tough task of defeating the Wolves up at 'The Kennel'. Could be an ugly game in parts with tired bodies and coaches needing to use most of their bench, but on their home court I will give Kalamunda the advantage. Suns by 9 to split their opening double header

As a Wolves fan that's very disappointing re: Ettridge. Really sick of him in fact. Here is another hashtag - #GFchoker

Not surprising really. Only caught one of their games but he didn't seem anything special. Also a strange decision by the Giants to bring in two swingmen as their imports.

Probably a third of the teams will go into round one missing an import, so they're no lone ranger there.

How have they got his VISA confirmed so quickly? Interesting.

Maybe Kal have delayed the announcement by a week and signed him the Monday after Blitz? If not I doubt he will play this weekend, you can't get a visa approved on a weekend or even within a week

Dunks don't win games.

Anybody who watched their games last weekend could see they clearly lacked inside presence. The Sudanese guy has a nice touch and is a very good pickup for them, but he's not an inside power player.

Yeah Salmon looked like a great athlete but he was far from being the big they need.

Interestingly the new guy has a lot of Michael Haney about him, and we know how that turned out.

Clint Steindl to Hawks.

$$$ Enough said $$$

Will Lukosius now be know as John West??

Geez, I've been name-dropped on here lately....

Steindel wasn't he going to Joondalup?
Perry Lakes don’t pay the big $$$ so it’s either fake news or he’s going for reasons other than a pay cheque

Wolves weren't able to sign yet another restricted player but rumours persisted nevertheless on here.

"It's the fish that John West reject...

*swipes tuna cans off of the table*

...that makes John West the best."

Perry Lakes don't pay the big $$$ so it’s either fake news or he’s going for reasons other than a pay cheque

For those who are interested....

http://www.sblonline.net/records/all-time-win-loss-men/

37yo ???

And played since 2017 ??

Surely not ??

** And NOT played since 2017

y r u surprised? this is the SBL, the talent is quite shite, a 37 yr old Nigerian Olympian will probably too quite well - i mean you have VISKOVICH in the league thinkin he is a big boi muscle head

2019 Predictions

1st - Buccs
Finished on top in 2018 and haven't missed a beat in the offseason. Yes, they lose Ross and Natesan, but the addition of Conner, Inger and Dinardo counters those losses. Picking up Brendan Dinardo from East Perth cannot be underestimated as the Buccs haven't had a quality guard off the bench for some time. What also cannot be underestimated is Ralph and Wundenberg going around one more year. If they had lost them they're out of the picture. Regular season 1st in 2018 and their 2019 team is just as strong, so that equates to first in 2019 as well.

2nd - Flames
25 years in the league, haven't even made a grand final, let alone win one. If it was ever going to happen, it's 2019. Two very good imports are joined by Hire, Godfrey, Pal, the Beard boys, and Luke Travers is the icing on the cake. Even managed to get Brad Robbins out of retirement for some savvy bench leadership. Now or never for the Flames.

3rd - Hawks
Only major loss is Holmen, and they have picked up Kyle Sovine and Tevin Jackson. So they are no worse off. Parsons has a wealth of starting quality players, and that could be their downfall. Finished 4th in the regular season in 2018 and should go one better in 2019. Also have a spare import spot up their sleeve, so watch this space.

4th - Wolves
The positives - addition of Earnest Ross.... Now the negatives.... On the import side of things, Davis replacing Billups and Camidge replacing Sullivan are both minor downgrades. Then you add the retirement of Matacz plus Wellsteed's move to East Perth, there's a few body blows for the Wolves. You could also add the loss of Clausen but he was a bit of a fizzer in 2018 anyway. Further to that, eight of their best 10 players are on the wrong side of 28yo, making them the oldest team in the comp. I struggle to find a case for them finishing top-4, but their line-up is still strong, and it's those vets that will keep them in the mix. Expect an early exit from the playoffs though.

5th - Lightning
Have a quality starting 5 in Armour, Isenberger, Wall, Vigor and Prue. Wall is an outside shooting machine (91/186 three-pointers in college) while Prue is a rebounding machine. Lakeside will be outside shooting team with no real inside game to speak of, outside of Prue's offensive boards. Armour is a specialist is penetrating and then dishing to an outside shooter, so he is perfect for this squad. It could be a case of Lakeside either winning by 20 or losing by 20, and nothing in between. If opposition teams catch on, the Lightning may have to change their game plan, but if not then be expected to be blown away.

6th - Senators
Imports Anshila and King are back, and Anshila along with Davis, Literick, Ellis amd Manyang give then the biggest frontcourt in the league. Wildcats DP, Wani Swaka, is also a good addition for them. Their backcourt is suspect though, particular after losing veterans Bruton and Wroe. King is a jet and will hold the backcourt together, but they're not quite a top-4 team.

7th - Giants
On paper it's them and the Flames that should be the big improvers. Their starting five is as good as any going around, particularly with the addition of import Patrick Burke in the past few days. Fellow import Jay Bowie is an elite player and alongside him is Sudanese centre Malek, who was impressive at the Blitz before getting knocked out, swingman Dave Humphries (a juco all-American) and point guard Holloway who has been in the top 5 in the league in assists for the past 4 years. Their bench has also improved with the addition of Fletcher Klasztorny from Mandurah and former Tall Black guard Michael Gardner. Copped a few injuries at the Blitz so don't know the status of them, but they're a team to watch out for.

8th - Redbacks
It's a big fall from grace for the Redbacks who's 19-7 win/loss record in 2018 could well become 7-19 in 2019. The losses of Redhage, Smith, Hussey and Vigor are massive, while they have picked up Coburn from the Senators, Bowen from the AIS, and Nelson from the Illawarra Hawks. But they will lose Bowen at various times due to national u/19 comittments. Rumour is that import Lee Roberts will be back though that looks like to be well into the season. There will likely be another import and there is also a rumour of former Cougars guard Julian Pesava joining them after he finishes in Europe, but no official word from the Redbacks. And interesting development is the 'announcement' from the Redbacks just in the last couple of days about the signing of veteran leader Joel Wagner. Reading between the lines, it looks like he retired but has been talked back into playing. With Wagner back on board, two imports arriving, and the additions of Pesava, Nelson, Bowen and Coburn, they may well sneak into the eight.

9th - Tigers
Hussey replaces Armour, Barrow replaces Bowie and Hymon replaced Diagne. All fairly even swaps in my opinion. Not much else is different for the Tigers in 2019 from last year. Finished .500 in 2018 and can't see them bettering that with this line-up. In fact they may drop a spot and miss out on finals. Their bench is nothing to write home about and seeing Andrew Black in a moon boot at the Blitz isn't a good sign either. Will be in a battle with the Redbacks and Suns for the last playoff spot.

10th - Eastern Suns
Journeyman Easley and import Braun join a team that finished 2 wins outside of the playoffs in 2018, effectively replacing Belger and Davis who were both rock solid for the Suns. Braun could find himself as the league's leading scorer unless the Suns sign a second import, which they haven't yet. Timms should be better for the run after recovering from a major knee injury last year while Viskovich could end up as one of the highest scoring Aussies in the comp. The loss of Horn to the mines up north can't be underestimated, and at this stage the lack of a second import will probably be enough for them to miss the playoffs. But if they add one then the Redbacks hold on 8th spot becomes precarious.

11th - Cougars
It will be much of the same for the Cougars in 2019, which basically means they will live and die off the form of Gavin Field. It looks again like they will have just the one import this season, with another centre replacing 2018 big man Seberumbi. Mainstays Chan, Van Lit and Holmes will be back, but the big loss will be Pesava, if rumours of him moving to the Redbacks are true. The Cougars have countered by bringing in former Lakeside bench players Bell and Vinci but overall their lineup has not improved. With most teams around them getting better, this means a likely drop of one or two places from the 9th they finished in 2018.

12th - Slammers
The loss of Travis Durnin to the Magic is massive for the Slammers. He was their leading scorer through the second half of 2018 and no replacement has been found. Import Livingston is a good addition as they need a scorer and he will get his points by default as they have no other scorers. Voelkel and Lay will be rocks for the South West team, but outside of those three there is not much else. It's a good three to have as there is a good mix of scoring, rebounding and backcourt leadership. But if one of them goes down they are in serious trouble. The retention of Lay and Voelkel is just enough to keep them from the bottom two spots on the ladder.

13th - Magic
The Magic probably scored the biggest offseason recruit in pinching Durnin from arch rivals, the Slammers. This has been slightly offset by Pal moving north to the Flames. Import Stewart is back while his fellow import from 2018 Shabazz has been replaced by Marvin Smith the second. The Magic don't appear to be any better than the 13th-placed team of 2018 and you have to wonder if Durnin will get the same type of service from his Magic guards as he did from the likes of Lay and Voelkel at the Slammers. Despite the addition of Durnin, I can see the Magic battling with the Eagles to avoid the wooden spoon.

14th - Eagles
It could be a long season for East Perth. They finished 3-0 at the Blitz but that is misleading. They had the easiest schedule, playing one of the state u/18 teams, a Mandurah team they will be fighting for 13th spot for, and an Eastern Suns team experimenting and missing some key players. So without taking too much away from those performances, the SBL season proper is a completely different story. They struggled in 2018, finishing with a 9-17 record, and have since lost two imports in Morse and Golden, plus Dinardo to the Buccs, Easley to the Suns, and Manyang to the Senators. Their only addition is Wellsteed from the Wolves, and rumour is that a import guard has also joined them. Bottom line is that their 2019 team is looking at 3 to 4 wins less than 2018 - so that's potentially a 5-21 record which will get you the wooden spoon.

Thank you brother Brian. It will be interesting to see how your predictions pan out. I'm predicting a total crowd figure of 7 across all games tonight. Players, coaches, managers etc will outnumber spectators 52 to 1.

Rumour has it Utsdog has Viskobitch in the best shape of his career. Shredded to the bone, big full muscle bellies, juiced up like he's on MJ's special stuff in Space Jam. Should be seeing him low low low low like Flo Rida on the block this year

can confirm visko is still a skinny runt, compared to his 18yr old mates he might appear bigger but in terms of bodybuilding LOL he looks like a paraplegic dog

hammy at the Blitz....

LOL BIG Viskosnitch with a whopping 10 and 12 points, dominating down low with his big arms and his big body, such a big guy, LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Try to address your personal problem stefan. Take your issue up with the player and stop boring us with your stupidity. Jealousy makes people say funny things.

You have to wonder how long Bowler remains at BWA with darrsh now gone. They worked very well together and whilst I am sure De Wett has done his time, you just wonder if the same chemistry can be found otherwise it might get all too much for AB. Agreed with earlier post, one game review is poor in the very least [I would rather Pike articles - I know, I know but at least his repetitive drivel was better than what is currently on offer based on week one) No radio show at present [I read that TY can't commit any more due to shift work which sucks as I thought he did a good job and has been around long enough that he is well known by most in the League, even those of us in the northern suburbs. Hopefully you still do the grand final play by play R@nD0m as that was very well done last year] We need more people being proactive to help the league progress more. Is willetton doing their live feed / commentary like they did last season? Great to see a couple of clubs have live feeds in week one - no commentary but still vision is better than nothing.

Yeah, Ross put up some undisciplined shots in the second half against the Giants, particular in the last quarter when the Giants got close and looked like they were going to snatch it. He may have finished with 25 but he was 9/27, turned the ball over 5 times, and got blocked 4 times. There was definitely a few WTF looks from his teammates with his shot selection. It was Camidge that got them over the line in that one. With nobody else really to come into that line-up, I don't think they are top-4 especially if Ross doesn't get reeled in. The Giants on the other hand were impressive considering all the new faces. They have some serious options to call on and backed that up with a belting of Kalamunda 12 hours later.

Not jealous, just hope you little kids understand what BIG is. Carry on.

What clubs are doing live feeds? A great initiative for those unable to attend especially.

Nothin random about it. If we as a league lose Bowler in the next six to twelve months, we are in alot of trouble moving forward. JR i know suns had a live feed going of their game yesterday, as did the buccs on saturday night im told.

SBL will be fine especially once it becomes part of the NBL1 banner.

Rankings after week one....

1st - Buccs (last week - 1st)
A comfortable win over another contender reinforces their no.1 ranking. And did it with an import (Lasher) and a veteran big (Wundenberg). Flames were at full strength apart from Hire. Lowly Slammers are in strife this week. Buccs the team to beat it seems.

2nd - Flames (last week - 2nd)
Disappointing to say the least against an undermanned Buccs, but it's only one game so we will give them the benefit of the doubt. Hire's NBL season is over but it may be a couple of weeks before he suits up for Rocko. Up against another contender this week (Hawks) so will need a win otherwise they will slide down these rankings.

3rd - Wolves (last week - 4th)
One of the few teams at full strength at the moment, and that showed against a weakened Hawks line-up on Friday night as they cruised to a 36-point win. Found it a lot tougher the following night against a good Giants team, and this week's match-up against a strong Senators team could tell us where they're at.

4th - Senators (last week - 6th)
Smashed the Redbacks last week, and did it without an import (Anshilla), so I may eat my words about them not being a top-4 team. Tougher assignment this week against the Wolves in what is probably the game of the week.

5th - Hawks (last week - 3rd)
Trounced by the Wolves in round one, but to be fair they were without two starters (Cummings, Jackson) and then lost a couple in the game through injury. How they bounce back against the Flames could depend on the availability of those four players, though you would assume Cummings should be good to go following his Wildcats stint.

6th - Giants (last week - 7th)
Took it right up to the Wolves on Saturday (at Joondalup) and then followed up by belting the Suns the next day. Have got a lot of scoring options and some very decent defenders, so their home opener against the Redbacks this week should result in a comfortable win.

7th - Lightning (last week - 5th)
Just got over a full-strength Mandurah line-up after being down by 9 with a quarter to go. Still have Isenberger and Vigor to come into the team but they are still weeks away. Hussey, Wall and Prue are a good trio but Lakeside will probably hang around 7th-8th in the rankings until the other two arrive. Tough assignment against the Tigers this week.

8th - Tigers (last week - 9th)
Not that convincing in their win over Gavin Field on the weekend, and look to be one quality scorer short of making an impact this year. Will have Andrew Black back in the line-up in a few weeks but for now will need to string a few wins together to keep up with the pack. This week's clash with the Lightning will be interesting.

9th - Redbacks (last week - 8th)
Got crunched by the Senators but there is light at the end of the tunnel with Bowen, Nelson and import DeMuynck to come into the line-up (and possibly Pesava in a few weeks). Bowen should be good-to-go against the Giants this week but the availability of the other two is unknown. Should have it tough up in Kalgoorlie and will start the season 0-2.

10th - Eastern Suns (last week - 10th)
A contrasting weekend with a narrow win over the Magic followed by a nasty 30+ point loss to the Giants at home. Braun is a quality shooter and should go close to leading the league in scoring, but they will need a second import if they are to make playoffs. Have a return meeting with Mandurah this weekend, which is an extremely strange way to start the season (back-to-back games against the same team over rounds one and two).

11th - Cougars (last week - 11th)
As was predicted last week, they will live and die by the form of Gavin Field, and if it wasn't for his 36 points and 14 rebounds, they would have lost to the Tigers by considerably more than 9 points. Field should have 30+ again this week versus the Eagles unless their import arrives and plays. The Eagles game is a 50/50 contest in my opinion, so it should be a good spectacle for the 14 people who turn up to Mirrabooka to watch.

12th - Eagles (last week - 14th)
Last week I picked the Eagles to come last. My bad. Had a solid win against a weak Slammers unit, but a win is a win. The import guard (Williams) looks impressive and it looks like Sunday Dech will return to East Perth as well. Rumour of a second import (Vinnie Zollo) but nothing confirmed. They're not in the playoff mix but they also won't finish last and have a winnable game against Cockburn scheduled for Saturday.

13th - Slammers (last week - 12th)
A tough home loss to East Perth is now followed by a daunting trip up to Geraldton to play the Buccs. They have no chance in that game and the arrival of Voelkel can't come soon enough. On a positive, they have unearthed some promising youngsters who stood up against the Eagles last week. At this stage the impending return of Voelkel is the only reason they aren't ranked at the bottom.

14th - Magic (last week - 13th)
Two losses against two under-strength teams does not bode well for Mandurah who had their full line-up on display last weekend. Their big three of Stewart, Smith and Durnin are good but there is very little help after that. If they want to move off the bottom, they need to show something against Kalamunda this week on the road.

"Not that convincing in their win over Gavin Field on the weekend"

Gold!

Mens Preview Round 2

Rich Birds at Feral Firefighters
Only game for the men's league sees the champs head down the freeway to take on the wildcat-less flames at mike barnett. No love lost between these two clubs after the hawks knocked rocko out of the finals last season and given what could be an emotional night for the club with the retiring of as well as a tribute to anthony exeter, expect the locals to be more than a bit 'fired up' for this clash. Large crowd expected at the Arsonists Aircraft Hangar, with both sides coming off of heavy losses in week one, I will tip the flames to get up by 4 at home

Daniels' Disciples at Blacky's Building Site
Huge game to open saturday night proceedings with the lightning making the very short drive across to willo to take on the Tigers in their first home game for the season. Tigers coming off a very easy win over southern neighbour cockburn last weekend, whilst the lightning needed every single second of the 40 minutes to get over a gritty magic team down in mandurah. Still no clearer as to the legitimacy of both of these teams, but with Armour facing his old side there will definitely be some words said if not a bit more. Tigers at home in one that threatens to boil over if not officiated well, winning by 2


Triscaris Tomahawkers at Dayles Dungeon of Disaster
The boys from the south west become the second team in as many weeks to head up to gero and beat the buccs on their home floor, not an easy task by any means and alot tougher than they faced against east perth down at eaton in their 10 point loss last saturday night. Gero with a comfortable win over the flames last weekend, assisted in part by the flames allowing the buccs 30+ offensive rebounds while also giving them even more help by having 20+ turnovers - I mean do they really need all that extra help on their own home court for crying out loud! Buccs to go 2 - 0 before hitting the road for the first time next weekend, defeating the sloppy slammers by 29

Lackos 8-legged Lads at Creekys Cauldron
We all knew perth would not be good, but their effort last week against the senators going down by 30 odd on their home floor would have worried even the staunchest of spiders fans. Their task gets no easier here as they head east and prepare to battle a giants team who were not far from causing a huge upset over the wolfpack at hbf last saturday night, then responded even better with a comprehensive spanking of the suns on sunday. Giants to remain in the top 8 with a 15 point win

Mikes Monarchists at Bens Bowl-lickers
The first battle of joondalup for the new season and one with plenty of intrigue as the 2-0 wolves look to stake their claim as a serious contender against their closest neighbours in the visiting senators. The wolves dismantling of the champs at bendat was very impressive to say the least on opening night, but their return effort the following night on their own floor against the giants was not as convincing and this game should give us a much clearer indication of whether or not they are contenders or pretenders. Warwick were themselves super impressive over the redbacks in belmont and will head up wanneroo road confident of knocking off their arch rivals in The Kennell as Associate of Random named hbf last week (I like it!) Will be a close one, but at home I will go with the wolves to go to 3 - 0, winning by 3

Neners Nymphomani-Cats at Fordes Feathered Flyers Facility
Gav will need 60 here just for the cougars to be even a remote hope. Even then, based off last weeks box score it wont be enough as I see the eagles getting to triple figures for the second week in a row rather easily. This could get ugly quickly as the eagles win by 31

Trahairs Tricksters at Utleys Little Rays of Sunshine
This could either be one of the most high scoring and entertaining games of the season with little to no cares in the world in relation to the concept of defense played by either team, or it could be an absolute snorefest as both teams struggle to score with the opposition playing something that resembles enough defense to make scoring inconvenient if nothing else. If it is the latter then trahair may leave the hills with less hair than his coaching adversary in this one. Magic in an upset of sorts by 7

Pour one out for the high amount of good people we have lost out of that office under the current ceo. It's almost criminal the high turnover our governing body has had over that timeframe. But what are the board of BWA doing? Nothing. Old JG would be mortified at the sad state of affairs in that office if he were still with us. Something needs to change dammit

Why is Darsh leaving?

The Champs are off to a slow start at 0-2, do they have anyone else to come in to that side or is that it?

Have heard Steindl has definitely signed. Makes them alot tougher. Not much inside tho if BC, Purser or Sovine go down

Anyone who knows Parsons realises his team's are generally slow starters and hit their stride in the final third of the season. Yes they are 0-2 but I wouldn’t read much into that other than opposition teams hoping to play them early twice.

Magic men will get bounced big time by the suns. Word is out, their only scorer is the import guard and 23 zones will trouble them all year long. Durnin made a big mistake playing for this rabble. Suns sprinted out to a 12 point lead within 3 mins of the game starting last week then coasted the rest of the way. The game was nowhere near as close as the score line suggested. As the suns were in that mode they got belted by the Giants the next day. Expect the suns to play much better and Magic.. well not sure they can

Boy was I wrong! Judging from the live stream the Suns are seriously worse off than last year. Utley is obviously a relic of a bygone era without understanding of the modern game. They should ring their coach from last year, say sorry, give him the job back and send Utley back to the hole he came from.

Utley will never be a championship coach. He has smarts but does not scout well enough or have any one thing in particular he does well. You only have to look at the Flames teams he had to see that. He gets players to buy in to his system but it is not a system that will ever see a grand final. Throw Triscari in that conversation too. 10 years ago sure they 2ould have been competitive but we are two weeks in and the evidence is very clear why those twp sides are struggling and will continue to do so until the end of the season. Lackovic without cash to throw at players is also not far from joining this illustrious group as well

The Wolves put on a clinic against the Senators. A real balanced effort.
They are going to be hard to beat this season.

That Davis dunk off the backboard though....

The big bad wolf....

just a word of warning to those who might be plannign to head down to the southlake boulevard to watch the willetton tigers play.

SBL is very very watered down these days.

Need to remove 2 or 3 teams for the league to remain competitive.

Some of the players getting not only a game but 20mins+ is a joke.

I am calm :) I agree with Anon and would go further, without money to buy the best talent, Lackovic is definitely in that illustrious group. He has never coached a team with inferior talent than the opposition so wouldn't know where to start. His usual scheme of things is throw the ball to the best talent and everyone else watch them win the game.

Rankings after week two....

1st - Buccs (last week - 1st)
Cruised to a 50-point win over a sorry Slammers line-up but have it a bit tougher this week with their first double-header roadtrip to Perth. Suns should be a walk in the park for the Buccs on Saturday but Sunday's game will be a bigger test versus a Hawks team looking to get some 2018 championship form back. Still clearly the number 1 team at the moment, however the Wolves are showing signs that they want that spot.

2nd - Wolves (last week - 3rd)
They move up into 2nd in the rankings following a big win over another good team in the Senators. Living off their three pointers at the moment (half of their field goal attempts have been threes) and they're shooting an incredible 43% as a team from downtown. Eagles will be a nuisance for them this week, but they should get the win though it will be a battle between two teams who love to launch them from outside.

3rd - Flames (last week - 2nd)
Led the Hawks by 24 at the half on Saturday, before easing off to win by 17. Still have Hire to come into the line-up which is why I'm still ranking them as one of the best three teams in the comp. Travel up to Spearwood to play Gavin Field this week and should get past him without a worry.

4th - Senators (last week - 4th)
After smashing the Redbacks in round one, round two's game-of-the-week against the Wolves was a fizzer, and the Senators find themselves all over the place. I did say a couple of weeks ago that their back-court was susceptible, and apart from King, Stirlings backcourt got smashed by their Wolves counterparts. Still have import Anshilla to arrive but he's another forward. No easier this week with a trip to the Goldfields and they need that win to stay in the rankings top-4.

5th - Giants (last week - 6th)
Were challenged in their home opener by a young Redbacks team, but got the win nethertheless. Big four of Burke, Humphries, Bowie and Malek are doing what is needed, but the Senators this week will be a challenge and to prove their legitimacy they need to win that one which will also push them into the top-4 in these rankings.

6th - Hawks (last week - 5th)
Still out of sorts. Didn't trouble the Flames too much on Saturday night, even with the inclusion of Cummings. Do have the luxury of a second import spot free if they need it, but they need more than 9pts/2rebs from Sovine and 11pts/5rebs from Purser. Improving Redbacks is a big danger game for them on Saturday, which is followed the next day with a meeting with the no.1 Buccs. Could start the season 0-4.

7th - Lightning (last week - 7th)
Ran over the Tigers in the second half to move to 2-1, and still without two starters. 70 points combined from Armour, Wall and Mackenzie bodes well for Lakeside, along with Prue doing his usual thing (6ts/20rebs). Only way is up for the Lightning and a win over the Redbacks this week could push them past the defending-champion Hawks in the rankings.

8th - Redbacks (last week - 9th)
Bowen being regarded as one of the highest ranked teenagers in the country is legit, and his inclusion into the Redbacks team makes them better straight away. And that showed against an experienced Giants line-up on the weekend (22pts/11rebs) though they couldn't get the win. Despite what some have been saying (including myself), Pesava won't be playing for them this year, but with Nelson and two imports still to come, they will only get better.

9th - Tigers (last week - 8th)
You know you're in struggletown when your two imports combine for 14 points and you only have one player in the team score more than 8 points (Hussey, 27pts). Willetton's opposition last Saturday, Lakeside, are solid but in no means championship quality, so the Tigers' 19-point loss to them would be troubling. They're up against two other struggling teams this week (Suns & Slammers) so it will be panic stations at Willo if they can't get a couple of wins.

10th - Eagles (last week - 12th)
East Perth are the big movers here - before round one I had them ranked 14th, then up to 12th after round one, and now 10th. This is partly due to them playing better than expected, but also because the four teams ranked below them are garbage at the moment (maybe not so much the Magic). They've also had the easiest schedule so far (Slammers & Cougars). They will be brought down a peg or two this Friday against the Wolves, but have a chance to bounce back versus Mandurah on Saturday.

11th - Magic (last week - 14th)
Another team on the rise but helped a bit by the three teams below them showing us why we should have a 12-team competition. An improved showing against a slumping Suns on the weekend but their form seems to be mirroring that of Durnin. Stewart is a stud and would be a very good player on any team but they need more from fellow import Smith the Second (11pts/6rebs/4fls per game) in what is effectively a 3-player team. They continue their soft schedule this week with a winnable game against East Perth.

12th - Eastern Suns (last week - 10th)
Last two games have been losses by a combined amount of 49 points, and both were at home. My previous prediction that Braun will lead the league in scoring still rings true, but if they have to keep relying on him scoring 36% of their points (like he is now), the Suns are in for a long season. And it doesn't get any easier this week with the Tigers and Buccs on the menu, and I can only see indigestion in store for the Suns.

13th - Cougars (last week - 11th)
Should have beaten East Perth after leading by 7 with a quarter to go, and Field got some help with three other players in double figures. I don't think they will get that close against Rockingham this week unless they unveil an import which I have heard may be happening. At the same time it could also be bull$&it, which would mean a 20+ point loss.

14th - Slammers (last week - 13th)
Last week I said this.... "At this stage the impending return of Voelkel is the only reason they aren't ranked at the bottom." Well I've change my mind. They are the worst team in the comp at the moment so their 14th ranking is deserved. Yes, Voelkel's return might change that (probably not by much), but who knows when that will be. Unlike last week, this week they won't get pumped by 50 by the Tigers, and it's probably a good match-up to prove me wrong.

Bowen is off to college in August.....

Andrew so Ross has toned it down as a shot hog I take it?

AWHOOO

Why is he leaving

My picks for this week in the men:

Eagles vs Wolves
Williams/Williamson vs Ross/Camidge. Good matchups but its the Wolves extra depth that will get them up by 15.

Lightning vs Redbacks
Anyone's game but Lakeside's outside firepower will be too much for Perth. Lightning by 12.

Tigers vs Suns
Suns going to bring in an import combo guard to help Braun, but he won't be here this week. Tigers by 15.

Cougars vs Flames
Will we see Hire? Hopefully not if you're a Cougars fan. Flames by 20.

Giants vs Senators
Anshilla still a few weeks away. Giants by 6 in a close one.

Redbacks vs Hawks
Young Redbacks vs wounded Hawks. Experienced Hawks with the biscuits here by 14.

Slammers vs Tigers
Slammers will be fresh and will keep it close, but won't have the quality to get them over the line. Tigers by 10.

Magic vs Eagles
Eagles would have had it tough the night before while the Magic will be fresh and at home. Mandurah by 4.

Suns vs Buccs
Suns will hang tight with the Buccs for the first half and then fall away. Buccs by 16.

Hawks vs Buccs
Both played the night before so battle of the fittest. Hawks to finally get their mojo going with an 8 point win.

I think she needs to play for their mens team based on their performance against the Suns tonight.

An undersized and super young East Perth side did very well against the Wolves - who looked uninterested in the first half.

Question: what's the deal with the president of East Perth. Watched games from the sidelines wearing sunglasses in side at night and then was seen cursing out a spectator who tried to talk to him after the game.

Really poor form. He berated the spectator with profanities before exclaiming "I’m the president". It was very perculiar. Shame because the actual EP team have great character guys that have all bought into the system Coach forde is running.

Who is the East Perth president?

Quite a few key players missing tonight, including imports...

Tigers:
Jackson Hussey
Marcanvis Hymon (import)

Slammers:
Tyler Livingston (import)

Magic:
Marvin Smith (import)

Suns:
Logan Viskovich


Any sackings among them?

With two imports still to come in, and two very good ones, Redbacks won't finish last. It will be Slammers or Magic.

Can we confirm they have two imports coming? Word is Roberts has not actually signed yet and it was never agreed upon due to Perth money woes (see multiple unpaid players) carrying over from 2018. If these financial issues are indeed true, can they actually afford one import let alone two? On a different note, is the 48 that Mandurah struggled to last night the lowest score ever recorded by a mens team?

It was confirmed by their head coach in an article written just two weeks ago.

Haha you're obviously new here. What that head coach says and what is reality sometimes can be two very different things.

Garlepp sighted ...

Sunday Dech to the Wellington Saints in the NZ NBL

Media Release by the Saints for Dech's signing
https://www.facebook.com/209103289110960/posts/2351597298194871

Can we take a minute to talk about the fact that the two supposedly top rated referees in WA; allowed Aaron Ralph to jump into the air with ball, bounce it as a dribble after leaving the ground, and come down with a live dribble without calling a travel. Not once, not twice, but three times?! All while adamantly insisting the whole game that it's a legal move. Only to be told in their post game review that it is, in fact, a travel.
SBL refereeing leaves a lot to be desired. But blatantly not knowing what is a clearly defined rule is beyond ridiculous.

Hey anon, how do you know what the ref coach told the umpires behind closed doors?

Which game was this?

I remember it happening in an NBL game a few years back (a Blaze game, IIRC). Refs insisted it was a legal move at the time, even though it never has been.

Giants @ Suns
Gero shot the absolute lights out in the second half and deserved the win. Suns good in the first half but ran out of legs possibly in second.

Yes I agree, well done to Utley and the Suns for a good win against Tigers, although they struggled on the other game. Believe it or not I don't have anything against the guy or his team.
However, Mandurah only scored 12 points in their second half. Must be an all time low! That’s the game I did see and one has to wonder why Kyle is starting and getting such big minutes. Could it be his dad sitting on the bench as an assistant? Funny thing is his dad only talks to his son and no one else. Does he realise that being referred to as "coaches boy" is a damning condemnation on any player at any level???

And the old man was one of the worst head coaches in the league in the two years he led Mandurah. More minutes on the court than Durnin is a joke

My point exactly. Kyle doesn't deserve even 10% of the court time that Travis Durnin gets. Travis has proved himself to be a quality SBL player, no one can argue that. Kyle has proven that daddy’s boy gets favourable treatment. For Trahair and the club to allow this to happen just reflects poorly on them.

New import is crap. A tweener who is even too small for the sbl without a reliable shot or handle. Kyle would be lucky to rate in their top 5 juniors coming through. Lawrence will develop into a handy big man, Miguel will become a good 2 guard who is losing time to daddy's boy for no real reason. The best they got is a kid called Riley Parker, only 15 but I think he’ll outgrow the sbl within 2-3 years. Marshall Keating was also a absolute gun and a real player of the future but sadly again, played second fiddle to daddy’s boy and has since moved over east where his talent is recognised rather than his surname.

Mandurah is a growing area and they should be doing well. Trahair only contacts these days are in the TAB.
They lose younger players with potential because they don't have a clue about how to develop that talent. Sadly for them it involves breaking the game down and teaching it. This requires know how.. which they lack also.
As ex prime minister Keating once said "they are all tip and no iceberg".
So the solution has always been to rely on ready made imported talent, which they can’t afford to the level of other more successful clubs.
So they can’t buy the best talent like say a Wanneroo or Redbacks of previous seasons and can’t harness home grown talent. This equates to piss poor performance year in and year out.
Long story short, I put it down to a recalcitrant administration and club personnel who are only interested in serving their own interests, egos, family and friends ie. The Kyle court time catastrophe

Okay, let's head over to the new April message thread.....

http://www.hoops.com.au/forum/45048-wa-sbl-april-2019