Big loss when he's got his head in the game. Foxwell, Ayre to step up. Can they bring in an injury replacement or is it to late ??

When was the last time so many key players went out without injuries in a season!?

Dunkman from my understanding they can bring in a injury replacement player but there's not enough games left for them to qualify to play in the playoffs so they would only be able to play the rest of the regular season games. This is why Sydney didn’t bother replacing lamonte turner

lol PW, I have thought about the fact that Perth from absolutely nowhere are somehow a chance at getting somewhere near a championship this season.

And Dunkman, as mentioned by Baller an injury replacement could come in for the remainder of the regular season, but needs 7 games to be playoff eligible. SEM play their 7th last regular season game tonight, so unless they've flown someone in already it's impossible

With this and all the injuries to Tassie and Brisbane things starting to open for the Sixers to make a run if they're good enough.

^^^^ thanks guys. Big loss and still a championship chance but still one big short imo, rely to much on Hunter and Hurt, can't afford to lose either to injury or foul trouble. I think they can cover the guard spot with what they got, certainly the way King has turned Sobey around.

If the Phoenix tweak their roster this offseason, with King getting the chance to make the team as he wants it, Phoenix should be a serious contender next season

It will be interesting to see what they do with Sobey, re: his team option for next season. He's really turned his career around and back playing like Sixers Sobey.

He's always been an outstanding player, too talented for the NBL really, but his inner knucklhead got the better of him towards the end of his time in Adelaide, Joey Wright tried but couldn't save him from himself and he got free reign in Brisbane and disappeared up his own backside.

I did think he was in for a good year at SEM after Schueller's FU on the way out of Brisbane but didn't think he would he rediscover 'young' Sobey again with team ball and effort on defence on top of his elite skills. Glad to see him back.

Zodiac I think 36ers biggest problem is there coach he looks completely lost has no idea whatsoever

Baller, I think that's a bit harsh.

They should keep Sobey but probably not as a marquee, still a reasonable contract though. SEM are still a chance this season.

If the Cats do a Bradbury then Rillie will have a lock on the head coaching role for some time so no Gleeson return any time soon. Won't mention again he might then land elsewhere PW. If Illawarra did get knocked out in the play offs and the Cats have the 3 home game advantage in the championship series then they probably should win it from there. MU might be the fly in the ointment if they make it given their record at RAC arena. MU would also be pleased they are probably not going to cross paths with the JJs in this years post season.

If Gleason wanted to come back Perth would think twice about moving rillie on

I know Gleeson lost his two imports for a period but his side are struggling, they have a ex nba Japanese player as well, plus two other imports, they should make finals and I'm great fan of his coaching but he walked into a great team that bevo built and went on with it, making required adjustments along the way. Like Goorj he might not be the saviour all think.

We saw that when Gleeson coached the Crocs & Tigers. Bevo was the real architect of those 2010's Wildcats teams along with bringing Martin & Matty Knight with him from Sydney.

Would be interesting whether Gleeson would take the job in those circumstances. A bit like Goorj not going ahead with the Adelaide job because he did not want to shaft Ninnis.

That was the Goorj spin after he interviewed for the Sixers job lol

Rillie's under contract until 2028 I can't see the Wildcats eating all those years.

Not even if Gleeson was available very soon, Z? I reckon they'd jump at the chance.

Maybe say if Cotton made it a stipulation to re-sign or something maybe then they might but 3 years is a lot of contract to eat.

On the topic of key injuries, Tassie announce Deng injured himself in practice today and will miss at least one game.

Tassie have given their best efforts at going back to back, but some years the gods just aren't with you

Han, they're just lowering expectations and lengthening the odds ahead of their late-season sprint home

Not completely out of the question Luuuc. Roth said at the SEM presser I think that Magnay was 3.5 weeks into his recovery which would make it about 5 weeks now, 6 weeks by the time of the SEM game and 7 weeks by the time of the Hawks game. If they can just get him back for a block of 3 or 4 games and get a run going before the post season (with no more injuries) then depending on who they meet in the first play in game they could still cause problems. If the Kings finish 5th they may be on the skids and all the pressure would be on them. What then if MU were to lose the seeding qualifier? Will have to correct what I said previously about that. JJs may only have to win 2 from here to get to the play ins with no more train wreck games percentage wise. The playing group and Roth will still believe and the JJs are built to play post season (albeit with a key piece certainly missing in MacDonald).

Perth "coming from nowhere"?

Weren't they up 1-0 with a 12 point lead in Game 2 against the JJ's, after finishing 2nd in the regular season?

Then they upgraded their roster. They've been one of the main contenders all along.

Also Gleeson coached Townsville for 5 years and they had a winning record every single year

I would suggest there have been very few times in the NBL's history where a smaller club from a small city has had a winning record 5 years straight. Illawarra's done it once in 45 years (6 years in a row- Joyce era), and Cairns hasn't ever gone close in almost 30 years

Melbourne Tigers are the one blemish on Gleeson's record, but I'm willing to give him a pass for that, it's only one season

Gleeson was ousted by the players with McPeake not allowing him any time to implement culture.

He has been a success everywhere in the NBL.

Gleeson's player management in Melbourne was poor. He was not a success there. He took a year off after that and spent time in the AFL environment and learned a lot about empowering players.

He then walked into the perfect situation in Perth, where Beveridge had the group very self-sufficient so Gleeson could implement that style.

He left Beveridge's defensive schemes largely intact as they were the best in the league and the players believed strongly in them, then introduced his beloved flex and found ways to use Beal and Ennis very well in it.

As mentioned by LV above he did well with a regional team in Townsville. The highlight being Homicide being chewed out in a semi-final against the Dragons. Gleeson took no prisoners.

At the Tigers Tragardh was being chewed out about his defence, amongst other issues relating to changing the playing culture, and McPeake sacked him. Yes that's right, Tragardh! The owner was impatient and yielded to petulant players.

Beveridge did set up the Wildcats for future success, and Marvin was a dog for sacking him over applying for the Boomers head coaching position, however Gleeson carried on from there.

Overall a very impressive NBL CV.

Very impressive, with only one small glitch in what was a tough environment for a coach.

IIRC he was working with an awkwardly top-heavy roster that season with the Tigers. Not sure any coach was going to make that work.

Nah, Gleeson's year was when they pinched Ubaka and Dorsey from Cairns, then signed Mills and jettisoned Corletto. Of course, Mills took off to China when the $$ came and for whatever reason they didn't sign a replacement player (Gleeson refused to answer why when I asked him about it).

I recall going to The Cage and watching a pre-season training hit out. There was only a couple of hundred die-hards in attendance as the Tigers played....someone? I can't even recall if this was intra-club or against some college team.

Gleeson absolutely let fly at Lucas Walker (one of my favourite players!) with many F bombs, in full voice around young children. I was thoroughly unimpressed. Immediately I wondered whether Gleeson struggled with man management.

But fast forward 15 years- and the results speak for themselves. At both Townsville and Perth.

It's too easy to say "oh he inherited things from Beveridge". He was there for 8 years and a total success from start to finish. Even the years they didn't win- often impressive. Like defeating Goorjian's Hawks and pushing a Jock Landale-led United minus Bryce Cotton.

"It's too easy to say "oh he inherited things from Beveridge"."

No, it's completely accurate. Same as Vickerman inherited things from Lemanis at NZ (which in fairness he was a big part in building) and won a title in 2015.

Gleeson was smart enough, having learned from his time in the AFL, to listen to his players and keep intact the best parts of what Beveridge did so he was building on something very successful, rather than trying to recreate things just to do it his way.

No doubt Gleeson has mostly choosen his employers well, strong clubs in the Crocs at that time and Perth, while a poor choice in working for McPeak didn't work out so well.

Bevo's influence was obvious in the early days (much like Lemanis' influence on the Boomers was apparent in Tokyo where Goorj got the credit)

But my point was, Gleeson was there for 8 years. What influence did Bevo have on 2019, 2020, 2021?

Gleeson did a great job over a long period. But don't think for a second that the culture Beveridge set up, and the high level rebounding and defence, weren't important factors all through the Gleeson reign.

As I said before, and I think you might be struggling to see that this is a compliment, Gleeson did an excellent job in maintaining those things that worked which was a big part in the success.

Look how much Cotton improved as a defender from when he initially arrived in Perth, that's because of the culture of the club and the fact that was so non-negotiable.

LV, the heart and soul of the team Damian Martin?