Waratah 2010

[The Unbias Bias]

Could the Comets roster have been more depleted against Hills? With a full team i don't see them losing this game.

Big win by Maitland over Manly was let down by their loss to Norths. Hornsby continue to struggle in close games (games they would've won last season) and Newcastle continue their emergance as a team to contend with come play off time.

Bankstown, Sutherland & Canberra I expect wins to be few and far between for the rest of the season.

As far as Hills going 40-4 in the 3rd? The scoreline says it all right there.

[Hornet_Power]

[QUOTE=The Unbias Bias;227584]Could the Comets roster have been more depleted against Hills? With a full team i don't see them losing this game.

Yeh comets were missing seckold and henricks but saying that they are still a good team which you have to play well against and considering Hills centre pollard hasn't played since bankstown and as far as I know will be out for the season you could call hills depleted too. As far as the parra game 3 quarters were tightly faught as for the third hills shot 1of17 for the quarter with the majority of the shot good looks but couldn't hit and parramatta being a run and gun team were off to the races on every miss explaining the 40 point quarter.

[Daevo]

The Comets are doing it tough with Henricks & Seckold both away for an extended period plus I hear Borgia is not 100% fit & Whitehead is also reportedly carrying an injury.

That's a shock about Pollard - what's the story

[HILLSD1]

Dave Pollard unfortunetly for us, change of career clashes with Basketball commitments ,, great fella good player and is always welcome at Hills,, gives some of our other guys more minutes...

[Keyser Söze]

I havent got many picks right so far but this is exactly how the weekend will play out.

Comets over Canberra (though if the Comets turn up with that local comp team from last week, maybe ACT can keep their streak going)
Manly over Hornsby
Maitland over hills
Norths over Newy
Banks over Sutho

[Hornet_Power]

I havent got many picks right so far but this is exactly how the weekend will play out.

Comets over Canberra (though if the Comets turn up with that local comp team from last week, maybe ACT can keep their streak going)
Manly over Hornsby
Maitland over hills
Norths over Newy
Banks over Sutho

As you said u haven't picked many right so this is how the weekend will run

comets to beat Canberra
manly over Hornsby
hills over maitland
Newcastle over norths
and sutho at home take out bankstown

[Daevo]

Comets to beat Canberra
Manly to beat Hornsby
Maitland to beat Hills
Newy to beat Norths
Bankstown to beat Sutho

Parra to beat Maitland (is this deferred game actually on?)

[A Higher Authority]

This competition is definitely wacky.
The Hunters come down to Sydney and knock over Parramatta.
Parramatta come out and annihilate Norths.
Norths come out and knock over Newcastle
WACKY!

[A Higher Authority]

Comets to beat Canberra
Manly to beat Hornsby
Maitland to beat Hills
Newy to beat Norths
Bankstown to beat Sutho

Parra to beat Maitland (is this deferred game actually on?)

No, they deferred it again.
It will now be a double-points round at Maitland, next time they meet.

Big score in the women's game between 3rd-placed Comets and first-placed Nationals (37-74).
Has to be Comets lowest score for some considerable time.

[Keyser Söze]

Got to see some of the manly v hornsby mens game. How depressing is Hornsby stadium? Maybe its that massive banner awarding Hornsby the medium sized association for 2007.

Pretty ugly game except for arkell's play. It makes me wonder how Hollis scores big numbers when i see him live. It seems like his go to move is the offensive tap.

Also manly wont have a great chance of winning it if that is their regular rotation. They look like they have depth that isnt being used. I think Bell can still contribute but he is playing too many minutes.

Anyone know who won out of Mait v Hills?

[Daevo]

It would rate Hornsby vs Manly as one of the most boring ABA games I've seen. Arkell was the only highlight & Manly looked flat, only winning by 6 even with Arkell's great performance & a solid effort from Jordan. I was looking forward to seeing Cooper but he was very disappointing on the night...not sure if the blow to the head was a factor but Unicomb & Weeks both outplayed him I thought. The rest of the local side had very ordinary games. Hollis carrying an injury so wasn't a factor in the game & I don't know why they left him on so long with Dawson looking dangerous inside the few times he actually got the ball offensively & Rafty back from injury.

Maitland beat Hills after leading pretty much all game. McGregor & Clifford doing the damage I heard.

[Keyser Söze]

It was so boring that for the first time i was thinking how genius it is that we dont have 48 minute games anymore. A dislocated thumb explains a lot about hollis' play but I believe he is at his best offensively just being active rather than asking him to do back to the basket moves.

Cooper is quick and his vision is great but he will need to become an annoyance defensively to make up for his size. Plus questions about his outside shot will come up in september.

[Prodigal]

Big score in the women's game between 3rd-placed Comets and first-placed Nationals (37-74).
Has to be Comets lowest score for some considerable time.

You think that's bad....Sutherland's girls got pumped 81-29 by Bankstown, shooting a phenomenal 24% from the field including an amazing 5% (1 of 19) from 3 pt land.

[CoachYT]

No, they deferred it again.
It will now be a double-points round at Maitland, next time they meet.

Big score in the women's game between 3rd-placed Comets and first-placed Nationals (37-74).
Has to be Comets lowest score for some considerable time.You think that's bad....Sutherland's girls got pumped 81-29 by Bankstown, shooting a phenomenal 24% from the field including an amazing 5% (1 of 19) from 3 pt land.

Making this comp a 2 team affair. Shame the finals will be in Sydney, thinks this gives the Bruinettes the advantage.

[Hornet_Power]

This week is gonna go a little like this..

bankstown to beat hornsby with added recruit alex opecic for bankstown
Sydney to beat sutherland
Im going with hills to beat newcastle home court advantage and some revenge for the 2 point loss the first time they met
parramatta to smash canberra
and norths to beat manly at norths home for a upset

[Prodigal]

Bankstown also have Sepokas back from college and Cadee has left the tute and is back full time. They're going to be very much on the improve

[Daevo]

Bankstown men & women both defeat the Spiders in 2 point nail-biters.

[A Higher Authority]

Two big results for Hills, defeating Hunters in both Men and Women.

Crazy stats at Canberra.
Wildcats 108-61 had 14 blocked shots (Veg 7, McBeath 5).
Boards went to Wildcats 53 - 38 yet the Nationals had 20 Offensive boards!!
Big win without Dann - 6 players in double figures - Veg close to a triple with 24, 15 and 7BS.

[HILLSD1]

Always good to win ,but caught up socially with these teams after .pizza and beers good fellas win loose or draw they appreciated the hospitality,

both games were a dog fight unfortunately thats the way we have to do to win these days.....both Hills teams dont have the go to players but both teams are full of locals that give it there best....GO HILLS :D

[MAIN_MAN]

The pizzas and beer was sweet, espicially after a win. We played a good game, and getting off to a good start was always key. Newcastle hung in there and seemed to be strenghtened with Adam Stanger coming back from college and Marcus Vanderheide a US player who played for Hope University - one of the strongest ncaa Div 3 programs. Again, we contained Freer and he shot 25%. Mitch Brown was huge for us, battling against Newie's taller timber.

It was also nice to mingle with the visiting teams after the game as well - they are good sports.

[Daevo]

Again, we contained Freer

I bet most players in this league would dream of being "contained" to 24 points :p

[Hornet_Power]

I bet most players in this league would dream of being "contained" to 24 points :p

Yeh but any player in the league would dream of being able to shoot 24 shots in a game and 12 free throws while having 9 turnovers :D

[MAIN_MAN]

I bet most players in this league would dream of being "contained" to 24 points :p

He may have got his 24 points, but he was 6/24 from the field.

[Jackit]

Newcastle are going to be hard to beat come finals. They have one hell of a squad now with the addition of Stanger and Vanderheide. I'm a bit biased but my money is on Newy to take out the title on their home court this year.

[Prodigal]

Newcastle are going to be hard to beat come finals. They have one hell of a squad now with the addition of Stanger and Vanderheide. I'm a bit biased but my money is on Newy to take out the title on their home court this year.


They're definitely way better than last year. I rate Freer and Stanger has always been a quality guy. Going to find out first hand about the other guy on Saturday night

[Daevo]

Bring a box of tissues to cry into Proddy since I hear he's legit & was still only new to the team in the Hills game. The next Newie vs Parra game would almost be worth driving up there for.

[Hornet_Power]

Hills vs hornsby local derby im sure will be a hell of a game, whats people think?

[HILLSD1]

Hills vs hornsby local derby im sure will be a hell of a game, whats people think?

we have a bad record of not following up a good win with another beating Sydney Manly Newcastle means nothing if we cant win the following week....fingers crossed for the double win this weekend :rolleyes:

[A Higher Authority]

Very good win for the Wildcats tonight without Dann (China) and Stef (suspension).
Comets without Seckold.
Kristian B and Clint Reed tore the place up in the first quarter to set up the win.

[Daevo]

we have a bad record of not following up a good win with another beating :rolleyes:

Prophetic words. Spiders just seemed to want the win more. Hills couldn't stop Weeks from scoring at will & had no answer for Dawson inside.

[Hornet_Power]

[QUOTE=Daevo;230268]Prophetic words. Spiders just seemed to want the win more. Hills couldn't stop Weeks from scoring at will & had no answer for Dawson inside.[/QUOTE

Hornsby played well and deserved the win, Hills definatley were not the same team that played newcastle last week. Weeks got on his role from Hills full court press once front court was beaten he could goto work aswell as dawson steppn up for a big game. Wasnt many guys on the Hornsby roster that had a bad game to be honest.

Also maitland caught a good win in bankstown last night which is gonna boost them up the ladder.

[HILLSD1]

Prophetic words. Spiders just seemed to want the win more. Hills couldn't stop Weeks from scoring at will & had no answer for Dawson inside.

I agree with Daevo beaten well by Hornsby and also by Norths but I thought we played better than the night before.

Only thing consistant about the games is the standard of the refs ,,we have to play through this because every week they are a huge factor in the game. Shouldnt be but they are ,,

Talking to Hornsby coach he just shook his head about the calls that went against us, loved his honesty, he has been on the end of what we coped tonight in other games . As he said its just part of the game.

Final humiliation we play norths and the hills ref calls the softest fouls on us (he is the president of our club shouldnt be reffing our game he over compensated ,,no love for hills)
Whoever is the refs coordinator wake up ,,ABA women get 3 refs next game ABA Mens 2 refs,. Sick of watching refs completely change the course of games ,, my rant is over till next week.:confused:


p.s hornsby and norths to good for us this weekend but I still dont get the refs

[Prodigal]

"Sick of watching refs completely change the course of games"

Try being up by 2 with 30 seconds to play. Former NBL star (who the ref has been fellating all game) absolutely mows down a defender on the block, dead set shoulder to the middle of the sternum, easiest charge call in history. No call from the ref, basket goes in. Mowed down defender slaps the floor in frustration (that's it, not a word said) Mr "Look at me I'm Sean Myers the way cool ref" blows a tech. 2 foul shots, so sad too bad, you lose by 2.
Welcome to WABL, refs sponsored by OPSM.

[Daevo]

That's disgraceful... & people wonder why players occasionally want to take a swing at a ref :rolleyes:

Complaining about refs is like complaining about the weather though... everybody does it but nothing is ever going to change. Most coaches I know in the league just tell their players "the reffing will be shit so just play through it". I'm the same now - I expect the refs to be crap & so I am pleasantly surprised when they made a good call. It's a sad situation when you are praising people for getting it right just occasionally.

I recently saw a post from a ref complaining how coaches rarely give refs even an acceptable rating in the evaluation sheets... just maybe do you think their is a reason for this? Players, coaches & spectators are sick of seeing soft U12 girls type fouls called in open court while massive hits, grabs & shoves seem to be ignored, especially under the basket

[Keyser Söze]

Why was stef suspended?

[Daevo]

He was accused of abusing/threatening the ref after a game. I have it on good authority that while the comments were made to the ref, they didn't come from Stef. He was the one reported for it though & for whatever reason, the guity party wasn't made known to the judiciary so Stefan wore the penalty.

[Keyser Söze]

He was accused of abusing/threatening the ref after a game. I have it on good authority that while the comments were made to the ref, they didn't come from Stef. He was the one reported for it though & for whatever reason, the guity party wasn't made known to the judiciary so Stefan wore the penalty.

Thanks Daevo. I did not expect that to be the reason. Who was the dude that should have been suspended? this is the place for people to be put on blast.

To me it sounds more like the other Blaszxnkiuneyqie (obviously some of those letters are silent)

How long is the suspension?

[Jackit]

so stef took the rap... wow, reallly says a lot about the other guy.

[Daevo]

It also says a lot about the process when a guy who did nothing gets punished because a ref (as usual) got it wrong.

[Keyser Söze]

So anyone going to say who should have been suspended? I dont think its that big a deal to name them, there's only about 6 people on this thread nowadays.

Anyway, does anyone know the result/details of the sydney v hornsby game?

And by 'anyone', i mean Daevo.

[Skindog the Hawk]

It also says a lot about the process when a guy who did nothing gets punished because a ref (as usual) got it wrong.

We talking domestic or SBL?

SD.

[Daevo]

It was a WABL game Skindog & the call was made about every player's favourite WABL ref. Keyser, I honestly don't know who made the comment that Stef got blamed for but I suspect a few others do. A Higher Authority actually posted about it here (http://ozhoopsboards.com/showpost.php?p=226519&postcount=478).

There was no Comets vs Hornsby game on the weekend - not sure what the screw-up was since the Comets players knew they weren't playing but Hornsby & BNSW seemed to think it was on

[rondo]

It was a WABL game Skindog & the call was made about every player's favourite WABL ref. Keyser, I honestly don't know who made the comment that Stef got blamed for but I suspect a few others do. A Higher Authority actually posted about it here (http://ozhoopsboards.com/showpost.php?p=226519&postcount=478).

There was no Comets vs Hornsby game on the weekend - not sure what the screw-up was since the Comets players knew they weren't playing but Hornsby & BNSW seemed to think it was on

Incorrect, if you look at the ABA draw you will clearly see that there was no Hornsby Vs City game listed on the draw. Further more if you look at the referees roster for the weekend you'll see that there are no referees scheduled for that game. BNSW did no about the change but obviously didn't notify Hornsby (such a surprise)

[Daevo]

They didn't notify the LiveStats people either since there was a link to the game on the website. Same deal with last round's results page which shows a game but no result (which is no doubt what prompted Keyser to ask about it).

[Keyser Söze]

They didn't notify the LiveStats people either since there was a link to the game on the website. Same deal with last round's results page which shows a game but no result (which is no doubt what prompted Keyser to ask about it).

exactly...

[Keyser Söze]

To change the topic, with the season so far and there being inconsistency with rosters, who is the all-star 5? Based purely on this current season.

From what I've seen and off the top of my head I've got:

weeks
stef
freer
arkell
Brennan

Based on performance I guess mcgregor could be in there also.

Thoughts?

[A Higher Authority]

Boy, how many lists are we able to make.
Your five could play
Seckold
Borgia
Dann
Veg
Jordan

then
BJ
Cadee
Reed
Hollis
Dawson

to play the winners.

I could go on - there is some very good talent out there this year.

[Keyser Söze]

Talent and reputation aside I don't think many on your list warrent all star 5. Cadee hasn't played much, jordans numbers are down, Blake is a volume scorer and not much else.

So purely on games to date who would you have?

[A Higher Authority]

I've missed quite a few teams but I'm pretty close to you, with an obvious Parramatta leaning.
Arkell point
Weeks SG
Dann
Stef
Veg
I know it's Wildcats heavy but I still reckon those 5 are the best I've seen this season (I missed seeing Freer so can't judge/pick him).

[HunterPirates]

Maitland v Comets.

75-74 comets lead with 24 left, maitland swing it around looking for scotty mcgregor. Found him, drives to the basket, hacked hard and will shoot two...

Steps up, cland, lucky to catch iron with the first....miss.

4 seconds still up on the clock.

Few deep breaths....awful looking stroke.....clang.

mcgregor gets his own rebound after bricking both free throws.

1 dribble toward the 3 point line, turn around fade away from 17, nothing but net, mustangs win!

[A Higher Authority]

Wildcats 84-72 over Spiders after trailing until the fourth quarter.
Big game from Weeks, who perhaps ran out of steam in the 4th.
This young Spiders team could be really something in 2011 - however it may take just one more key signing.
If they signed Arkell or someone of his calibre in 2011 to run the show, I'd tip them for the title.

[Keyser Söze]

Wildcats 84-72 over Spiders after trailing until the fourth quarter.
Big game from Weeks, who perhaps ran out of steam in the 4th.
This young Spiders team could be really something in 2011 - however it may take just one more key signing.
If they signed Arkell or someone of his calibre in 2011 to run the show, I'd tip them for the title.

They'd need more than just him. There was more talent on last years manly team and they came up short.

[Jackit]

Maitland v Comets.

75-74 comets lead with 24 left, maitland swing it around looking for scotty mcgregor. Found him, drives to the basket, hacked hard and will shoot two...

Steps up, cland, lucky to catch iron with the first....miss.

4 seconds still up on the clock.

Few deep breaths....awful looking stroke.....clang.

mcgregor gets his own rebound after bricking both free throws.

1 dribble toward the 3 point line, turn around fade away from 17, nothing but net, mustangs win!

MASSIVE 2nd quarter by maitland limiting the comets to just 5 points whilst putting away 24 of their own.

[HILLSD1]

If you had to give the prize for Most Improved for the year ,Maitland and Newcastle would certainly be there. Maitland have been steady for a while and should make the semis with the roster they have and Newcastle have done a good job to where they were last year... but plenty of games to go before the awards are given out;)

[HunterPirates]

Newcastle have done a good job to where they were last year.

2 former college players lobbed on newcastles doorstep this year!

[falcon]

2 former college players lobbed on newcastles doorstep this year!

Have to agree - how are they going without their tourists? Good for the team, good for the town but Newcastle Basketball can hardly take any credit for it.

A better indication of the state of Newcastle Basketball might be the performance of their U18 teams at Country.

[Hornet_Power]

hills to beat canberra
parramatta to beat maitland
manly to beat bankstown
comets get newcastle
norths beat sutherland

any problems see my manager

[HunterPirates]

parramatta to beat maitland

6 point loss to the stangers, inside the final 40 seconds, maitland missed two shots, 1 putback and 4 free throws, basically they had every right to win after fighting back from 15 down.

[Hornet_Power]

Can someone please explain how sutherland smashed north sydney saturdays night by 30 points at norths home ground?? i seen the stats but howd norths let 53 points be scored by 2 players

[Prodigal]

Can someone please explain how sutherland smashed north sydney saturdays night by 30 points at norths home ground?? i seen the stats but howd norths let 53 points be scored by 2 players

The boys decided to play some defence. BJ is always liable to go for close to 30 like he did. T Tracjeski finally played like we all knew he could. Stepping out for 3 from 3 from outside the arc was a bonus. It was the work he did inside that was most impressive.

It all came from the defensive end. Norths were forced into bad shots and turnovers and the Sharks converted their opportunities (for once).

The game before against Manly was our nadir. The whole team was f(*&ed and knew it. Some soul searching saw them come out with a point to prove.

[Keyser Söze]

The boys decided to play some defence. BJ is always liable to go for close to 30 like he did. T Tracjeski finally played like we all knew he could. Stepping out for 3 from 3 from outside the arc was a bonus. It was the work he did inside that was most impressive.

It all came from the defensive end. Norths were forced into bad shots and turnovers and the Sharks converted their opportunities (for once).

The game before against Manly was our nadir. The whole team was f(*&ed and knew it. Some soul searching saw them come out with a point to prove.

Yeah against manly i was ready to label Sutho the worst team ever – even worse than canberra. Hopefully they can keep up their form they showed against Norths. That said, i would think that the way norths are going they will definitely compete for the under achievers award, taking into account the roster they have.

[Jackit]

Have to agree - how are they going without their tourists? Good for the team, good for the town but Newcastle Basketball can hardly take any credit for it.

A better indication of the state of Newcastle Basketball might be the performance of their U18 teams at Country.

Freer has been there all season
Stanger - 1st game was 22 May
Vanderheide - 1st game was 29 May

Win/Loss before 22 May is 7/2
Win/loss since 22 May inc. is 2/3

...so they're actually performing worse with the addition of the extra 2 "tourists" of Stanger and Vanderheide.

[Prodigal]

Stanger is a Newcastle product. Has been playing in the US but not really a "tourist"

[Jackit]

My interpretation was that the term "tourist" was used in this context as having OS experience - obviously Stanger is a local guy.

Anyway, taking Stanger out of the equation we still have:

Win/Loss before Vanderheide become 7/3
Win/loss with Vanderheide is 2/2

my point is, is that although Freer has obviously had an big impact I still think the Newcastle team would have been pushing 4th without him, however, i'm sure all you guys would disagree, however, i am a bit biased :D

[Prodigal]

My interpretation was that the term "tourist" was used in this context as having OS experience - obviously Stanger is a local guy.

Anyway, taking Stanger out of the equation we still have:

Win/Loss before Vanderheide become 7/3
Win/loss with Vanderheide is 2/2

my point is, is that although Freer has obviously had an big impact I still think the Newcastle team would have been pushing 4th without him, however, i'm sure all you guys would disagree, however, i am a bit biased :D

Yeah, I'd disagree big time :D
I think they'd be a lot further down the table without Freer. Vanderheide was an added extra but Freer has taken them to another level. They'd have been tough and competitive as usual but nowhere near as classy

[Daevo]

Some big winning margins tonight. Manly by 25 over Parra was a bit of an upset.

[Matt McQuade]

Some big winning margins tonight. Manly by 25 over Parra was a bit of an upset.

Parra were disgraceful, Manly were outstanding. Parra missing Veg, Lau and Causevic (all overseas), but no excues for what was an uninspired performance. Ben Arkell was absolutely dominant. Full game report to come Tuesday at www.sydneykings.com ;)

[The Unbias Bias]

My interpretation was that the term "tourist" was used in this context as having OS experience - obviously Stanger is a local guy.

Anyway, taking Stanger out of the equation we still have:

Win/Loss before Vanderheide become 7/3
Win/loss with Vanderheide is 2/2

my point is, is that although Freer has obviously had an big impact I still think the Newcastle team would have been pushing 4th without him, however, i'm sure all you guys would disagree, however, i am a bit biased :D

Pushing 4th without Freer? Wow I don't think anyone can call you biased there, probably just down right dillusional!

[Jackit]

Pushing 4th without Freer? Wow I don't think anyone can call you biased there, probably just down right dillusional!

Maybe, but we'll never know.:???:

[A Higher Authority]

Gripping game in Newcastle.
3 Wildcats (Blaszczynski, Blaszczynski and Dann) all on 4 fouls heading into the 4th, along with Freer (Newcastle).

[A Higher Authority]

Reed makes it 4 and Vanderheide makes it 2 - heating up in the mad rush to the finish.

Whoops, Vanderheide gone!

K Blaszczynski gone!

Ginnane gone (Wildcats)!

Makwai gone (Hunters)

Dann gone!

S Blaszczynski gone!

Freer gone but the job is done :-(

64-34 to the Hunters in the 2nd half - OUCH!

[Daevo]

Stef only on 3 (was 2 when you posted)

Newie hit the lead...shaping up as a nightmare weekend for the Wildcats

Dann out on an offensive foul.

[A Higher Authority]

I couldn't read properly through my tears ;)

[A Higher Authority]

The Wildcats have developed the 'wobbles' over the past three weekends.
They could hold onto 2nd but it looks like Manly may grab their second successive minor premiership, although they also have a tough run ahead.
What is the playoff structure this year?

[Keyser Söze]

Nice run down of the weekend results by Matt McQuade including the Manly v Parra game here (http://www.nbl.com.au/index.php?id=991&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=17651&tx_ttnews[backPid]=990&cHash=57273c714f)

[Van Exel]

Keep this in mind. The only games Parramatta have lost this year have been with a key player or players missing. Parramatta is undefeated in all the games that the full squad has been available and you could probably say the same for Sydney Comets.

[The Unbias Bias]

It seems asthough the second the Kings signed Dann his stats for Parra have just dropped dramatically. How Stefan wouldn't have been offered a contract for the Kings over him is anyone's guess.

[Keyser Söze]

Keep this in mind. The only games Parramatta have lost this year have been with a key player or players missing. Parramatta is undefeated in all the games that the full squad has been available and you could probably say the same for Sydney Comets.

That's a fair comment but with the roster parra has, losing 1 or 2 players shouldn't mean they all of a sudden become vulnerable.

Sydney is different because they're roster is honestly pretty light. losing a seck should have exactly the impact that has occurred.

[Keyser Söze]

It seems asthough the second the Kings signed Dann his stats for Parra have just dropped dramatically.

I've been thinking the exact same thing. I hope he turns it around though. Maybe they should have never told him he was signed but asked him to comes to games and bring his shoes 'just in case'.

[A Higher Authority]

Wildcats still spiralling in the wrong direction - down to Sharks tonight.
Lucky for them, the Bruins knocked over the Comets.

[Prodigal]

Wildcats still spiralling in the wrong direction - down to Sharks tonight.


Huge, huge win. The team song never sounded so good.

[Daevo]

Well done Sutho...upset of the season.

Hornsby men & women with strong wins over Norths.

[Keyser Söze]

thats a fantastic result for sutho.

did parra have their full team? or should the loss not count because they were missing one player...

[Daevo]

I think they would have been missing Lau, Causevic & Veg as per last week but not 100% sure.

[Hornet_Power]

Big win for sutho, i think veg is alot bigger part of that team then people realise.
Nothing went right for the hornets last night or went in, manly demolished.
Hills have sutherland cumin off a couple big wins, hills gotta try n step it up big time.
Not that many people probably care lol

[HunterPirates]

Maitland two wins on the weekend.

[Prodigal]

Ditto for the Sharks. Great come from behind win over Hills after being down 20. Doubled our win tally in a weekend :D

[HILLSD1]

Congratulations Sharks,, we should have put them away but it was a good come back from them ...our boys played well an enjoyable game to be involved in.. Manly game on Sat they were to strong for us seem to be coming good at the right end of the season...:rolleyes:

[Keyser Söze]

Does anybody know what the format is for the finals? Is it 1v4 - 2v3?

The way the results are going and the remaining games to play, it is going to tough sorting out the top four spots. Especially with Newcastle and Maitland still to play manly.

My maths might be off but to make fourth it looks like you will need to have at least 13 wins. As long as parra doesn't keep nosediving and manly holds at home, Newie, Maitland, Bankstown and Sydney will all be fighting for 2 spots.

[Daevo]

The top 6 make the playoffs with 1v6, 2v5 & 3v4 playing at the home court of the top-rank team for each game. The winners & top-ranked loser (lucky loser) then proceed to the semi-finals on finals weekend (in Newcastle this year).

[A Higher Authority]

Does anybody know what the format is for the finals? Is it 1v4 - 2v3?

The way the results are going and the remaining games to play, it is going to tough sorting out the top four spots. Especially with Newcastle and Maitland still to play manly.

My maths might be off but to make fourth it looks like you will need to have at least 13 wins. As long as parra doesn't keep nosediving and manly holds at home, Newie, Maitland, Bankstown and Sydney will all be fighting for 2 spots.

VERY INTERESTING run home for the top six.
Manly - Maitland (in form), Newcastle (in form), Hornsby (?)
Parra - Norths (?), Hills (?), Maitland (in form)
Sydney - Hills (w), Hornsby (w), Canberra (w)
Maitland - Manly (in form), Norths (w), Hills (w), Parra (?)
Newcastle - Hornsby (w), Manly (in form), Norths (w)
Bankstown - Canberra (w), Sutherland (?)

[Keyser Söze]

VERY INTERESTING run home for the top six.
Manly - Maitland (in form), Newcastle (in form), Hornsby (?)
Parra - Norths (?), Hills (?), Maitland (in form)
Sydney - Hills (w), Hornsby (w), Canberra (w)
Maitland - Manly (in form), Norths (w), Hills (w), Parra (?)
Newcastle - Hornsby (w), Manly (in form), Norths (w)
Bankstown - Canberra (w), Sutherland (?)

Thats what got me thinking. Very interesting finish possible especially for hunters and maitland with finals being in Newie.

Thanks daevo for clearing that up. It makes it a dog fight for the privilege to play either parra or manly for the 5th and 6th spot. Even though parra arent in form i dont think they will lose 2nd place with maitland and newie having to go through manly.

[Jackit]

Just read that Cadee has been in a car accident... Suspected broken pelvis.

[Keyser Söze]

Just read that Cadee has been in a car accident... Suspected broken pelvis.

Wow, youre right. I cant believe that.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/13/2952604.htm?site=sport&section=basketball

[Daevo]

That's a terrible blow for Cadee - hopefully it's not as serious as it sounds.

It's going to hurt Bankstown. They have a fairly easy run to the playoffs so you'd think they'd still make it but their chances of getting past the stronger teams will certainly suffer without him.

[Prodigal]

That's a terrible blow for Cadee - hopefully it's not as serious as it sounds.

It's going to hurt Bankstown. They have a fairly easy run to the playoffs so you'd think they'd still make it but their chances of getting past the stronger teams will certainly suffer without him.


They're going to be win number 4 in our 5 game season ending winning streak;)

Seriously though, terrible news for the kid. I was over at Bankstown yesterday and there were a lot of gloomy faces.

[Keyser Söze]

anyone got info on the sydney, hills and parra norths games?

live stats FML

[A Higher Authority]

Wildcats up by 8, after Bears led by 17 in the first half (shooting @ 52%).

Dann returned to form with 30/12/7A, Veg was back and had 20/15 and in the words of coach John Hennessy, "Stef (Blaszczynski) had a quiet 28".

[Hornet_Power]

Hornets vs comets was quite a game, hornets led by 12 at one stage in the first half but unfortunatly eventhough hills out rebounded comets by 20 rebounds, hills shooting 1 of 18 threes was not gonna win it for them, comets win by 3

[HunterPirates]

how did maitland go?

[Skindog the Hawk]

how did maitland go?

Manly 88 d. Maitland 71.

Top 6 is all sewn up now - Bankstown have 6th spot with a 11-8 record and Norths 7th with 8-10 and Hornsby 8th with 7-10..admittedly relying on Canberra to beat the Bruins would've been pretty foolish, but it was a mathematical chance for both the Bears and Spiders there.

Womens' league saw the Bruins fall by 4 to the Nationals, giving Canberra top spot however not the split as the Bruins beat them by 12 in the first meeting...Bankstown's hope is the Comets beating Canberra in the final round and them beating Sutherland at home...do-able, but I wouldn't be betting the house on it.

Top 6 in the Women is still up for grabs - Hills on 6-10 could squeak in if Hornsby (5-8) and/or Newcastle (5-9) win either none or one, whilst Comets at 6-8 will be looking to beat the Spiders next Sunday at home before they face Canberra the next weekend...be interesting as the Comets only have a win over the Bears since mid-May to their name.

Interesting times in the Waratah league...

SD.

[Keyser Söze]

The maitland v manly game was never really a contest. Manly started off terrible but were still able to tie it up by the end of the first quarter. After that, arkell took over with some late help from cooper in the fourth.

Arkell is mvp this year no doubt. His game seems even better than last year- i think the 8 fewer minutes suits his body type. If they reduce games to 20 minutes he will captain the boomers. Equally impressive is the way he works the refs - they honestly seem intimidated by him.

Maitland rely too heavily on scotty who is tough but the only other real threat is clifford and he is not aggressive. He seems skilled at disappearing for long stretches. He played 30+ mins and there were probably 2 sightings.

D Proctor needs to play longer minutes and take more responsibility defensively. Especially in games like this which i would have thought suited his style. He looked like the only one who could match arkell physically but they had the invisible man on him for most of the game. That allen kid is quick and gets into the lane but he would do everyone a favour by hitting a shot now and again.

Overall the game was not good to watch. And from the games ive seen this year the standard of the league as a whole is weak. It feels like local comp with less of a crowd.

[rondo]

Manly 88 d. Maitland 71.

Top 6 is all sewn up now - Bankstown have 6th spot with a 11-8 record and Norths 7th with 8-10 and Hornsby 8th with 7-10..admittedly relying on Canberra to beat the Bruins would've been pretty foolish, but it was a mathematical chance for both the Bears and Spiders there.

Womens' league saw the Bruins fall by 4 to the Nationals, giving Canberra top spot however not the split as the Bruins beat them by 12 in the first meeting...Bankstown's hope is the Comets beating Canberra in the final round and them beating Sutherland at home...do-able, but I wouldn't be betting the house on it.

Top 6 in the Women is still up for grabs - Hills on 6-10 could squeak in if Hornsby (5-8) and/or Newcastle (5-9) win either none or one, whilst Comets at 6-8 will be looking to beat the Spiders next Sunday at home before they face Canberra the next weekend...be interesting as the Comets only have a win over the Bears since mid-May to their name.

Interesting times in the Waratah league...

SD.

I watched the Comets women play a few weeks ago and they were disgraceful. What is going on there?

[HunterPirates]

The maitland v manly game was never really a contest. Manly started off terrible but were still able to tie it up by the end of the first quarter. After that, arkell took over with some late help from cooper in the fourth.

Arkell is mvp this year no doubt. His game seems even better than last year- i think the 8 fewer minutes suits his body type. If they reduce games to 20 minutes he will captain the boomers. Equally impressive is the way he works the refs - they honestly seem intimidated by him.

Maitland rely too heavily on scotty who is tough but the only other real threat is clifford and he is not aggressive. He seems skilled at disappearing for long stretches. He played 30+ mins and there were probably 2 sightings.

D Proctor needs to play longer minutes and take more responsibility defensively. Especially in games like this which i would have thought suited his style. He looked like the only one who could match arkell physically but they had the invisible man on him for most of the game. That allen kid is quick and gets into the lane but he would do everyone a favour by hitting a shot now and again.

Overall the game was not good to watch. And from the games ive seen this year the standard of the league as a whole is weak. It feels like local comp with less of a crowd.


haha interesting post mate. Thanks for the write up, appreciated.

[Skindog the Hawk]

I watched the Comets women play a few weeks ago and they were disgraceful. What is going on there?

They're not the deepest squad on earth, with really only Annie LaFleur, Sarah Davidson and Mel Smith to speak of, and when one of them is missing, it's really all over red-rover. :???:

Looking at Comets' Saturday loss to Hills, you've got Davidson scoring 38 points on 12/32 shooting (plus 10/13 free throws), however Annie only adds 4 points (7 assists), and Melissa Smith not on the list? Then the bench is not really strong - mostly Youth League girls and that's it.

End of the day, they'll probably sneak into 6th spot and be Canberra's first quarter-final scalp.

SD.

[Keyser Söze]

Good to see Dann putting up numbers he is capable of doing every night.

But note to norths. Next time someone is shooting 6 for 22, no need to send them to the line 19 times. Let them keep shooting, maybe.

Just a thought...

[Hornet_Power]

Does anyone know if the parra hills game is at 4 like live stats and stuff says or 5 pm like the draw says??

[Hornet_Power]

Jarrad weeks and ben hollis have snatched development spots with the sydney kings whats everyone feelings on this?

[Prodigal]

Jarrad weeks and ben hollis have snatched development spots with the sydney kings whats everyone feelings on this?

Both have pros & cons, but definitely among the better young players in Waratah. They should be better for the experience. If they get to be on the court together Hollis can continue to make a living off the O boards he picks up from the 30 or so shots a game Squeak fires up :D

[A Higher Authority]

Has anyone calculated the playoff positions as yet?

Manly 1st, Parramatta 2nd.
Sydney perhaps 3rd, given Maitland's two losses on the weekend, whilst Bankstown and Newcastle are also on 12 wins with Maitland.

[Matt McQuade]

Has anyone calculated the playoff positions as yet?

Manly 1st, Parramatta 2nd.
Sydney perhaps 3rd, given Maitland's two losses on the weekend, whilst Bankstown and Newcastle are also on 12 wins with Maitland.

Spoke to John Hennessy today, apparently the Cats will play Maitland in the 2v5 game given the Mustangs lost both games on the weekend. Game is next Saturday at Auburn starting at 6:00pm (Youth League at 4). My understanding is that the Comets finished third so will play Bankstown in the 3v4 game and Manly plays Newcastle in the 1v6.

[Skindog the Hawk]

Manly finish top on 17-3, Parramatta second on 14-6, Sydney third on 13-7, but a 3-way tie between Maitland, Bankstown and Newcastle for positions 4 to 6.

With the 3-way tiebreaker we look at all games between the tied teams:
Bankstown d. Maitland 77-72
Maitland d. Bankstown 87-81
Newcastle d. Maitland 75-64
Maitland d. Newcastle 95-85
Bankstown d. Newcastle 91-83
Newcastle d. Bankstown 75-67

Each team has 2 wins, 2 losses, so we look at for-and-against in the tie-breaker games...

Bankstown 316-317
Newcastle 318-317
Maitland 318-318

Therefore (if my calculations are correct!), Newcastle come 4th (+1 points differential), Maitland 5th (points even), Bankstown 6th (-1 points differential).

Therefore finals should be:
Manly v. Bankstown
Parramatta v. Maitland
Sydney v. Newcastle.

SD.

[stylin]

Wow thats a tight battle for 4th to 6th spot in the finals. Shows that the comp is very even among the best.

[TheSpy]

Hello everyone

Just a brief head's up to let you know Newcastle Basketball will be web casting all games on main court during the Waratah League Finals weekend 14-15 August.

You'll be ale to watch all the Waratah League Semi's on Saturday, the Youth Men Div 1, State League Men and State League Women Div 1 Grand Finals on Sunday all live via a 1 camera feed.

The weekend will culminate in the Waratah Women and Men Grand Finals done via a 2 camera feed with full commentary. The production is being done by NBN TV and will be broadcast quality.

I hope you all get a chaNce to log on during the weekend, or even better get to the weekend.

Full details will be released soon, but you will be able to log on to watch at www.newcastlebasketball.com.au

If you have any questions, please feel free to post and I'll do my best to reply.

Cheers
Ivan Spyrdz
General Manager
Newcastle Basketball

[HunterPirates]

Good news mate!

[Daevo]

Newcastle Basketball will be web casting all games on main court during the Waratah League Finals weekend

Great news - dragging basketball in NSW kicking & screaming into the 21st century at last ;)

[stylin]

Thats awesome news! Nice step forward!

[A Higher Authority]

Bad luck "Newie" won't be there to bask in the televised glory - they went down to Sydney tonight.
Manly over Bankstown and Maitland over Parramatta so it's:
Manly vs Parramatta and Sydney vs Maitland in the semis.
Bad luck for anyone expecting refereeing standards to be peaking on the eve of the playoffs.
The clangers, *****ing and general incompetence at Parramatta had to be seen to be believed.

[HunterPirates]

Great win by Maitland, thats awesome, apparently a layup on the buzzer?

[Hornet_Power]

Having dann fouled out halfway through the 3rd from a technical and reed and kristian fouled out around mid fourth you thAught the game would be over, however in the remaining seconds what seemed like a messy turnover was scrapped for by a maitland player and dished to mcgregor on the right side of the basket for a AND ONE play with 0.7 seconds on the clock mcgregor had a freethrow to put them in the lead by 1, timeout called they got it to stephan for a throok (3point hook) that fell short.

[Keyser Söze]

Short story on Graeme Dann- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a76iJufmiA

posted in the kings thread. theres a great shot in the video where the camera must be above the ring and they shoot dann standing underneath looking back up at the camera. ive never seen that before.

so manly v parra in the semi will be worth watching. even based on form it will be tough to bet against parra.

anybody got stat lines for the parra v maitland game?

[Daevo]

Who were the refs on the Parra-Maitland game?

I've heard that it was a very scrappy game that the refs struggled to comntrol with some absolute shocker decisions both ways.

[TheSpy]

Hi folks

Moose confirmed to call the Waratah League Grand Finals.

Here's the presser.

Also, despite the fact Newie isn't there we will be doing our best to drag the league to a new level, so we hope you all log in and watch on the weekend. The Grand Final production should be great!

Ivan



Rabbitt, Moose and Kearney make sideline comebacks this weekend as
2010 MGA Insurance Waratah & State League Finals on in Newcastle

For the first time in Australian basketball history, the Grand Final weekend of a major competition will be web cast live to the world. Australia’s highest rating regional television station, NBN Television, will web cast live from Newcastle Basketball Stadium’s Main Court during the MGA Insurance Waratah & State League Finals Weekend, Saturday August 14 and Sunday August 15.

The web cast will culminate on Sunday with the Waratah League Women’s and Men’s Grand Finals, which will be shown with full commentary and a 2 camera feed. Coming out of retirement for the call will be legendary NBN basketball commentator Mike Rabbitt and co-caller Sydney Kings Coach and Hunter Legend Ian "Moose" Robilliard.

Also making his return to the sidelines will be Aaron Kearney who will reprise the role of courtside announcer.

The weekend sees the conclusion of the season, with semi-finals on the Saturday and the grand finals on Sunday. The grades include men and women grades of Waratah ABL, State League and Youth League with more than 3000 players, coaches and support staff descending on Newcastle from Friday.

“It’s a great honour to be hosting the 2010 MGA Insurance Waratah and State League Finals weekend,” said Ivan Spyrdz, General Manager of Newcastle Basketball.

“Hosting a weekend like this will be another great milestone for Newcastle Basketball, not to mention the financial injection into the local economy. We are looking forward to a big weekend of basketball in Newcastle.”

“We are excited with the NBN webcast initiative, as it allows basketball fans throughout the world to view this final series. On a purely local level, it will allow the families of those teams competing who can’t get here from areas such as Canberra, Illawarra and even just Manly to watch their loved ones compete in the finals; not to mention Novocastrians, to follow the fortunes of the three Mustangs teams as well as the Hunters Youth Men’s Division Two side in action,” said Ivan.

“It will even allow Hunters top point scorer of the season, Nick Freer, to watch the finals matches from his home in the United States as he leaves for home on Wednesday.”

[CWG]

so did the referees cost parra the game?

[A Higher Authority]

There would be some who would argue yes but with only two players hitting double figures, Parramatta weren't playing well.
Ugly game at times and the refs certainly didn't help.
Maitland were really pumped for it, their busload of fans were boisterous all night, the bench were in it from the first whistle - perhaps Maitland wanted it more.

[Keyser Söze]

You'd have to think that parra are due to have a game where everyone fires. If that occurs Saturday what a terrible disappointment this season will be for Manly. They'll probably give J Arkell COY which I disagree with but he did look pretty happy last year when given the award despite losing in the GF. Fingers crossed for him I guess.

Also Sydney being in the finals again is a pretty amazing achievement. They have been dominant now for nearly a decade after first winning the waratah in 2002. Not that you can honestly compare the championship teams coached by Brad Rosen to the Sydney team now coached by that shortish guy. I'm not sure what his name is.

Anyway whatever happens this finals weekend it will be very interesting ...

[Matt McQuade]

Not that you can honestly compare the championship teams coached by Brad Rosen to the Sydney team now coached by that shortish guy. I'm not sure what his name is

LOL - that 'shortish guy' is actually Brad's brother, Warren.

[Van Exel]

so did the referees cost parra the game?

The refereeing was nothing short of outright cheating. It was 8 VS 5 for the entire game and despite that Parramatta were still in a position to win the game. But with Parra only up by 2 in the final seconds the opportunity was still available for the refs to cheat, and cheat they did. It was blatant and obvious the entire game. If anything those refs should be demoted or not even allowed to ref another aba game. They are just simply that bad. They're equallly as pathetic in local comp too, so I don't know how idiots like that get to ref an ABA final

[Skindog the Hawk]

The refereeing was nothing short of outright cheating. It was 8 VS 5 for the entire game and despite that Parramatta were still in a position to win the game. But with Parra only up by 2 in the final seconds the opportunity was still available for the refs to cheat, and cheat they did. It was blatant and obvious the entire game. If anything those refs should be demoted or not even allowed to ref another aba game. They are just simply that bad. They're equallly as pathetic in local comp too, so I don't know how idiots like that get to ref an ABA final

Sounds like someone's a little bitter and twisted there Van Exel. Considering that two of that panel are WNBL referees (read: have progressed through WABL and refereed it for more than a couple of years) and all three should be present at Finals, I think it's more a fair bit of one-eyedness showing through here.

It's interesting nobody mentions how many shots the Wildcats would have missed that would have given them the win, nor how many missed rebounds they should've corralled...it's all about how the 3 men in grey screwed them over. :???: A better team and their supporters will get past it, otherwise they generally find themselves watching the Grand Final from the stands (or on the net). :???:

SD.

[A Higher Authority]

Far be it for someone to criticise referees whilst you're watching SD but the three at Parramatta would all undoubtedly have had better days than last Saturday.
Qualifications are one thing - performance is an entirely different thing and whilst we all agree even the best players can have off days, it's important we agree the same can happen to even the best referees.
The reason people get bitter and twisted about referees is despite genuine criticism (among the frequent bleating and moaning), it appears the same faces turn up to control games week after week, in spite of 'recent' performances.
A player giving such poor performances would find themselves on the bench for a spell, with the objective of getting back into the on-court line-up after some improved performances at training.
Is there anywhere the referees go individually or as a group to fine tune their skills under the guidance of a mentor (apart from a game) - or do they just get the post-game critique from the coordinator and everyone hopes that will suffice?

[Jackit]

Having been keeping tabs on the thread so you guys might already know this but the MVP award has been announced and it goes to Nick Freer.

http://www.theherald.com.au/news/local/sport/basketball/freers-award-cant-ease-pain-of-defeat/1908258.aspx

[Prodigal]

Far be it for someone to criticise referees whilst you're watching SD but the three at Parramatta would all undoubtedly have had better days than last Saturday.
Qualifications are one thing - performance is an entirely different thing and whilst we all agree even the best players can have off days, it's important we agree the same can happen to even the best referees.
The reason people get bitter and twisted about referees is despite genuine criticism (among the frequent bleating and moaning), it appears the same faces turn up to control games week after week, in spite of 'recent' performances.
A player giving such poor performances would find themselves on the bench for a spell, with the objective of getting back into the on-court line-up after some improved performances at training.
Is there anywhere the referees go individually or as a group to fine tune their skills under the guidance of a mentor (apart from a game) - or do they just get the post-game critique from the coordinator and everyone hopes that will suffice?

I'm far from a supporter of officials and have given them plenty of sprays on here. It's one thing to question their competence and effort level.....and I frequently do....but the post Skindog responded to basically called them cheats, which is a whole different matter. I know 2 of the refs who did that game quite well and would rate them 2 of the better officals getting around. One of them has an extensive playing background and one has coached a lot of teams so they can't be accused of not seeing the game from the other side as applies to a lot of refs. I wasn't there and they could quite well have had a bad night but I don't know of any reason why they'd "cheat" for Maitland.

[Skindog the Hawk]

Far be it for someone to criticise referees whilst you're watching SD but the three at Parramatta would all undoubtedly have had better days than last Saturday.
Qualifications are one thing - performance is an entirely different thing and whilst we all agree even the best players can have off days, it's important we agree the same can happen to even the best referees.
Agreed - it happens to all of us...just look at Tiger Woods' last weekend!
The reason people get bitter and twisted about referees is despite genuine criticism (among the frequent bleating and moaning), it appears the same faces turn up to control games week after week, in spite of 'recent' performances.
A player giving such poor performances would find themselves on the bench for a spell, with the objective of getting back into the on-court line-up after some improved performances at training.
Is there anywhere the referees go individually or as a group to fine tune their skills under the guidance of a mentor (apart from a game) - or do they just get the post-game critique from the coordinator and everyone hopes that will suffice?
I agree it's an issue with "the same faces" turning up each week, however the problems are various:
1. there is coaching, but it is inconsistent (thanks to the budget from BNSW) and even when you get someone rostered to evaluate/coach, there's no guarantee that they will turn up. FWIW ref coaches get paid $40 to coach/evaluate WABL games, $20 for State League or Youth League;
2. the pay on WABL games isn't such that it encourages referees to "stretch" more than they already do - currently Panel 1 (National Panel guys) receives $100 per WABL game, Panel 2 (everyone else) $80 per WABL game. This won't increase significantly because the Associations bleat everytime BNSW try and increase their nomination and participation fees...and the State League and Youth League guys deserve a pay rise moreso (they're currently on $42 or $47 per game);
3. the Commissioners are part-time, and I don't mean part-time 20 hours per week (although it might be close to the amount of time they put into their rostering). They are paid an amount by BNSW, but it's to reimburse them for their time and efforts (so I'm guessing it's a few thousand, if that).

As has been discussed before on this forum (and elsewhere), there's a prevailing thought around our sport that things won't change if we pay people more to do the job they already do, and things won't change if we pay them the same, so f**k it, we'll just keep to the cheaper option...and hence we have the situation we're in at the moment. :???:

Basketball in NSW is essentially an amateur sport where sponsorship is the exception, not the rule, and where there's little money to spare. There is no mid-week training like rugby league referees of a similar level (I'm talking club footy, not NRL by the way), there's no fat pay cheques coming to officials for the games that they do - hell, the money they get will vaguely cover their expenses for getting to and from a game most weeks.

Having said that, pretty much every official in the program and on the roster is well aware of these facts and continue to officiate because they love the game - and a lot of them will try and do things to improve themselves...video evaluation, self-evaluation and coaching between officials. Most officials will have a gym and fitness regime and then continue to officiate at local level to put back into the lower grades.

I'd love to say that I've got a magic solution, and I think leagues like SEABL in Victoria who have a Referees' Commissioner who is paid a significant amount of dollars (somewhere between 15-25K?) and then have specific KPI's to produce against would be a start, however that would require either the individual clubs to pony up some serious money to make it happen (try somewhere in the vicinity of an additional $2,000 per WABL Association, on top of their existing fees?) OR BNSW to put the money in from their own coffers (but then the individual member's registration fees would have to go up....) :???:

Or maybe the Marketing Manager for BNSW could find some sponsorship with some $$$ for the WABL, the State League, the Referees' program, etc???? At the end of the day, this situation is unfortunately not going to change without someone at the top making some changes, which probably won't be popular with some...but I would definitely agree that some changes need to be made.

SD.

[Daevo]

Having been keeping tabs on the thread so you guys might already know this but the MVP award has been announced and it goes to Nick Freer.

http://www.theherald.com.au/news/local/sport/basketball/freers-award-cant-ease-pain-of-defeat/1908258.aspx

It's good that they let Freer know about the award before he left the country but I do wonder if that extended to allowing the association to publicise it before the official announcement on the weekend.

As good a player as I agree Freer is, I'm a little surprised Ben Arkell didn't take the award for another year since his performance this year has been nothing short of amazing. Stef B would have given them both a run for their money too except I guess a few weeks suspension cost him votes.

[Jackit]

It's good that they let Freer know about the award before he left the country but I do wonder if that extended to allowing the association to publicise it before the official announcement on the weekend.

As good a player as I agree Freer is, I'm a little surprised Ben Arkell didn't take the award for another year since his performance this year has been nothing short of amazing.

As much as I don't like to say it but I agree with you completely Daevo. Freer had a great season but Arkell was brilliant.

[Keyser Söze]

LOL - that 'shortish guy' is actually Brad's brother, Warren.

Really? I never knew he played.

[A Higher Authority]

Put my vote in for Arkell as well.
A couple of coaches spoke about shutting Freer down in particular games this year - nobody spoke about shutting Arkell down.

SD - it's a conundrum. Refs are part-time and any effort to give them training could infringe on work / personal time but it has to be addressed.
Players train at scheduled training sessions - it has to be the same with referees training under a 'coach' in a non-game situation to fine tune their skills and pick up on any bad habits which may have snuck in, as also happens with players.

[Skindog the Hawk]

SD - it's a conundrum. Refs are part-time and any effort to give them training could infringe on work / personal time but it has to be addressed.
Players train at scheduled training sessions - it has to be the same with referees training under a 'coach' in a non-game situation to fine tune their skills and pick up on any bad habits which may have snuck in, as also happens with players.

I agree AHA, it is a problem, but until we have some way of making it happen which keeps everyone happy (whether it's increased money or what, I don't know!) life is unfortunately not going to change too much.

Sd.

[Daevo]

It always come back to the $$$ for you hey SD :p

[Prodigal]

It always come back to the $$$ for you hey SD :p

I think all involved would be happy to pay more for guaranteed improvement.

[Daevo]

Haven't we already established that on current performance, they should be paying to ref?

[Prodigal]

Just out of interest, those three refs who apparently are cheats have all been appointed to Waratah semi finals this weekend

[Daevo]

You expected anything else? We know that there are no consequences for poor performance from refs.

[Prodigal]

You expected anything else? We know that there are no consequences for poor performance from refs.

Well there's only four games this week. Last week there were 6 so 6 less refs required. I just thought that the ones who apparently were clearly cheats would miss out ;)

[Prodigal]

I'm also interested that several experienced NBL refs who've been around in Waratah this year don't figure on the roster for finals weekend? Anyone know if that's a policy thing to give others a go or other reasons?

[A Higher Authority]

Well there's only four games this week. Last week there were 6 so 6 less refs required. I just thought that the ones who apparently were clearly cheats would miss out ;)

Not at all. BNSW would have deliberately selected them despite the complaints, just to show they can't be influenced by random complaints / comments.

[Van Exel]

Sounds like someone's a little bitter and twisted there Van Exel. Considering that two of that panel are WNBL referees (read: have progressed through WABL and refereed it for more than a couple of years) and all three should be present at Finals, I think it's more a fair bit of one-eyedness showing through here.

It's interesting nobody mentions how many shots the Wildcats would have missed that would have given them the win, nor how many missed rebounds they should've corralled...it's all about how the 3 men in grey screwed them over. :???: A better team and their supporters will get past it, otherwise they generally find themselves watching the Grand Final from the stands (or on the net). :???:

SD.

Hell Yeah i'm filthy. I'm filthy because we got cheated out of what should have been a hard fought and deserving win. The fuckin blunders were horrendous and deliberate if you ask me. As bad as you reckon we played and as heavily disadvantaged we were with having our 2 top players fouled out along with a 3rd top player also fouled out and the majority of the rest of our best players playing almost the entire 2nd half on 4 fouls each, we still were in a position to win the game, but as i said the game was still close enough for the cheats to be able to affect the outcome and they took their opportunity. Maitland is by no way shape or means the better team.

[Van Exel]

Having been keeping tabs on the thread so you guys might already know this but the MVP award has been announced and it goes to Nick Freer.

http://www.theherald.com.au/news/local/sport/basketball/freers-award-cant-ease-pain-of-defeat/1908258.aspx

There's another joke. The guy is extremely overrated, and couldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence with the likes of Ben Arkell or Stefan Blazinski.

[Keyser Söze]

Regarding the MVP award i guess it comes down how the award is decided. Is it based on the best player in the league? If so Ben Arkell should be given the award over everyone including Stef.

If they base it on who is the most valuable to their respective team then Freer does come in to the conversation and probably deserves the award. Without Freer Newcastle would have been terrible.

In no way am I saying Manly would be dominant without Arkell. Manly needs Arkell – but they would still be better than a Freer-less Newcastle.

[Van Exel]

Regarding the MVP award i guess it comes down how the award is decided. Is it based on the best player in the league? If so Ben Arkell should be given the award over everyone including Stef.

If they base it on who is the most valuable to their respective team then Freer does come in to the conversation and probably deserves the award. Without Freer Newcastle would have been terrible.

In no way am I saying Manly would be dominant without Arkell. Manly needs Arkell – but they would still be better than a Freer-less Newcastle.

Stefan and Ben Arkell are the only 2 that even deserve to be in the conversation and with that said, purely on importance to his team it has to be Ben Arkell hands down. Manly before the arrival of Ben Arkell were woeful with the exception of the one year that Rhys Carter carried the team. Doesn't anyone remember the Duane Jordan and Edmund Johnson led Manly teams. Manly's turnaround had nothing to do with Duane Jordan who was already there, and with the departure of Rafty and Terrance it is obvious that they weren't a factor either. Without Ben Arkell Manly would be lucky to be middle of the pack. He's the MVP talent wise and importance wise to his team. With the depth and abundance of talented players on the Parramatta team, it would be difficult for any one player to put up significant enough numbers to have a real shot at the MVP. Nick Freer is an undeserving MVP as have a few others been that I won't get into.

[Keyser Söze]

Stefan and Ben Arkell are the only 2 that even deserve to be in the conversation and with that said, purely on importance to his team it has to be Ben Arkell hands down.

Stef is not as important to parra as Arkell or Freer are to their teams. No disrespect to Stef, he is the best player on the team this year but it seems that how Veg goes is how parra goes. Which cant be said about Newie or Manly.

Without Ben Arkell Manly would be lucky to be middle of the pack.

Which is better than Newcastle would be without Freer which would be 1 above ACT.
This is a honest question – how far do you think Newcastle would have gone if Arkell played for them instead of Freer?

Nick Freer is an undeserving MVP as have a few others been that I won't get into.

Go on...

[Skindog the Hawk]

I think all involved would be happy to pay more for guaranteed improvement.

Agreed. I think any sort of increase needs to come with some responsibilities attached.

Hell Yeah i'm filthy. I'm filthy because we got cheated... The fuckin blunders were...deliberate if you ask me. As bad as you reckon we played and as heavily disadvantaged we were...the game was still close enough for the cheats to be able to affect the outcome and they took their opportunity.
All I see there is someone who is one-eyed, filthy on something which is way beyond their control, and someone who probably is in no fit state (and has probably never been) to referee a game of ball.
Maitland is by no way shape or means the better team.
Classy.

Very simple - Parra have to pull their fingers out and play...I don't think the players will have any problems with that, but will you, Van Exel?

SD.

[HunterPirates]

Maitland is by no way shape or means the better team.

Anyone seen the scoreboard from Maitland Parra game?

You mad brah?

[Daevo]

All I see there is someone who is one-eyed, filthy on something which is way beyond their control, and someone who probably is in no fit state (and has probably never been) to referee a game of ball.

& all we see is a ref defending their own kind while refusing to acknowledge a problem. How unusual.

My reports of the game from several sources suggested that the majority of lop-sided calls were made by one specific ref who was even heard admitting to a player (one of those who subsequently fouled out) that he got the wrong person in the call but didn't think it was a big deal since the other player was also in foul trouble. The tech on Dann was an absolute nonsense from what I've been told. Sure Parra played badly to put themselves in a position where bad calls could mean the difference between a win or a loss but do we really want to see poor refereeing deciding every close game?

[Daevo]

A nice finals run-down from Matt McQ
http://www.nbl.com.au/kings-shortcut/news/article/2010/august/matts-mouthpiece-waratah-finals-preview/

His choices for awards should make for an interesting discussion:


And finally, while we already know who won the league MVP, the rest of the Waratah awards will be handed out over the weekend but I thought I might get things rolling with my personal awards for what has been an entertaining 2010 season.

Most Valuable Player: Ben Arkell, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Coach of the Year: Jim Arkell, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Defensive Player of the Year: Luke Cooper, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Offensive Player of the Year: Stefan Blaszczynski, Parramatta Wildcats
Most Improved Player: Tom Dawson, Hornsby Spiders

Waratah League All Star First Team
Jarrad Weeks, Hornsby Spiders
Ben Arkell, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Stefan Blaszczynski, Parramatta Wildcats
Nicholas Freer, Newcastle Hunters
Scott McGregor, Maitland Mustangs

Waratah League All Star Second Team
Michael Seckold, Sydney Comets
BJ Carter, Sutherland Sharks
Graeme Dann, Parramatta Wildcats
Marcus Vanderheide, Newcastle Hunters
Goran Veg, Parramatta Wildcats

Waratah League All Star Third Team
Luke Cooper, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Jamie Newth, Hills Hornets
Clint Reed, Parramatta Wildcats
Ben Hollis, Hornsby Spiders
Duane Jordan, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles

[Daevo]

Hornsby women doing well to be ahead by 2 over Canberra at half time. They'd be feeling confident then the 3rd quarter starts with a 14-0 run by Canberra with Hornsby taking 8 minutes to score :shock:

[TheSpy]

Hi everyone.

Live web cast is up and running.

Go to www.newcastlebasketball.com.au for link to web cast.

Hope you all enjoy watching

[Daevo]

It's performing very well too with a nice smooth stream & no dropouts. The only small criticism (& it is small) is that the default window on the official livestreaming site is a bit small:
http://newcastlebasketballlive.nbndigital.com.au/

The window size on the Ustream NBN site is a bit better although it loses a bit of the image at the sides:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nbnonlinelive2

The Ustream site also has the video of the completed game available to watch...
Women's semi final #1: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/8912352

[rondo]

I wish the camera would stay steady too much zooming in and out and focusing on the ball.
I want to see what happens off the ball as well.

[Daevo]

True - I'd say the camera operator probably isn't a basketball fan

[Prodigal]

a bit of a pan to the scoreboard during breaks in play would be nice occasionally

[Daevo]

They must have read your post proddy sincer they've had it stuck on the scoreboard right through half time in the Comets vs Maitland game.

Maitland up 41-23 at half time - Comets will need a miracle to win from here.

[TheSpy]

Yes gents, I am keeping up with the posts. We aim to please here in Newcastle.

Just keep the requests obtainable.

Cheers

[Daevo]

Thanks Spy - it's looking pretty good. As are the Comets I might add - they're not going down without a fight so we might have a game on our hands after all with the lead now in single digits. Ouch - some nastiness there between Jovine & Proctor.

[rondo]

Man Seckhold has some hops doesn't he for a little white guy

[Daevo]

Another lop-sided first half with Parra surprisingly struggling to score.

[Skink]

Shot percentage seems to be the only big difference.

[Daevo]

Parra down by 17 at the final break - they're not going to get to the final

[Skink]

Manly through.... Parra wont be defending their title!

[HunterPirates]

Mustangs!!!

Galloping into the final!

It was a great game, the mustangs shot out to an early lead and got the wobbles in the second half, Proc hit a baseline jumper to put the mustangs up by 2 and the Comets had 14 seconds to get a shot away, in the end the mustangs locked them down and the comets threw up a wild one.

[Jackit]

Mustangs!!!

Galloping into the final!

It was a great game, the mustangs shot out to an early lead and got the wobbles in the second half, Proc hit a baseline jumper to put the mustangs up by 2 and the Comets had 14 seconds to get a shot away, in the end the mustangs locked them down and the comets threw up a wild one.

This is fantastic news for Maitland basketball and basketball in the Hunter region. Well done.

[The Unbias Bias]

Van Exel in all his wisdom must've seen Maitland going further then Parra at the start of the season.....

[Jackit]

Mike Rabbitt - what a legend! calling the womens grand final right now on the live web stream. I don't know what's better, the game or his commentary. :D

[Daevo]

What is it with all the games on this finals weekend? In just about every game one team plays crap in the first half then makes a big comeback in the 2nd. Is there a crappy ring at one end or what?

[Jackit]

What is it with all the games on this finals weekend? In just about every game one team plays crap in the first half then makes a big comeback in the 2nd. Is there a crappy ring at one end or what?

The main court is on a slope. The "crappy" ring is actually up hill.

[Daevo]

Gee, I used to joke about running downhill in the 2nd half at Alexandria but didn't know the same applied in Newie. Off-topic but has anybody seen the massive fans at Auburn - you definitely want to be running with the wind when they're on.

[Daevo]

Wow...1 point game with 11.1 seconds to play. Maitland crowd going nuts after McGregor & clifford hit 2 big 3s.

[Daevo]

Arkell as he's done all year gets his team over the line. Congratulations Manly!

[Jackit]

Well done Manly! Arkell playing superbly to lead the team to victory

[The Unbias Bias]

Who got Finals MVP? The commentators were saying it had to be Arkell but Manly don't win that game without Kevin White, he was by far the most efficient player who hit key shots all game. He should've got MVP hands down.

[HILLSD1]

Kev White had a good game no doubt but even he would be the first to say Ben MVP by a mile... p.s to Mic Bell and Mark Smith and the Arkells well done guys .. See you back at Hills Monday night for the local comp

[Prodigal]

Can anyone fill us in on all the awards?

[A Higher Authority]

I'm having trouble trying to get all the results off the BNSW website.
Does anyone have the best link?

Kevin White did win MVP.

[Hornet_Power]

Can anyone fill us in on all the awards?

[Daevo]

Link to WABL awards report:
http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=1-4878-0-0-0&sID=62775&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=12980815 (http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=1-4878-0-0-0&sID=62775&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=12980815)

[The Unbias Bias]

Kev White had a good game no doubt but even he would be the first to say Ben MVP by a mile... p.s to Mic Bell and Mark Smith and the Arkells well done guys .. See you back at Hills Monday night for the local comp

Obviously those with some more insight saw the game how I did - Kevin White MVP. If you were watching the game and actually looked at the stats you'd see that going 8/11 as opposed to 5/17 generally leans you towards the MVP. Not to mention he played 12 less minutes. Jordan with some big blocks down the stretch as well really contributed to the win, even though he had a subpar game of 2 points and 6 boards. If you were only basing a contract to play for the kings on that game you'd be taking White over Cooper anyday, i didn't even notice him on the court after the 2nd period and his stats back this up. Maitland had every chance to win the game with their relentless offensive rebounding proving to be the main thing keeping them in the game. But when not one of your players can shoot over 50% on the day and you go 2/19 from the 3 point line until the final 40 seconds you don't deserve to win. Andrew Allen really impressed me with his hussle and desire to get into the paint and create, he showed up Cooper something terrible on the day.

[Prodigal]

REFEREE AWARD
Waratah League Referee of the Year Sean Myers


Says a lot about the standard of officiating in the league

[A Higher Authority]

Obviously those with some more insight saw the game how I did - Kevin White MVP. If you were watching the game and actually looked at the stats you'd see that going 8/11 as opposed to 5/17 generally leans you towards the MVP. Not to mention he played 12 less minutes. Jordan with some big blocks down the stretch as well really contributed to the win, even though he had a subpar game of 2 points and 6 boards. If you were only basing a contract to play for the kings on that game you'd be taking White over Cooper anyday, i didn't even notice him on the court after the 2nd period and his stats back this up. Maitland had every chance to win the game with their relentless offensive rebounding proving to be the main thing keeping them in the game. But when not one of your players can shoot over 50% on the day and you go 2/19 from the 3 point line until the final 40 seconds you don't deserve to win. Andrew Allen really impressed me with his hussle and desire to get into the paint and create, he showed up Cooper something terrible on the day.

I can't say I disagree with you on Allen - he had a fabulous weekend and also tormented Parramatta in the QF the previous weekend.
He's definitely finished the season with everyone wanting to see more of him in action.

[Daevo]

REFEREE AWARD
Waratah League Referee of the Year Sean Myers


Says a lot about the standard of officiating in the league

I read that as the least hated award ;)

[A Higher Authority]

It's fitting we save some praise for the girls.

What can you say about Bankstown - 8 consecutive grand final appearances, winning their first four, losing the next three then bouncing back yesterday to knock over an WNBL-laden Canberra Nationals team which was highly favoured to win.
Briana Hennessy - great, Wendy Strong - outstanding commitment and absolutely fearless on the boards (had to be in the running for MVP), Sarah Hately (MVP) - Canberra couldn't catch her in the first half.
Everyone else very solid and everyone playing an unselfish team game - as the Bruins tend to do as the norm (at least one losing men's team on the weekend could learn a lesson).
Hately took the MVP for the game.

[Prodigal]

I read that as the least hated award ;)

Lucky I didn't get a vote then. He wouldn't have got it

[falcon]

Just a question from afar. Did Newcastle do a bulk deal? Run the weekend for us and we'll throw in an MVP and 2 Coach of the Year Awards.

Looking at results (and listening to conjecture on here) its hard to see that one of the coaches who was actually working on the finals weekend couldn't have been more highly fancied?

[Daevo]

I've had a few offline discussions about who was most deserving of the men's COTY award. I must admit that like McQuade, I favoured Arkell but like many I expected that Nichols from Newie would get it.

[rondo]

I was under the impression that other coaches voted for the coach of the year award? Is this still the procedure.

[Daevo]

Yes, all awards other than the straight out scoring or percentages are voted for by the coaches.

I believe some awards are nominated then coaches vote for the nominees. For All-Star 5, they are given a list of the top 30 players from weekly voting then have to make their selections from this list.

[Prodigal]

The coach of the year voting can often come down to :

"I hate that ^%&$"
"That $%^& can't coach"
"That *(&^ had all the talent"
"He's ok I guess, I'll vote for him"