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Season 3 Episode 14: 100+ with Abi Curtain
24 Plays4 days ago
NBL1 East Headlines of Round 9
EGG GOTW: Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles vs. Hills Hornets (M)
Interview with Abi Curtain (Sydney Comets)
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Streaming Platforms
00:02:29
Speaker
Hello, hello everyone and welcome to another episode of East Got Game where we give you the X's, the O's and the insights of MBL One East.
00:02:40
Speaker
Thanks for joining us tonight live on YouTube and unfortunately the Instagram stream isn't working but thanks for joining us live on Facebook as well.
00:02:52
Speaker
Remember, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Instagram and Facebook at ESCOT Game. Or you can continue to find our episodes on your preferred streaming platforms.
Featured Game: Manly vs. Hills
00:03:06
Speaker
On this week's episode, we will be covering our ESCOT Game Game of the Week. From the men's competition, it is the Manly Warringah Seagulls versus the Hills Hornets.
00:03:17
Speaker
But before we get to that, let's look at the East Scott game headlines for round nine. Lucky France. It looks like a hell of a round again in the East. Yeah, it was. It was ah full of some absolutely crazy, well, maybe not crazy, but less than expected results, I think would be the...
00:03:40
Speaker
the best way to put
Sydney Comets' Winning Streak
00:03:41
Speaker
it. But, um, after everything that happened, we've got now got Sydney commerce writing a six game winning streak, adding Bawali Bales and Dave Ohickey in recent weeks and taking full advantage. And actually on Saturday night, getting it done without Bawali against Bankstown.
00:04:01
Speaker
Uh, Davo started off, I think he was six of 20 going into the fourth quarter and then hit five of his next seven and kept going and finished with 32 points. So absolutely mammoth effort.
00:04:14
Speaker
But that combined with Sutherland and Maitland both going 0-2 on the weekend has sort of flipped things all the way around. We're so used to things being tight and now the top four have a a break on the rest of the pack.
00:04:28
Speaker
So tell us, where was Bawali on the weekend? i don't know. He was he was there. he just wasn't playing. Oh, I see. And was there any reports from the coaching staff or like about injury status or anything like that?
00:04:47
Speaker
No, no, i'm not sure what happened just, yeah, that night. um Yeah, don't know. All right. Well, they got a win nonetheless, which is more important.
00:04:57
Speaker
And what about Sutherland and Maitland?
Sutherland's Doubleheader Challenge
00:05:00
Speaker
What's going on for them in the men's competition? i Two very different things. I mean, Sutherland went down to Canberra and lost in overtime to the Gunners after Berkeley being down by 12 in the first quarter and then probably had the lead, had a five-point lead with less than two minutes to play, but lost it in overtime and then had to back up against COE the next day. So, you know, lots of good teams go to Canberra and come away with two losses from that Canberra COE weekend. But it's different for Maitland ah because...
00:05:39
Speaker
they are They lost to Hornsby 104-103, a much improved Hornsby team, it has to be said. But they went down to Hornsby and then fell to North at home on the Sunday. So definitely not teams as high on the table as what Sutherland faced. And Maitland are being dragged right back into it because they're 6-6 now, which is right.
00:05:59
Speaker
They're equal with Newcastle and, yeah, pretty much tied for the edge of the eight now. Yeah, taking a look at the men's ladder, COE is still on top with a win-loss record of 11-2.
League Standings Overview
00:06:13
Speaker
And then Sydney Comets now find themselves in second spot, knocking off the Canberra Gunners, who are now in third position.
00:06:21
Speaker
But having said that, Centre of Excellence have played 13 games, Comets have played 12, and the Gunners have played only 11. but the Gunners and the Illawarra Hawks are tied in third and fourth.
00:06:33
Speaker
Well, I should say the Gunners are third with eight and three, but the Hawks also have the win-loss record of eight and three, ah just ahead of the Hawks based on points percentage.
00:06:44
Speaker
Then you've got your Sharkies at fifth with seven and five. Then we've got a three-way tie between, well, it goes Maitland, Newcastle and Manly, all on six and six, as you said, to round out the eight.
00:06:57
Speaker
And just in ninth and tenth position are the Bruins and the Crusaders with six and seven and five and seven respectively. And there's still plenty more of the season to play, Lockie.
00:07:09
Speaker
i think it's safe to say that we're going to expect some changes in this top eight. What do you think? In the top eight, yes, fully expect changes, but I'm not so sure about changes in the top four.
00:07:21
Speaker
It's going to be hard for any team to bring back a two-game gap on that top
Bankstown's Upcoming Matches
00:07:25
Speaker
four. um I mean, we've seen, I mean, the Gunners went on a three-game losing streak.
00:07:32
Speaker
ah All three of their losses this season came in the space of three games. So yeah i still there's still room for teams to drop. But yeah though that top four is sitting pretty. And ah I mean, if this is the final, if these eight teams are the final top eight, I mean, it could just as easily happen as not.
00:07:52
Speaker
ah That Bankstown team is stacked. And time's running out for them to fully put it together. um But if they can manage to do so, ah can certainly put together some wins and I mean, North and they just beat Maitland. So, you know, get,
00:08:10
Speaker
got, I'm not sure if they play them again, but got at least part of the way to the split on Maitland there. So um plenty to play out. And that was what I was saying is maybe not a lot of upsets, but or not not massive upsets, but at least not entirely expected results.
00:08:26
Speaker
Although if you talk to the teams that played in the games or won the games, they'd tell you otherwise. Yeah, that's right. That is right. And as we know, Bankstown made a sprint there.
00:08:38
Speaker
ah to the top eight in the last couple of seasons. So we certainly can't count them out just yet.
Crusaders' Path to Top Eight
00:08:43
Speaker
They actually have the Illawarra hawk Hawks in round 10 away. Then they've got Hills and Maitland and then Penrith in the next couple of rounds. So certainly a lot of games that they can get.
00:08:55
Speaker
Whereas looking at the Gunners, I think we did have a look at their tough run on the way to, for the rest of the regular season. have... they have um center of excellence i think uh tomorrow night oh no sorry thursday thursday thursday night thursday night yeah uh on the fifth oh yes thursday can't count well uh so yes the so center of excellence thursday night then they've got manly and penrith as well before the crusader so certainly some more games up their sleeve that they can win to cement themselves in the top four
00:09:35
Speaker
um What about going back to the men's ladder? ah What do you think about the positions of like the the likes of the Crusaders being able to crack the top eight and take the spot of, say, ah man Manly, who is so currently in its position?
00:09:53
Speaker
I mean, it's it's going to be, it's it will be tough, although Manly mainly do have a pretty tough run home of their own. and They play a lot of teams above them or around them, and they finished off the last two weeks with Bankstown and COE.
00:10:08
Speaker
ah But I don't believe they play the Crusaders. So the Crusaders, if it's going Manly they get over the top of, it will be, know, they won't be able to steal a win here off Manly Warringah.
00:10:22
Speaker
um I mean, it it all starts this, well, sorry, next weekend, not this coming weekend because we have the weekend off, um against Hills. if If they're not going to beat a team like Hills, who's right there next to them, um before they go into the Canberra away doubleheader, and then Sutherland, ah yeah, they've they've got to pick up those wins before they can even think about, you know, making a run at the eight.
00:10:51
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's always a tight race in the men's comp. It's always so unpredictable because even after 10th place, you've got 10th, 11th and 12th place. Crusaders, Hornets, Bears respectively. They're all five and seven.
00:11:05
Speaker
Then you've got Hornsby on four and seven. And Inner West have dropped to 14th place with 4-8 win-loss record, which is certainly...
Women's Team Performance
00:11:14
Speaker
Been a big surprise this season.
00:11:17
Speaker
ah But in the women's competition, probably not a surprise and happening perhaps right under our noses, but also to no surprise, the Manly Warringah Seagulls women are currently on an eight-game winning streak.
00:11:32
Speaker
I think the last time that they ah suffered a loss was in round three when they played Aubrey Wodonga Bandits away and have managed to, ah yeah, find themselves on an eight-game winning streak, which I think is worth celebrating.
00:11:47
Speaker
I think it definitely is. yeah they start They started 2-2 against what was a tough draw. I mean, as you mentioned, they lost to Aubrey Wodonga. No shame in that. that yeah They just come out and just put one over everybody they faced. um They got their import right with Taylor Wurst. She's been absolutely phenomenal, and we know what the rest of that Manly team can do.
00:12:08
Speaker
ah And they always put themselves there or thereabouts. They've been there on the last couple of weekends every season. Yeah, and in round 10, they're playing at home against the Canberra Nationals, which is I'm going to tip Manly to win that one.
00:12:24
Speaker
And round 11, they play Maitland away, but I'm pretty confident they can get that one as well, putting them on a 10-game winning streak. Then come round 12. Now, I'm not too sure not too sure who Manly but has annoyed or it's obviously purely just unfortunate circumstances.
00:12:44
Speaker
They have a doubleheader in round 12 against Newcastle at home and then Norths away. Now, that is some bad luck, Lockie. I'm happy. Imagine getting to watch those two games on the same weekend. yeah Tune in for those.
00:13:01
Speaker
Those will be absolute epics. Oh, certainly for us as fans. ah But yeah that's a tall order for one weekend. That is a very, very tall order for one weekend, especially after after going to Maitland the weekend before.
Challenges for Manly Women's Team
00:13:19
Speaker
Yeah, that's right. Yeah, an away game, a tough away game, and then to come home and play, you know, the two top teams in one weekend and then finishing the competition. The very last our regular season game for Manly Warringah is against the COE. So, yeah, ah ups and downs, but I'm sure they'll be able to weather the storm.
00:13:41
Speaker
Oh, definitely. I mean, sitting at 10-2, I mean –
00:13:47
Speaker
yeah everyone's talking about Norths and Newcastle, but Manly Warringah are only one, literally one win behind them.
00:13:55
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. I think it was just because obviously men ah Newcastle and Norths women's teams had the eight game undefeated winning streak to start the season. So that was obviously worth making headlines. But yeah, that's what I was like. In the meantime, Manly have gone on their own.
00:14:12
Speaker
eight-game winning streak despite having the two early losses you mentioned before. and then so that's essentially the top three. North, Newcastle, both on 11 and 1, and obviously the points percentage is ah the difference.
00:14:30
Speaker
Then Manly Warringah, a third with 10 2. Centre of Excellence, a fourth with 10 3. ah Aubrey Wodonga Bandits, a fifth with eight and fourth.
00:14:43
Speaker
Then Maitland Mustangs and Inner West Bulls are 6th and 7th respectively, both with a win-loss record of 6th and 6th. And who's rounding out the eight?
00:14:54
Speaker
Hornsby Keringai Spiders with 5th and 6th. Are they getting to the finals this year, Lockie? I... Nothing would surprise me, but You have to remember that Bankstown are still sitting there in 10th and they are ready to shoot right up the table.
00:15:14
Speaker
But Hornsby have got a... They've got a healthy mix of ah very tough games. They play most of the top five and before the end. But, gee... mean, they look good enough at times to to do it But...
00:15:33
Speaker
um They just can't have those drop games like they had against Sutherland in overtime the other week. Same with Maitland losing to Penrith couple of weeks ago. Those are just the games that can completely cripple your season if you know you have one too many of those.
00:15:50
Speaker
so So I know that they're a very young team, and that's probably the hardest part of being a young team is winning all the games you're supposed to win, is to be able to put it put your best out there every single night.
00:16:04
Speaker
um I mean, according to the game, I remarked that on that night, Nicole Hutchins was the second oldest player on the Hornsby-Karingai roster. And Hutch is only, what, 20, 26? So that's ah as's a young team.
00:16:22
Speaker
And, yeah, that's what they're to do is be able put it together every single week, bring their best, and win the game they have to win if they want to get any shot. Yeah, we did speak about the Bruins women's team a couple of weeks ago about how, you know, we reviewed their...
00:16:39
Speaker
win against the Newcastle Falcons away the perfect timing and addition of Shiloh Hill and the draw that they have.
Leading Teams in the League
00:16:47
Speaker
They are certainly like peaking at the right time despite being in 10th position and are in a very good ah guest position and spot to keep winning games and crack that top eight. They've certainly got the draw, the talent, and now the enough time to do so.
00:17:02
Speaker
ah ah But looking at Hornsby's future draw, in the same way that the Manly Warringah Seagulls have Newcastle and North on the same weekend in round 12.
00:17:14
Speaker
Round 13, will be Hornsby's turn where they have North away on the Saturday and then they have Manly ah at home on the Sunday.
00:17:25
Speaker
So, yeah, they've also got a really tough doubleheader towards the end of the season. And their last game is against Aubrey at home. So, yeah, a bit of a mixed bag as well for Hornsby. It's going to be quite a tough draw.
00:17:38
Speaker
They've got Penrith next. Then they've got Centre of Excellence and Hills in round 11, both at home. In that situation, they could go one-on-one. But that's getting into the 21st of June.
00:17:51
Speaker
So we've got double-check when ah the women's team from the Centre of Excellence, all the particular players, not the whole team, are going to start getting ready to go overseas for the Women's World Cup because that is definitely, i think, the start of July.
00:18:09
Speaker
And the Centre of Excellence women's team has also had a lot of injuries this season. So question mark on who's going to be able to be suiting up at the back of the season for COE.
00:18:22
Speaker
And I mean, even full strength COE. I mean, they went down to Sutherland on the weekend. I mean, as full strength as they are at the moment before players leave for international competition. So... don Don't count Hornsby out there. They could take Penrith COE and Hills and tack three wins onto their total very, very, not easily, but they could very well do it.
00:18:44
Speaker
That's right. I'm just double checking the dates for the FIBA Under-19 Women's World Cup.
00:18:54
Speaker
It's the 12th to the 20th of July, so...
00:19:00
Speaker
And we've still got lots of June to play. So I think the last round of NBL 1 East is the 19th of July. So I'm guessing that COE would have played all their games before they go. So maybe in the clear.
Mid-Tier Teams' Opportunities
00:19:15
Speaker
Yeah, so they play after round 11. They don't play again until the 19th, so the final round of the season. So they've got three rounds off for all their World Cup commitments.
00:19:29
Speaker
Yeah, but loving love to see Hornsby in that eighth spot. But, yeah, getting very tight at the sixth to seventh spot, especially in the women's competition. and again, that sixth I'm going to stretch it and say ninth spot in the men's competition, which you'd always anticipate in the east. There's always something a little bit muddy in the waters when it comes to those positions on the ladders. ah But, yeah, plenty of time to play, so hopefully the odds are in their favour.
00:20:00
Speaker
Very nice. So we love a Hunger Games reference. Yeah.
COE Player Graduations
00:20:05
Speaker
And then the only other news that I could think of from the NBL One East was that the COE has actually ah graduated quite a few of their players from the men's and women's program, including Emilia Dekic and Jade Crook.
00:20:23
Speaker
They are both off to college to Florida and Colorado, respectively. And in the men's program, Luke Fennell, Roa Accor, Jacob Furphy and Emmett Adair also graduating off to start their college careers as well.
00:20:39
Speaker
um Some interesting picks with the ah for from the men's side with their college um for their college choices. Emmett Adair going to your lawyer Marymount where Kelly Le Pepe is.
00:20:52
Speaker
ah spent his time. Got Luke Fennell going to Syracuse, Royal Accord going to Fordham and Jacob Furphy off the back of his debut ah in the Boomer squad at the Trans-Tasman Throwdown is going to Yukon.
00:21:07
Speaker
I can't recall a male athlete ever going. Well, any Australian. Oh, no, we definitely had. Have we had an Australian go to Yukon? Yeah. Yeah. um
00:21:21
Speaker
A men's player going to UConn. I don't remember one. There might have been. i yeah mean, I mean.
00:21:32
Speaker
Definitely had odds go to UConn. ah ta A tear majok went to UConn.
00:21:41
Speaker
How long ago was that? 2000 and ah two thousand and a long time ago Yeah. yeah um He,
00:21:57
Speaker
when was it UConn? 2009, 2010. he was drafted 58th overall by the Lakers in 2011. I knew was drafted by the Lakers. Yes. That's a deep, that's a deep cut.
00:22:10
Speaker
ah There's probably someone really obvious that I'm just not thinking of, but that's just how my brain works. Oh, no, that's fair enough. It's similar to when someone will say to you, hey, what's your favourite song? And you're like, somehow your brain completely forgets anything about music that it's ever known.
00:22:29
Speaker
Yeah. It's like me grocery shopping. I suddenly forget every single food I like. Yeah. I don't know what I want. Someone else make this decision for me.
00:22:42
Speaker
Did you have any other headlines for the round?
Hills Roster Changes
00:22:45
Speaker
um Not so much for the round, but we're we're going to bring him up in about two minutes. And just that our Hills have signed Dengak, former Sutherland Championship winner. ah Well, I mean, this was the last – once you play 12 games, 12 games is your limit to have signed new players.
00:23:03
Speaker
So they had to get in – if they wanted to add extra reinforcements, it had to be pretty much this week. So I've gone out and got Dengak, yeah, who won a championship with Sutherland.
00:23:16
Speaker
Yeah, we saw him against Manly this weekend. But, yeah, I think i think your 13th game because you have to to play eight games. So for most teams, the game after a long weekend will be the last opportunity for players to come into the team.
00:23:34
Speaker
That was a nice surprise. I may have missed the announcement ah on socials if if there was one. I only noticed it when I was looking through, um yeah, had the live scores up.
00:23:50
Speaker
So, yeah, I think there was an announcement I missed it too. Yeah, but yeah yeah, really nice surprise and really good addition to the team. Like you said, we will get into that later when we get into our game of the week.
00:24:05
Speaker
But otherwise, I think, are we ready to get into the game of the week, Lockie? I think we are. Excellent.
Manly vs. Hills Game Recap
00:24:13
Speaker
So, yes, this week our East Scott game of the week was the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles versus the Hills Hornets at Manly in the men's competition.
00:24:24
Speaker
Two teams we have yet to cover in this season of East Scott game and it was also a very, very close result. Final result being 80 points to 82 in favour of the Hills Hornets.
00:24:39
Speaker
Only just though, um only just. i ah They made it closer than it should have been. They certainly did. yes they certainly did. And,
00:24:51
Speaker
yeah, and yeah so do you want to start us off with what you your overall impressions were from this game, Lockie? um My overall impressions of this game were ah come as the game progressed,
00:25:12
Speaker
the teams looked almost so desperate to stop the other in transition that they became fixated on getting a really good look and it started being to the detriment of themselves at times because obviously but get them a stops the other team in transition I think but yeah I think both teams can be really good in transition And they almost wanted to stop each other from doing the same.
00:25:40
Speaker
um But when they got back to playing their style of basketball and got a little bit more of flow to their offense and stopped trying to make sure they got the 100% look every time, they both teams looked a whole lot better.
00:25:58
Speaker
um I mean, Hill shot nearly 50% field goals for the entire game in the end. um But they were fluctuating, and Manly, reasonably solid 41%, we'll call it, rounded up.
00:26:13
Speaker
I think they're three point shooting their three-point shooting really was not great at certain times as well. um Yeah, that... I...
00:26:24
Speaker
i um
00:26:27
Speaker
Also,
00:26:31
Speaker
I don't want to single him out straight away, but Mason Bragg, 11 points in the first 12 minutes of the game and zero for the remainder of the contest. um Yes, he had 10 assists, but...
00:26:46
Speaker
kind of need all your big names to, ah you know, i'd be chipping in throughout the game. And, yes, I mean, they end up having five players in double figures and Isaiah Lee with nine. But, yeah, thought I thought Hills, as the game progressed, forced him into lot harder shots.
00:27:03
Speaker
And for Hills, it it's pretty much as Zach Hudson goes, they go. If he's looking good, if he's feeling good, if he's playing good, it it always looks better and at certain points it felt like if the ball didn't touch his hands in a possession it didn't feel like the possession was going going places especially early on as it got later in the game uh liam moss i thought was really good at times um against bragg um i thought he was probably one of the best at defending mason bragg um
00:27:38
Speaker
Yeah, just two two relatively well-matched teams who du do some things similarly. um Obviously, throwing Dengak into the mix at the last minute. not sure how much preparation Manly had for suddenly having someone who towers over Matt Eldridge on the court because that completely changes the dynamic of of the front court um because I don't think Hills without Gak really had someone that could truly match Eldridge for height.
00:28:13
Speaker
um So I'm not sure how much preparation they had, but... ah Yeah, and it was it was a was a pretty good game to watch for the most part as well. I think that's the best thing I can say about it. And credit credit to Manly for bringing it back like they did in the fourth.
00:28:29
Speaker
But I think hill Hills will go away and think we shouldn't have let that get as close as it did.
00:28:36
Speaker
And I guess the other side of that is ah the way that Manly brought it back in the end. What they ended up doing was, well, maybe I'll get to that a bit later, but my overall impressions was that, yeah, Hills really looking like they wanted to run really early.
00:28:54
Speaker
um Both teams look a lot better in transition than they do in the half court. And like what you said for Hills, how sometimes the half court offense didn't feel quite right or gelling quite as well if it wasn't going through Zach Hudson. Equally, I felt like the times Mason Bragg was off, wasn't on court and running the point guard position for Manly, it looked like people were a little bit lost.
00:29:21
Speaker
And... Isaiah Lee is a fantastic talent and player and has a lot of skill sets, but he's not a natural point guard. So even though he's able to handle the ball, he's able to, his passing's great.
00:29:33
Speaker
um In terms of getting people organized and setting the tone and the pace, I don't think that's in his wheelhouse just yet. And understanding that he probably had to fill that role because Mason, you know, can't be playing 40 minutes every game, needs a bit of a break. Yeah.
00:29:50
Speaker
Yeah, I just felt like those were the times where in the half court Manly was a little bit lost, scratching the head a little bit directionless. And a lot of times both teams, when they were a little bit lost in the half court, it was either a case of too much ball movement without intention or or too much ah holding it holding onto the ball too long. Mm-hmm. And to be fair, like to like Hills sometimes would have good ball movement and get to Zach Hudson.
00:30:20
Speaker
And especially in the stretch of the game, Manly recognized to take a step off him because he's a dry first player. And then that's when the ball would get stuck. and Zach Hudson on the perimeter, should be taking a three, doesn't want to take the three.
00:30:35
Speaker
Like there were couple of times he really hesitated to take his open outside shot. So he was able to try and back his way into the key, draw a lot of ah you know draw a lot of the the help defense and find his shooters on the outside. He was really good at that, being able to create open shots for his teammates.
00:30:54
Speaker
ah But, yeah, he really doesn't doesn't want to shoot three at all. No. And I think man, mainly we're good at recognizing, um who to let shoot at times.
00:31:05
Speaker
Sometimes it, uh, worked against them. I mean, then Gak splashing a corner three, I think it was at one point, probably not. Was it? Yeah, it was Dan. He was one of one from three point range. it's like, well, probably okay with letting him take that, you know, it was his only attempt at the game. So probably, probably fair to let him take that.
00:31:27
Speaker
Um,
00:31:30
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. I mean, you're 100% right, yeah. you so youve Sometimes you've just got to take what the defense gives you and if it doesn't come off, it doesn't come off. But it's better than trying to fall um to force your hand.
00:31:43
Speaker
Yeah, no, I totally agree. And I think, um you know, it wasn't ah Preston Purifoy's best game either. He certainly looked like he wanted to get a little bit more involved and contribute on the offensive end, but I felt like off the back of your comment about this letting the game come to you, I think he was forcing a lot of shots just to try and get himself going.
00:32:06
Speaker
um Yeah, which which obviously didn't work out too well for them. He had 11 points, but he shot three from 13, two from two from the foul line.
00:32:17
Speaker
And I think I'm not too sure. Like you made a good point about how Mason Bragg had the 10 points in, you know, the first quarter. And from memory, I can't remember if he just perhaps stopped for some reason or if he wanted to focus on being more a facilitator.
00:32:35
Speaker
um But, yeah, he he so every time he kind of put the ball on the floor, he was either scoring and getting fouled scoring. or throwing an assist because he ended up with 11 points, as you mentioned, and the 10 assists and the four steals.
00:32:49
Speaker
um But he ah he didn't have his best shooting day either, just four from 11. So I'm not too sure if I can't quite remember, to be fair, if that was a case of the offense just not doing what was supposed to do or if Hills really started to up the the defensive intensity and shut him down a little bit.
00:33:08
Speaker
there were a few times where Mason did go to the basket and Hills were really like emphasizing, getting, getting someone across to make his shot a lot harder than it had previously been. And they, they did a good, a really good job, not failing him on a number of occasions, uh, as the game progressed, just, you know, making making as hard as possible. And, you if he goes in, it goes in, but yeah, no, he, um,
00:33:38
Speaker
And I think i mean that's where the higher assist numbers come from is that if they're suddenly taking away your scoring to that that degree, a player of Mason Bragg's quality is going to be able to switch it up, facilitate a bit more, fine find an open teammates.
00:33:56
Speaker
And just watching another game of Mason Bragg's, I haven't watched him play for a while, but it's straight out of the gate. He just reminded me of the MCU character Quicksilver.
00:34:09
Speaker
because he's super quick and he's able to get into spaces that other people sometimes can't like access. But on top of that, he's moving at such pace, but he's still able to anticipate the next play, the next open player and his court vision. Yeah.
00:34:28
Speaker
was just is just outstanding to be able to throw some of those assists. So, you know, based on the abilities that Quicksilver has, superhuman speed, agility, super reaction and reflexes, I mean, that's Mason Bragg. He's Quicksilver from the MCU. There we yeah And all those...
00:34:48
Speaker
um All those attributes are why I much preferred when Liam Moss was guarding Bragg to anyone in the starting lineup. Because Liam's no slouch himself.
00:35:02
Speaker
ah he's He's pretty quick. He's got good foot speed. yeah know He can defend pretty well. and that's yeah i think compared to yeah just about anyone on the starting lineup, um I think he did very much did the best job on Mason of anyone just staying in front Yeah, that's all you really need to do. You don't need to, like, make life too difficult for a player like Bragg because that's going to be a really, really hard task. It's just staying in front.
00:35:29
Speaker
It's just... ah kind of making making life difficult in a way where he's going to have to take some extra dribbles he's going to have to use a little bit more explosive steps and just like wear him down in that sense no one's asking you to take charges and get deflections and take steals and you know flat out face guard it's just that the long game of making it a little bit harder for him in that sense
00:35:55
Speaker
ah But Moss also hit some really big threes at important times as well in this game, especially in the back end of the court. So he was really handy for Hills Hornets. He had seven points, three rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
00:36:09
Speaker
Like you said, the defensive task of guarding Bragg or limiting Bragg's um ah kind of shot selection, especially in the back end of the game.
00:36:20
Speaker
But who I really liked for Hills was r Saxon Orsini. Yes. Big energy player. Love that from ah a youngster and a developing player in NBL1.
00:36:33
Speaker
He comes in in short bursts, has a lot of great energy, lot of great hustle, like kind of injects what was needed at the right time of the game. And I really like that he was able to play for a little bit longer in this game. He was obviously doing the right things.
00:36:49
Speaker
it's So Coach Potter just let him play for that little bit longer um So, yeah, and I think there was a drive in the second quarter at about the seven-minute mark, which gives him a three-point play. He essentially went coast to coast.
00:37:03
Speaker
And then I think that kind of energy started to give Hills a little bit more momentum in that second quarter because they ended up winning the second quarter twenty six to seventeen But, yeah, Yeah.
00:37:15
Speaker
big big ticks for saxon orini Yeah, I mean, I remember we had when we had CB on last year, he was saying that Saxon was like, yeah his CB was getting in the gym and Saxon every time was like, when do we get when are we getting in the gym? Saxon wanted to be there more than more often the c even CB was.
00:37:33
Speaker
know We know how much our boy CB, Chris Bryant, loves to get in the gym. so And Saxon, he had an ACL injury.
00:37:44
Speaker
So you know he's straight ah probably trying to make up for that year or so that he he lost. And he's so taking full advantage. um yeah i've made ah remember commenter i commentated his debut. His debut was down at Sutherland, his NBL 1 debut.
00:38:00
Speaker
And even then, he's always been just... Yeah, pretty much. What can I do to help the team? How can I bring energy? And it's but it's one of those things where it's like, i know if i do what I know if I bring energy and do what I can to help the team, I'm going to get more minutes.
00:38:15
Speaker
Yeah, that's it. That's it. That's a great attitude to have as well for a developing player, especially. And he's grown up. ah played his whole career at Hills since he was a junior.
00:38:28
Speaker
He's the kind of local players that you really want to keep around and is going to be a good representation for the other junior Hills players to be able to say see him and think, oh, he was a junior like us.
00:38:39
Speaker
He's followed the pathway and now he's an important part in the NBL1 team. And he only clocked nine minutes and 45 seconds of playing time, but it seriously felt like longer.
00:38:50
Speaker
it's In that time, he had six points, two rebounds. um he was he He had time to for but three threes.
00:39:04
Speaker
um But yeah, and okay, so, and... Also with heels, I really liked their ball movement a lot of the time, especially in the third quarter. But like I mentioned earlier, a little bit um forgetting that you need to score out of this as well.
00:39:23
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, it felt it felt a little bit like shell drill at some times, just throwing it around the perimeter um and, um yeah, not really making that first move to at least try ah try and get a defender to bite on something or, you know,
00:39:40
Speaker
Just, yeah, just flinging around the perimeter. Ball movement, but yeah, like you said, yeah, not not, you said earlier, not a lot of intention about it. um Yeah, it kind of looks good until you get down to 21 seconds off taken off the shot clock and you haven't done anything.
00:39:57
Speaker
And you mentioned Dengak, the surprise ah recruit for Hills this season. He is much needed in this team because Hills have so many great pieces, but they really needed a true center.
00:40:09
Speaker
So perfectly, Dengak joins um this this very good roster. He ended up with 13 points, four rebounds, one assist, shooting 75% overall.
00:40:23
Speaker
My question to you, though, Lockie. where was he in the third i just went quiet yeah that was that was what i i i there was times i was like what what's going on i yeah he really did mean because for so much so many other like times in the game he was such Like, if he wasn't getting the ball, he was out, you know, setting screens or doing things or just attracting defenders just from his mere presence.
00:40:57
Speaker
But, yeah. um Kind of went missing a little bit. Yeah, a little bit. I'm just going to check if he was in foul trouble because I think one of my other notes for yeah they had two fail for this Hill's performance, I thought some of the combinations and the subbing was a bit odd.
00:41:19
Speaker
Like there was a time where I think there were was only one or two of the starters on at one time, um which I thought was a bit odd. Like he he just had a really odd combination at the same time. I'm not sure if it was just purely at tail ends of, you know, a quarter or something where they had a relatively safe lead and he just wanted to get some people, some fresh legs on. But, yeah, there was some um some odd combos.
00:41:45
Speaker
There are, but I mean, I'm going to come back to mo like Moss. Moss is good enough to to start. So I guess there's a lot of trust you can place in Liam.
00:41:58
Speaker
who kind of, you know, almost treat him like an extra starter. ah And I mean, there were times where Hills had built out that lead pretty, like they'd extended it out pretty decently, try to, you know, still steal a minute's rest here or there from a couple for a couple of players. um You know, if if it all falls apart, china kind of get them get them back in quickly.
00:42:26
Speaker
And I didn't have too many more notes for Manly. Most of my notes for Manly came in the fourth quarter. Did you have any more notes on Manly for the second or third quarter? No, well, i didn't really have a lot more apart from what I said at the outset, apart from the, I think the third quarter was when Manly got really fixated on you know, getting a mate to prevent Hills from getting out and running, which I think really slowed up their, slowed up their defense.
00:42:59
Speaker
But it was also, fortunately for Manly Warringah, was when they actually started to hit threes was late in the third. And that, as we go into the fourth, we'll realize why that, why that mattered so much, because that was three of 20 from three point range at one stage.
00:43:17
Speaker
Before, Purifoy hit a three. That was some real good ball moves. That was one time where Isaiah Lee really, yeah, orchestrated something. He drove to the basket, found Ollie Hammond in the corner who recognised Purifoy was wide open for that three.
00:43:35
Speaker
And I think that was probably the moment that
00:43:39
Speaker
no It didn't immediately set them, you know, sky high, but it kind of, you know, probably made them feel a lot better about their offensive potential going into the fourth.
00:43:50
Speaker
And I think it was it was ah yeah it was very timely, to say the least. Oh, yeah. It was almost like breaking a bit of a scoring drought because...
00:44:01
Speaker
um Manly only scored 12 points in that third quarter and they scored 22 in the first to win the first quarter, 22 to 15. If you have a look at their shot chart quarter by quarter, all of their points in the first quarter come from inside the paint.
00:44:20
Speaker
All of them but one come from inside the charge circle. Second quarter they start to move out a little bit and hit a couple of threes. Third quarter, they move out even further.
00:44:33
Speaker
So third quarter, they hit a couple of threes and then some just ah like mid-range in the key. And then fourth quarter, they're just going on a blitz. Yeah, third quarter, nothing in the charge circle.
00:44:46
Speaker
Nothing, nothing in the charge circle. Two threes and a couple just below the free throw line. um Yeah, so it's a really, really interesting...
00:44:58
Speaker
evolution or not so much evolution, almost like a really strong change in their shot selection and and scoring um across the game.
00:45:09
Speaker
And then something clicked in the fourth quarter there where they're just like, we've just got to go for it. And didn't they just... Yeah, which is which was made for a really exciting game and there was it was very clear they were making ah very concerted effort to get more stops, get more scores, um get the momentum back in their favour. Like you said, the the trigger being that three that Purifoy hit.
00:45:36
Speaker
Yeah. weird like in the third and then he hit a really big three with 40 seconds to left left in the fourth as well um so essentially kind of all started well not really all started but really started to pick up at the three minute mark in the fourth quarter. So they really left it late.
00:45:56
Speaker
Eldridge hits the three. Isaiah Lee gets two free throws at two minutes 16. And then at with one minute to go, the score is seventy to eighty So Manley scored eight points in a minute.
00:46:12
Speaker
And so I'm kind of like, why didn't you do this earlier? Yeah. Why didn't you press and apply this defensive pressure and play without urgency earlier?
00:46:23
Speaker
Like, yeah, it was out to 69-53 with just shy of seven minutes to play in the fourth. Until, yeah, Manly went on one little run. They went on two big runs, and but still ah early in the fourth and then right at the end of the fourth, they went on two really good scoring runs.
00:46:42
Speaker
But in between, well, yeah.
00:46:48
Speaker
Yeah, Hills had as much of a 16-point lead in that fourth quarter and to only win by two. ah And I think it was what the Eldridge fadeaway three in the corner that kind of brought the game back to two back to two. So it looked like it was going to be five and then that lovely Hail Mary at the end was just brought it back to two, which, you know, of course it's still a win on paper, but as we talked earlier about how close the ladder and the results are already looking and we're only at round nine, that those kinds of small deficits and the win and the points for and against is really going to matter in the end. Yeah.
00:47:30
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, you might get the win and only play a team once in the season and you think, okay, we've got the split on those guys. Suddenly you got a three suddenly you've got a three-team tie with them and someone else and you lost to the other team by 20, you're on the outside looking in.
00:47:47
Speaker
You know, if that becomes Manly Hills and Central Coast or something and, you know, Hills have lost to Central Coast by plenty, that's the kind of, you know, You being up by 16 and letting it get back to two is the kind of thing that comes back to bite you.
00:48:05
Speaker
Yeah, so i I hope that Manly are able to bottle what they had in that fourth quarter in terms of defensive intensity, pressing, being more confident when they're scoring or looking to score into the next round and play that from the start and play it like consistently.
00:48:23
Speaker
know what they need to bottle? Jamie Munro's fourth quarter. Oh, yeah. Didn't he go off in the fourth quarter? Against his old team. Yeah. Yeah, that's right, actually. i forgot that that was his old team.
00:48:40
Speaker
He had, what, ah nine points, I think, in the fourth quarter? Yeah, I think he had two. Yeah, nine. Yeah, because he finished with 11. So, yes yeah. Yeah, he had ah three drives to the basket and a big three. Yeah, so, yeah, really bringing in the noise in the fourth to try and bring in that win.
00:48:59
Speaker
um I really did feel that at one minute and five seconds in the fourth, ah Zach hads Hudson had a steal and a layup down the other end, which really kind of put a damper on what Manly were trying to do at the time.
00:49:13
Speaker
But I really felt for Bragg because he only threw two turnovers the whole game. Mm-hmm. And that was one of them. Yeah. ah Yeah, that's tough. Yeah. I mean, it was it was a good heads-up play by – are you talking about the pass straight in that got picked off, not the tip away?
00:49:31
Speaker
ah Yeah, I think what happened was ah Bragg went to drive and then he went to drive and thought that that person was open and just wanted to do an outlet. But Hudson was able to anticipate that yeah Bragg wanted to pass first and shoot second. So he just came through and picked it off and off to the races he went for an easy layup at the end.
00:49:52
Speaker
But just felt bad because I'm like, Mason was doing the right thing of trying to set someone up or trying to generate something on offense. And one of his only two turnovers was on that play, which was the timing in the context of the game was super important.
00:50:08
Speaker
um But then, ah
00:50:13
Speaker
oh yeah, then the foul was called. On the contest? Yes. So, Phil, Hills had a timeout with nine seconds to play. Then a foul was called on that sideline out-of-bounds play and Volkovich was fouled out.
00:50:29
Speaker
That i was it. It was tough for Manly Warringah because they had no fouls until very late. So, they had to to be able to stop the clock and get Hills even to the line was taking ages.
00:50:45
Speaker
which is, you know, we've talked about foul trouble. When you're deep in the four, sometimes you want to be on, you know, three three or four fouls late in the pace if you're trailing them. When you're on none, and because in the a couple of those from Volkovich, they were basically intentional fouls to stop the clock and try and rack up the foul count.
00:51:05
Speaker
And then he got called for that one where he was contesting for the ball with Gak on that baseline out of bounds that went deep. but which was kind of a 50-50 call. And, yeah, you rack them up quickly. It just happened to be the guy who was intentionally fouling then actually got caught for real fouls as well.
00:51:25
Speaker
Yeah, you don't ever want a game to kind of – it's unfortunate when a game comes to that really. um And then, yeah, eight seconds to go, seventy seven eighty two think it's a done deal. And, yeah, like I mentioned, Eldridge with that fadeaway. Yeah.
00:51:43
Speaker
But, yeah, that I think I started to do some stats, outstanding stats, kind of like quarter by quarter. Nothing really stood out to me other than probably the three-point percentage quarter by quarter. Like you mentioned, Manly had zero, but I don't think they took any attempts.
00:52:01
Speaker
In the first quarter? the first quarter. ah no, they took three. They took only three attempts. They only took three attempts. So, I mean, zero from three and one quarter, you can live with that.
00:52:12
Speaker
Yeah. So when you get to the second quarter and you're taking about 10 attempts and you're two from 10. Yeah. yeah And then the third quarter, pretty similar, two from 10, two from 11. And both of them, or one of them at least, was pretty late in the pace.
00:52:30
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. That's when you can kind of get a bit worried. So I think the statistically nothing really stood out other than perhaps the three-point percentage from each team.
00:52:42
Speaker
Manly were ended up with 10 from 32, which was 31.25% overall. And Hills were from is overall.
00:52:55
Speaker
um yes and not the best day of the office for either team in that sense No, i think I think the main start that stood out for me was the O boards that went 17-8 Manley's way and converted to 22-13 in second chance points, which meant that Hills really needed to put the ball in the basket at the rate they did because they had seven fewer field goal attempts than Manley did.
00:53:21
Speaker
Yeah, that's a really good pickup, actually. I didn't realize that Manley had 22 second chance points. That is huge. um And also points in the paint, Manly 36 had 18 of their 36 points in the paint in the first quarter.
00:53:40
Speaker
ah half of their points in the paint were in one quarter. And then as you we talked about in the shot chart, you just see them go further and further away from the basket.
00:53:51
Speaker
um Points from bench 22 from Hills, that's pretty good. ah But, yeah, was there anything else that really stood out to you statistically that I have probably missed?
00:54:02
Speaker
um No, not really. i mean go I mean, the turnovers were completely even. Nothing else really, really stood out. um yeah Only other thing that I think is probably um worth mentioning is that our I don't think we've talked enough or really at all about meek pain.
00:54:22
Speaker
Oh, yeah, yeah. Talk to me about him. well I mean, i he um led the led the scoring for Hills, and he was 6'11 from the field, 4 of 5 from two-point range.
00:54:34
Speaker
It took him a little bit to to come into his own, but, um yeah, it's just he's not really a player I've seen a lot of. haven't got to watch a lot of Hills this year, but... um Yeah, just i thought i I thought he was... um Yeah, in I mean, I know I said when the ball didn't go through Hudson, the offense didn't look so great, but there were times when when Meek was aggressive and um yeah he <unk> got he's got a fair fair bit of height and length um for someone who now can even play a position smaller with Gak in the lineup.
00:55:12
Speaker
And I think he might be one that can really benefit from... um from having someone as tall as Dan Gak in the lineup in that he can play a little bit further out, um drive a bit more and probably have more of a size advantage against his um against these matchups going forward if Gak's in there patrolling the paint.
00:55:32
Speaker
Yeah, can't remember if it was paint that we talked about in our season preview episodes in that sense where it looks like he had really great guard skills, but the height and the length of someone that could play a four spot.
00:55:46
Speaker
um But yeah, like that's a really good point. Now that Gak's there and he can move outside, he can definitely take advantage of more of those mismatches. And even in the same way that Hudson does, just being able to back someone into the key from a high post or even from a wing spot, I think Mekness Payne will be pretty hard to guard.
00:56:06
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. ah that if Speaking of post-op, I do like both teams' post-op defense for the most part, one-on-one. Just ah just i mean its something that that came to mind when you mentioned posting up. I think both teams both teams did it pretty well.
00:56:23
Speaker
Obviously, against someone like Dak, he's usually just going straight over you. But um and most times, they made it pretty difficult for the opposition. There are god a lot of good guy guys there with... ah Good post-up offense out on that court, though, as evidenced by Manley's 18 points in the paint in the first quarter.
00:56:45
Speaker
Yeah, but I think a lot of those 18 points as well was like was just Bragg. Some of it was Bragg getting in, but yeah but I mean, Eldridge, we know. I mean, Eldridge has got such high advantage over most people.
00:57:01
Speaker
Eldridge has such... so So many assets for an athlete of any sport. Like him I bet he would be really good at so many sports.
00:57:12
Speaker
Like he's I can see him being an Aussie rules footballer. I can see him being a great volleyballer, maybe even a tennis player. ah Maybe we should like get him on the show one day and just be like, and what I'm sure you were good at sport all the sports. Why basketball?
00:57:29
Speaker
and But thank you for choosing basketball. Yes, thank you very much for shooting basketball. He just has everything. He's got hops. He's got lengths. He's got like mobility, agility, height. He's got everything to make such a great athlete in so many sports.
00:57:45
Speaker
Legit. And apparently he majored in phys in college. So that would imagine having him as your PE teacher.
00:57:56
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, you wouldn't want to be challenging him on on any kind of prac day where you're playing a sport and he would just dominate. As someone who once almost had their nose broken in a teachers versus students touch footy game, don't don't take on your PE teacher.
00:58:14
Speaker
No, no, do not, do not. But he was a real shining light for Manly in this game. He had 19 and 12. He shot 80% overall. kind Perfect. 100% from the two-point range. three ah From five from the three-point range. Like, on fire.
00:58:33
Speaker
ah So good. So good to have him in the league. anytime ah Anytime an import comes back, I love it. Just... i Yeah, it just...
00:58:45
Speaker
Just speaks to the league or at least the team that they're they're in. Especially given his first season with Manly was when Manly were still rebuilding that men's program and now towards the the bottom of the ladder.
00:58:58
Speaker
He still came back and stuck by them and had a really successful season last year when they made the top eight. And yes, now he's back again. yeah And ah Manly, looking at only there or thereabouts.
00:59:14
Speaker
So, you know, despite the fact they got the lot they went down, they're still there or thereabouts. And it'll be fun to watch them the rest of the year.
00:59:23
Speaker
Yeah, so I would say, what are, the say, the two main points you'd like to see Manly improve on for the next round and the two main points you'd like Hills to improve on for the next round? Oh, yeah.
00:59:42
Speaker
for Hills, and this will probably, ah for Hills, I feel like those offensive rebounds that they gave up, some of them look like they, ah just wasn't great starting position on the rebound, um especially on some of those long threes, you know, not recognizing the potential of a really long rebound kind of thing. That, that,
01:00:11
Speaker
So definitely that is something I want want Hills to work on um and just ah getting Gak the ball closer to the basket where possible.
01:00:23
Speaker
There are a couple of times where you put it on the floor from about 15 feet out and you don't want your seven foot up with the ball on the floor from 15 feet out when you've got guys in there that can just, you know, swipe the ball away at will.
01:00:36
Speaker
um
01:00:39
Speaker
Manly Warringah. um Just got to put it together for 40 minutes. Can't have these these lapses where you come out and win the first quarter twenty two fifteen win this fourth quarter 29-21, and then the middle portion of the game, you know, it looks like you barely came out after the first quarter and halftime breaks and just let the opposition...
01:01:03
Speaker
ah I mean, I know i know it's easy to just look at that and say, oh, yeah, they just didn't come out. But, I mean, you just can't have two because can't have such a yeah performance at two extreme ends of the spectrum like that.
01:01:19
Speaker
um And this probably speaks to that is um even if you have to change tack a bit when Mason Bragg's not on court, you've got to find a way to keep the offense flowing.
01:01:33
Speaker
when when Mason's not on court.
01:01:38
Speaker
Yeah, I would agree. ah um ah One thing I'll add for Manly, I'd love to see them just improve their confidence in scoring and making sure that they're playing with intent, especially on offense.
01:01:51
Speaker
And they showed in that fourth quarter um how scary they can be on defense when they apply the press and that pressure. So I'd love to see that for longer periods of the game, that same intensity and urgency and transferring that into really intentional offense.
01:02:09
Speaker
I reckon they'd be in a much better state and they won't have to be rushing at an end of a game just to try and win it in the last minute. um And for Hills, I think similarly I'd i'd like to see them use GAC a little bit more and I'd like to see GAC be a little bit more consistent and potentially not not going getting lost or going hiding in the back end of the game if possible. Yeah.
01:02:35
Speaker
But also, yeah, a probably a bit more ah consistency on the offensive end in the sense of the their ball movement. so Sometimes it was really good and sometimes it stopped. And so in the first half when they were just playing that regular flow offense, at least people were always moving. Then when they went away from that, there was parts of ball movement and it would get stuck with someone.
01:02:57
Speaker
You've just got to kind of kick it on. or or the one The thing that Gak did really well in the first half particularly was that If it did stop, he'd just go set a screen. He'd just go set an on board.
01:03:08
Speaker
Like he just made something happen. So kind of getting in those situations where just create a two-man game, create a three-man game, just keep something going.
01:03:18
Speaker
um But what are some of the things that you enjoyed the most from both teams in this game? um i enjoyed... I mean, we talked about it all night. When Manly were aggressive, they were really fun to watch.
01:03:32
Speaker
When Mason was getting downhill, and get like that first quarter, the Mason Bragg show, it was just so much, so much fun. And he was doing it um you know he was doing it all of his own back. um He wasn't even like getting – at the times where he was not even getting a screen or anything like that, he was just going, taking his man on.
01:03:51
Speaker
And like I was thinking, i was like, well – you know, the hills Hills can't really like hedge on on balls against you because there's no on ball there. There's not, there's not two defenders up in the situation in the first place. So I love that. And if my if Mason can, you know, keep creating, you know, against his direct opponent, that's going to be so good for them. um and
01:04:17
Speaker
for Hills,
01:04:22
Speaker
I mean,
01:04:26
Speaker
They're probably the the inverse of Manly in that they started and finished kind of slowly. But um i I really liked how – I just really like when certain players get out in transition for them.
01:04:42
Speaker
I think they've got so many players out there who can run the floor really well. um ah We talked about Meek having yeah foot speed that belies his size.
01:04:53
Speaker
Zach Hudson does as well. um And just the way they utilize their bench and they're developing players and they give guys a crack and those guys take advantage, I think Orsini
01:05:09
Speaker
is probably the best the best example of that. I mean, not not everyone got a whole lot of minutes, but I think you know if you're at Hills and you put in, you'll at least get some playing time.
01:05:21
Speaker
Like Mitch Smith got eight minutes, Mav Vidal got seven minutes. Saxon got his 10. um Paul Taco, their new signing, i think he's from Melbourne, got six. I just, like I really like the um their faith in their bench.
01:05:40
Speaker
Yeah. And that obviously showed on the score sheet as well, having 22 points from the bench as well this game. um I really liked, yeah, Manly showed really great glimpses of greatness. They just got to try and put it together.
01:05:55
Speaker
Really liked how, yeah, Mason's really steering that ship and a lot of players that am still a bit unfamiliar with from that Manly roster um stepping up a lot.
01:06:07
Speaker
Like ah I think it was a couple of weeks ago on the East Scott game, on the NBL1 East socials, they posted the glue players of each team. You can certainly see why Volkovich is the glue of this team.
01:06:23
Speaker
And it was really good to see some other players step up when, ah you know, Purifoy wasn't having his best shooting game. There were still others trying to step up and fill that gap or take the ah make the most opportunity.
01:06:34
Speaker
But also just how much they hustled on the O boards. 17 offensive rebounds, like that's outstanding. And for Hills, yeah, same thing, just really like the energy from the bench.
01:06:47
Speaker
but i Even though I said before I was just surprised by some of the particular combinations from Hills, but statistically speaking with the distribution of minutes between both teams, both very well coached by Reece Potter and Tim Hill. I mean, two of the most so two of the best coaches you're going to get in the league really. Yeah.
01:07:06
Speaker
um But, yeah, just also like he was good, like still the rotations were still good. Sometimes it was a little bit like surprising, good energy off the bench, good contribut ah contribution off the bench, um but also a team where I'd like to hopefully see them put all a few more of their good chunks just together in a in a chain.
01:07:28
Speaker
Yes, that's the best way to put it, yes. Yeah, it's like if you've got all the the really great bits to make a ah necklace, it's just you've got to put the right order together or something.
01:07:41
Speaker
It's putting the parts together. um But, yeah, otherwise a ah very entertaining game, especially in the last couple of minutes. So I'm glad that we reviewed that one.
01:07:53
Speaker
Yes. Yeah, I mean, yeah, i obviously we knew it was going to be close just looking at the scoreboard, but the way it finished, yes, very exciting. Yeah. Did you have any final thoughts or on this note before we get into our athlete interview?
01:08:08
Speaker
um No, I think we've covered just a bit just about everything except um what are we doing with the live stream clock?
01:08:19
Speaker
It sat on 42 seconds for like most of the final minute. I was like, how long is left in the game? Yeah. The live stream clock is an issue. And I really felt for their commentator because it's, he was there by himself, which is calling a game by herself. It's tough.
01:08:38
Speaker
And then you could tell that he was having trouble separating the commentator from the fan at the end. it's try Hard to maintain some neutrality, which is understandable when you're commentating your home team.
01:08:51
Speaker
But yeah, the, The on game clock was really, really hard to determine. So sometimes when I clock something at a particular time, I'm, you know, I had to just basically go off what was on screen. I couldn't tell if it was accurate.
01:09:06
Speaker
Hmm. Um, but yeah, that's more or less it. So I think we're ready to show our athlete interview. So this week, our athlete interview was again, pre-recorded because as many people would know and gather by now, lots of teams would train on a Tuesday night.
01:09:24
Speaker
Um, so yeah, this athlete was very kindly, ah jumped on last night for a quick chat ah about their very colorful career in their short period of time.
01:09:36
Speaker
um Yeah, Lachie, any other final words before we play our interview? I think it's interview time. Interview time. Here we go. best who laid their foundations as a player in New South Wales before showcasing their talents interstate and internationally.
01:09:55
Speaker
Known for their versatility and scoring ability, this player has played in three different NBL One conferences overseas and was a WNBL development player, and there's still only 27. They're back in the eighth this season playing for Sydney Comets.
01:10:10
Speaker
It is Abby Curtin. Welcome, Abby. Hey, guys. How are you? I am i am great. How are you Yeah, good. Thanks for having me.
01:10:24
Speaker
No worries. So as we always do, will start with our ah usual first question. Where did your basketball journey begin? My basketball journey began when i was, I think I was six years old and I was, this is pretty funny. I wanted to go to sleep over with my friend at school, in primary school. was probably in year one.
01:10:50
Speaker
but she had to go to basketball training first. So I was like, I'll just go to training with her and then I'll go so we can have a sleepover. was begging my mum and begging her mum. Went to the basketball training. Coach said, we've got one more spot for a girl. You're quite tall.
01:11:03
Speaker
um was terrible. Ended up playing for that team. That coach ended up being a basketball New South Wales state coach at the time. And I just never stopped playing since. We just played reps all the way through and yeah. That's how it all happened.
01:11:19
Speaker
I don't know if you remember ah aie Burke, the players up in Cairns, was her dad, Stephen Burke, um from horn that were plat was at Hornsby and North at the time.
01:11:31
Speaker
But yeah, we had a great, we had an amazing um like primary school development program that went around just because because he was ah trying to foster a team. um And it was great. Yeah, it was really, really good.
01:11:43
Speaker
We had a really good age group from that from that starting point. But yeah.
01:11:53
Speaker
That is almost, almost speechless. That is such, so cool. Yeah, like super. my Nothing to do with my parents, nothing to do anything, just just came about.
01:12:05
Speaker
And did you genuinely, ah go Locke. No, go, guys go, Scream. I was just gonna ask if you genuinely liked playing when you first started, even though you said that you felt like you weren't very good, but did you just like it as soon as you started or did was it the social aspect that kind of ah kept you involved at the start?
01:12:23
Speaker
No, I think I loved it. I went home to my mom and I said, I'm quitting jazz. I'm not doing dancing anymore. I want to play basketball. And that that was the funny thing. i couldn't I couldn't get the ball to the hoop. Like I was genuinely not strong enough. i couldn't, I was little chubby kid, couldn't really run, but I loved it. i loved it And I think that's been, I think, an awesome, like a good part of my basketball journey that I love it.
01:12:45
Speaker
Otherwise I wouldn't continue playing. i just, it doesn't really matter where you start or where you come from.
01:12:55
Speaker
and So did you did you play reps from under 12, bottom age? yeah Yeah. so yeah, I started at Hornsby. um When I got to high school, I moved to Hills because that's where my high school was.
01:13:13
Speaker
um And then from there, just kind of ended up jumping around a little bit because I had an injury and different coaches and, yeah.
01:13:24
Speaker
Maybe a good segue to get into question two, actually, you i you said that you had an injury. And so this is a question that's from a very deep cut Instagram post that AUSA posted a really long time ago.
01:13:41
Speaker
so long ago, it said something like some extraordinary number of weeks it was posted. uh but ah with the picture it has the quote saying at 17 years old abby curtain had to learn how to play the game of basketball again are you able to share the story behind this quote um yeah so i when i was 15 15, 15, just about turn, yeah, was 15.
01:14:13
Speaker
I um had similar to a stress fracture in my in the bottom of my femur, which ah we had just thought was knee pain. as you know basketball players growing up getting taller um and then one day that stress fracture became a break and so I broke my femur um so ended up needing to get surgery on that and it meant a bunch of i think had seven um nails into my femur and a bone graft and i had to wait
01:14:44
Speaker
almost two years, up to two years before the whole bone density had essentially, um I was allowed to run on it because the bone density had to be consistent all the way through the bone.
01:14:55
Speaker
So I didn't play under 16s, I didn't play under eighteen s reps. And to be honest, I wasn't going play again because that's a lot of your development, a lot of your skill development, a lot of your basketball and it had been so long.
01:15:11
Speaker
um So i dropped I got really lucky in that someone kind of grabbed me and said, come down to training. um And I ended up in a really good team and found that I loved it again. but And then even luckier, I guess, that I got to go to college and I got people looking at me and in my corner. um But, yeah, definitely...
01:15:30
Speaker
definitely a big part of my life and my basketball career that I, yeah, I didn't know if that was, I didn't really know what i was going to do in that little period of time um during the middle of high school because basketball is a lot of you're a ah your identity and you'd know that if yeah when you play such reps and competitive sports. So, yeah, that was that.
01:15:57
Speaker
and how 16s and 18s is the prime age to make start making state teams and being seen at nationals to potentially put you on ah pathway to be making Australian teams and the centre of excellence and things like that.
01:16:13
Speaker
Yeah. It was, ah like, very lucky that I got to college, I think, because I hadn't been seen. um But then again, in ways, I came back...
01:16:25
Speaker
at a time where I had almost finished growing, was more athletic, was longer um and found my feet quite quickly. Whereas I hadn't been as strong earlier on.
01:16:38
Speaker
um So who knows what have happened in that middle period time. But I think it was, in it you can you never tell if it's not your journey, but I think it was still um like a good a good, I guess a good good development, a good segue for me to continue my basketball career, even though it's not, yeah, it's not not the best thing that could possibly happen. And you i mean, you mentioned you mentioned college where you spent three years at the University of Denver.
01:17:08
Speaker
yeah what What drove your decision to go to college and and what was your experience like over there? um I think I saw a couple of my teammates going to college and that was where they were taking me and I real well, taking them and i really wanted to continue playing basketball.
01:17:28
Speaker
I didn't know what I, I did not want to go to uni, i didn't know what else I really wanted to do, what I was passionate about, but I knew I loved basketball. I knew I wanted to continue playing as long as I can. um and I'm saying that that's the same now, I guess.
01:17:41
Speaker
But, um, when I realized that was an opportunity, um I started reaching out to people and, um, got lucky with my Nationals highlights, ah got me some offers from different colleges and picked the University of Denver just because it was, one, a great school, but it was the people that were on the team and the coaching staff that was on the team there. um Made me feel super welcome and looked after and just a really, like, good environment where I'd be happy and ready to grow and get better as a player, yeah.
01:18:19
Speaker
You did leave year early, but, I mean, what what factors into your decision to come home early? yeah had Had you graduated when you when you finished? Did you graduate early? um No. so I got halfway through my junior year and actually was – I had a really serious concussion um that happened on the way to – a um ah shoot around the morning like super early in the morning i actually don't remember what happened but I to our belief I was knocked off knocked over by car off my skateboard just in the middle of the morning um so I lost a lot of memory like almost half a year of memory and I just didn't really feel as comfortable we had a new coaching staff I didn't really feel as comfortable being there
01:19:12
Speaker
knowing i wasn't i was walking into rooms and not remembering where I was or like like I was in bed for extended periods of time. So I just wasn't um Yeah, I just needed to come home to some like and be supported while I got back together. was doing a lot of additional rehab um with my eyes because running around and changing direction was would make me dizzy and fuzzy and all those things. So, yeah, so I came home and I think that was hard because I really loved the college lifestyle.
01:19:46
Speaker
But, yeah, just with the dynamics of the team the time, it was probably the best decision for me. um And i got lucky that I came home and ended up playing at North with Tom Gallop, and he was really good to support me in that.
01:20:01
Speaker
um And I was, once I was all ready to go and better. So that was the, that was the, yeah, that was the reason I came home early.
01:20:13
Speaker
Yeah, fair enough as well. That sounds like a really serious injury and incident. um And so like how long, because that, and it also sounds like quite an unusual injury. Like we hear about people having concussions during play, like you during a game yeah and having the concussion protocols and things like that. But your situation sounded really serious. So how long was your rehab process after that?
01:20:37
Speaker
um Yeah, to be honest, I'm at the time I was a bit, I think my parents were like, what are you doing? Stop like that. That's a silly thing to be doing outside by he yourself. And so I kind of talked it down a little bit.
01:20:53
Speaker
um and i don't yeah And I didn't really talk about it much, but it was actually, um yeah, it was pretty scary. i um It happened on, want say around Thanksgiving, and then i continued ah doing rehab for the whole rest of the season until the end of basketball season and started working out for the summer.
01:21:19
Speaker
um And in that summer I was i just realised, well, we had had a lot of staff changing as well and um player changing. But I was just, one, I was still having issues. um The rehab was pretty, like, intense and so I was pretty exhausted. and yeah because we had a lot of player changing and new coaching staff, I wasn't as happy either. I think it was a combination of all those things. So while I was starting to feel pretty on the road to recovery, um yeah, i was yeah i wasn't as happy as I had been previously. So it sort of was time to just and move on to a different part of the journey. so
01:22:02
Speaker
But yeah, that was probably over six months, maybe nine months.
01:22:10
Speaker
Yeah, wow. Yeah, that's a long time. So we're really glad you're able to find your way back to court. And yeah, i imagine that coming back to North and having someone as accommodating and understanding as Coach Gallup would have been and nice place to land after such a traumatic experience.
01:22:28
Speaker
i think i always found I think coming home has always been, or coming back to Sydney, have underestimated it in that is there's always someone here, there always has been someone that is in your corner here that knows you that knows you as a kid and wants you to get better. and onces um yeah So every time I've come home, I've found more opportunity. I've found people that are here to support me. um Yeah, so I think it's been it's been one of the better things, the better decisions, yeah.
01:23:04
Speaker
Yeah, because you're one of the very few players. i would be interested actually one day if I ever have time to try and figure out if you're perhaps the only player to have played in three different NBL1 conferences. So you've played in South, North and East.
01:23:22
Speaker
ah So tell us from your perspective about how the conferences kind of compare to each other.
01:23:30
Speaker
I think South is definitely a strong strong conference and it's full of a lot of um a lot of ah veterans, a lot of people who have done exceptional things with their basketball career, but as well as a lot of veterans who are still amazing players that work full time and have developed their lives down there.
01:23:50
Speaker
um And I would say East is... got a great collection of really young players as well as a few veterans sprinkled in, or I'm saying veterans but older players more like people who have other life experience outside of the NBL one um or playing experience outside of the NBL one.
01:24:06
Speaker
um But has some great young talent and then um the North is another really strong one but I'd say it's somewhere in between they've got a lot of young talent.
01:24:17
Speaker
um but ah a good each team has a good handful of like smart older players. um
01:24:27
Speaker
I think the South ah take it and the North take it quite seriously as they have a lot of travel. um We have one game to Canberra, one game to Albury.
01:24:40
Speaker
So um sometimes we get that, some some teams, it is very team dependent, some teams get that um professional feel and some teams are like that local club vibe. I think you have to find your own. um But yeah, so Darwin for example was one where we had a very professional feeling team.
01:25:02
Speaker
A lot of us were there as imports, a lot of us were there training all around. And then yeah, I think the the travelling teams especially in the north and south are a bit more on the professional side because they have to invest more, they have to um take time off work.
01:25:20
Speaker
But, yeah, I'd say those are the those are the big differences. The East is really exciting league. It's up and coming. And a lot of the really strong talent from New South Wales is coming home, which is pretty cool. Yeah, I think that was probably the thing that Squint and I have always talked about and it's finally come to fruition, is the players coming home more than anything. um Because that's one thing I don't think we were ever able to do in Waratah League, was keep our best and brightest at home in the first place.
01:25:50
Speaker
You haven't only played NBL 1, North, South, East and college. You've also played in Malaysia. So how did that come about over the last off season?
01:26:00
Speaker
So my, um I've been working with my ah my agent that I have, who's fantastic. And he um had been speaking to um the Malaysian league about one of the male players and then the female league, which
01:26:21
Speaker
had just started, it's really just quite ah quite a fresh new league and introduced four main major teams. And they were looking for, they it like the WNBL had already um pretty much signed all their major players and a lot of New Zealand.
01:26:40
Speaker
So they were kind of looking for a little bit of height and a um over in Malaysia, but they were really really struggling to get people through. um So he tossed my name out there and I got lucky in that I had a great conversation with the coach and got that. Essentially, that's how um that came through. But, um yeah, I really loved It it was a great experience. The team was the dynamic was so different to any team I've played in. Yeah.
01:27:09
Speaker
not only the language, just being completely different. So you're learning to play with people through reading body language and just actions and moving. um But the style of basketball is very, very fast, very downhill, fast break, go, go, go, run as hard as you can.
01:27:29
Speaker
um which I love, works well for me, um but it's completely different. and There's no, like, we're very we're very slow down, poised, let's set up.
01:27:40
Speaker
not No, we're go we go go, go, go, go. We're running we're running them out. so um And it was great to, like, be part of, go in instead of being, like,
01:27:52
Speaker
we work around you. It was like we, me and my teammate who went in with me, Nishaya, we went in as people that were making the team better rather than the team was shaped around us, which I think is a different experience as an import player, um but a really cool one in that. And I think um once we had earned the respect of the coach and she understood where we, like where we stood um and how we functioned, it was ah like, it was a really, really valuable season. Yeah.
01:28:21
Speaker
was that Was it Tracy York was your coach? Yes. tre Oh, Tracy was. So we had Tracy as our coach and then we had a Malaysian coach who was our, it was a ah two coach situation. So having Tracy there was phenomenal because we could understand what was going on. Yeah.
01:28:41
Speaker
ah Well, our coach didn't speak English, but um just being able to, so Tracy could explain to us and then she could explain to the Malaysian girls back and forth so we could just get the message across quickly. um And we had, it we saw had Tracy and Isha was our Malaysian coach.
01:28:58
Speaker
Yeah.
01:29:01
Speaker
So how does, what does strength and conditioning look like in Malaysia if you're playing a fast paced game in nearly what, 100 plus percent humidity? um Yeah, so our, honestly, we were, there wasn't,
01:29:21
Speaker
that much additional gym work going on because we were training and then playing three days on the
Training and Tournament Style
01:29:28
Speaker
weekend. So we'd play Friday, Saturday, Sunday. it was almost tournament style.
01:29:32
Speaker
um So we'd play every team every weekend, one game Friday, one game Saturday, one game Sunday. Then we'd have three training sessions a week that were... hot long sweaty sprinting the whole time um so to be honest it was just upkeep it was just maintenance we'd go in and and do maintenance i wasn't getting any stronger i wasn't working on pb but i think that's definitely something that um they were really really good with the The strength conditioning was really, really good with the prehab and the recovery at the end. um
01:30:06
Speaker
And I actually still use that warm up now. I've been using it if you see me pregame. that's what It's the warm up I've stolen from my Malaysian SNC because it's really good just for your ankles, your hips and just getting your your body warmed up and ready to go.
01:30:22
Speaker
I'd like to keep an eye on it next time I'm ah calling a game at Alexandria because I don't look at these things before the game. No, I'm probably hiding that. That's how be doing hip twist.
Recovery Techniques and Supplements
01:30:42
Speaker
um that's yeah that's super interesting because especially before we came on air ah you were drinking a ah like a magnesium supplement too and all I could think about thinking about your training schedule your playing schedule the humidity so the load versus the environment cramping my like personally I would just be cramping by like the Saturday morning let alone having to play a Sunday ah there any different types of recovery or supplementation to use over there when you're in that environment? Which is a very nerdy question, I know, but I've got know.
01:31:20
Speaker
Well, no, they have... I was actually feeling a little bit sick today. So i ah i was like, I should get some of these. I was thinking they use, um, they have this drink called a hundred plus. You've probably seen it. Um, they have them in some calls and we'll let's hear, but it's pretty uncommon everywhere on the bench. Have one before, have one after a hundred plus breakfast lunch and dinner.
01:31:44
Speaker
Anytime you're outside water, a bottle of water and a hundred plus.
Cultural Experiences in Kuala Lumpur
01:31:48
Speaker
Like, did you to much other travel or any touristy kind of things while you were in Malaysia?
01:31:55
Speaker
um Yes, our final tournament weekend, we were in um KL Kuala Wumpur. um So we just stayed in a hotel.
01:32:07
Speaker
So we started off in a, um the team was based in a town called Gendron, which is outside of Kuala Wumpur. And really cool to like experience the, I guess what Malaysia is like to light person. You're not going to the touristy, you know,
01:32:26
Speaker
hearts and just seeing the you know the lights and the towers and all the cool stuff. um But like experience, what it's like being in a bit more, I won't say rural, but a bit more um just like outside of the city. And then so the for the our final our final week and a half we stayed in Kuala Wumpur and we just did tourist stuff.
01:32:47
Speaker
We just saw the towers, we saw the whole city um and the team and the girls were fantastic in taking us places, showing us different things, um taking us to eat just like street food and you'd know it's safe because they're they'd be eating it and they'd suggest and they'd order for you. And it was so it was pretty cool to get like a true vibe it is to grow there.
01:33:15
Speaker
how it is to up that
01:33:20
Speaker
Yeah, Malaysian food is so good. Underrated, underrated. i remember going there and also trying to go to the places where um it just looks like they've opened up someone's courtyard and made a restaurant out of it and there's all the plastic tables and chairs and all the locals eating it. That's the spots that you know are going to be good, right?
01:33:42
Speaker
Yeah, it's going to be good. you going to get fried chicken for breakfast with some rice, maybe some egg. um it's gonna be six dollars for like a whole meal like you get you could get you could eat you could eat it for breakfast lunch dinner it's gonna it's gonna be four dollars fifty like it's yeah it's great it was it it was a really really good experience yeah and milo dinosaur as a drink and a chandler for the dessert perfect
01:34:12
Speaker
john done yeah so much Milo they have more Milo than we have here thought Milo was an Australian thing no I'm wrong it's the Malaysian and the Milo in Australia and in Malaysia and in Indonesia and all the other places is different like Australian Milo and Malaysian Milo is slightly different it's little bit different yeah but they love it like it's at every restaurant um So what helped you decide to return to the NBL One East for this season and what do you look for when you're signing season to season?
Choosing a Basketball Team
01:34:47
Speaker
What do you look for in the team and the club and things like that?
01:34:52
Speaker
I say the same thing to um pretty much every every place I go and i I think I've said from the beginning is I just want to being in a team where I get, I guess I get better at basketball. We're playing good basketball. I'm learning from a coach that knows their stuff,
01:35:09
Speaker
um who is in like, an invested and who I am as a player. So like, if I get, I'm a coach that's like, he's like, yep, cool. I'm in the gym all time. You want to do an indie? You want to work on this? This is the kind of scout I do. If I hear those kinds of things, um,
01:35:27
Speaker
That excites me. If they've got ideas of they know the way I play, um they've done their like their research and they have got ideas of how I would actually benefit a team, that's the other thing I look at. because um yeah like I just like getting better.
01:35:42
Speaker
i like um yeah every Every year i want to I want to be a better player. It's less about whether you win lose and more about playing good basketball, developing yourself and um learning more.
01:35:59
Speaker
um So that's my first thing. And I think i was really excited um to work with Myles this year. Like i ah knew him as a person um first and I knew how much he's probably learned in his um Townsville career and um since then. And I was, yeah, so that was that was a big thing that drew me to Comets.
01:36:20
Speaker
um I think the other thing is the people. I want to be in a team where enjoy playing. I want to enjoy playing. I don't want... want the people to enjoy playing basketball too. I think basketball is all about who... Like the people and the community within it a lot of the time as well. So those are the things I look for um mainly when I'm um looking at playing in a different team.
01:36:46
Speaker
As far as coming back to New South Wales, I...
Balancing Basketball and Firefighting
01:36:50
Speaker
um had a job lined up. So that's, I'd been waiting, I'd pushed it back a whole year to go to play in Darwin and Malaysia.
01:37:01
Speaker
I couldn't push it back any longer. But when I had her when i had the conversation with Miles and a couple of other clubs that were very, very um excited to have me come back. um But yeah, having um But, yeah, so after that, I was, like, pretty certain I was excited I was going to come back. So between between all those things, that's why I ended up um committing to Comets, yeah.
01:37:26
Speaker
And what's the job that you were able to push it back an entire year? I guess I didn't push it back an entire year. I... um went through a recruitment process um at Fire and Rescue. So I'm a firefighter.
01:37:40
Speaker
um But as they train, um as you you have to attend the academy, as they train, got lucky enough to get in, which is um in it and itself pretty cool. um But as they train, they train in recruitment classes of 20.
01:37:58
Speaker
um So i just ah I just requested to be in the last class, um which meant a whole 100 people could go ahead of me, um and which just ah just allowed me to to do what I like to do for a little bit longer. Yeah.
01:38:15
Speaker
yeah And I mean, that must be a pretty physically demanding occupation. How do you juggle that with basketball? I was working long days. So the roster was a 10-hour day. So I was plus the drive and whatever. So I was pretty um flat when I'd get to training in the afternoons and I'd have to apologise. like, I've just, like, I've had it i've had a big day.
01:38:38
Speaker
um But now that I'm on the... full-time working roster, um we do 24-hour shifts so that while it seems like a long time you do get to sleep and you get rest in that time um when you're not called upon but it means I get five days off and I'm working two full 24-hour shifts so that actually gives me a lot of flexibility to play ball and to do the training I want to do and individuals and go to the gym and all those things so it's actually going to give me um
01:39:15
Speaker
and a good opportunity to continue my career and like have to have two careers, I guess, at the same time. um And they've like been very supportive. So it's, yeah, it's been really cool.
01:39:27
Speaker
Yeah, that's a really, really cool
Physical Training Benefits
01:39:29
Speaker
job to have. And um I imagine that your strength and conditioning from one can transfer into the other as well um because I know that the process to get in to be a firefighter and the training and stuff is pretty hardcore.
01:39:44
Speaker
It's very different. it's um It's different movements that you wouldn't I, before I even thought about it, wouldn't think, I was like, why would we be doing that kind of movement?
01:39:57
Speaker
um When I was looking initially at the physical test, but now that I've gone through all the training and then I'm working, i completely and I completely understand why it's so much like crawling and core work and all those different things. um So yeah, but it is like, it they do definitely correlate. It's made me stronger.
01:40:16
Speaker
um yes just it's just to my like my core section, but yeah, And, yeah it's short bursts of high cardio, which is great for basketball. So, like, it it has been it has been really, really good.
Leadership and Team Dynamics
01:40:27
Speaker
You are on the court and one one of the undoubted leaders of this Comets team. even though Even though you don't have the C next to your name, you are one of the leaders of this team. up What does taking on a leadership role look like for you?
01:40:41
Speaker
i think it's been the the first time um where I felt very obviously a senior player. and um obviously a leader.
01:40:55
Speaker
um I think that's that's actually been a really cool experience. Last year in Durham, we were a senior team. um and like previously like All the teams that have played previously, we've had more senior players.
01:41:10
Speaker
in like In this team, I'm definitely one of the older, but then also um more experienced players. I think it's just allowed, I feel more, not only confident, but I've really enjoyed like helping the younger players and um helping, i guess, the coaching staff too to see how it feels out on the court as well and help them make adjustments.
01:41:35
Speaker
um I think it's really important to bring like energy, especially to training. and i've um I've always thought it's really important, like it's how you show up.
01:41:48
Speaker
And even though i have I've had a lot a lot going on recently with all these different things in my life, i um Yeah, I found that so my best thing with my leadership is show like the way I show up and the positive attitude that i that I bring. I think that it's what I've done both to contribute to the team.
01:42:07
Speaker
So, yeah. Watching you from afar at Comets, you definitely look like you are very, very happy to be playing for that team. No, I do. i I love it.
01:42:19
Speaker
Yeah. Like I, I, I believe, I, I think we are a super young team, but we're like, are we really, believe we really believe in this team and it will like, it's, it's going to come together and we like everything everyone does is trying to be for the best of the team. Even if we're like, even if you're making mistakes, it's pretty cool to have like a team that's so, um, on like happy for everyone to do well um and excited for everyone to step up.
01:42:50
Speaker
So yeah, and I like ah i but like, I believe in Miles, I know what he wants to do and what he sees in that team and that that's pretty cool. And the girls are, while so young, so like genuine. So it's pretty, it's a pretty it's a pretty cool group.
01:43:07
Speaker
i'm I'm pretty honored to be part of it.
Mentoring Teammates
01:43:10
Speaker
Are there any particular players that you're kind of taking under your wing that are, you know, kind of your protege? God forbid.
01:43:21
Speaker
what that would I think that would give me too much credit. I don't think there's any particular players, but I think
01:43:33
Speaker
like to do is make sure I've connected with everybody on the team. Yeah. at some point throughout the season, like on a personal level as well as a basketball level. um Like try and grab a coffee with someone or try and get like dinner with each of the girls. um Just to check in on like if there's anything we can do to... I'm almost too scared to ask to help them develop.
01:44:01
Speaker
um or any like give them any wisdom as to how I got through a certain patch or a certain period or learn things like stuff that you don't initially think will help with your basketball, like watching more film or um like strength conditioning, those kind of things. um So and there's not one particular person, definitely not, but um i definitely I definitely think there's always value in checking in with or like all the girls and And our final question, so as we mentioned earlier, we bookend our interviews with the same question at the start and in the end.
01:44:37
Speaker
And I feel like we've already got a little bit of a taste of this final question in your earlier answer.
Life Balance and Personal Values
01:44:43
Speaker
But tell us more about who Abby Curtin is off the court. It's hard to completely separate yourself from basketball um because it's been such a big part of my life and I've moved around um based on my boss like I'm basketball and um something like it's something I've always wanted to do well I I think my big thing is I just always want to keep getting better um at basketball keep improving um but I guess outside of that now I guess I am um
01:45:23
Speaker
He's my firefighter. I guess I'm um just someone who I enjoy being happy i enjoy playing. i enjoy my friends, family and I enjoy my work. Well, Abby, thank you so much for taking time out of your very busy, at hectic schedule to be our guest this week on Scott Game. We really appreciate it. And we're really, really happy to see you playing back in NBL One East.
01:45:49
Speaker
No, thank you guys. Thank you for having me. Sorry it's been a bit a little bit laggy. It's probably my internet, but no, I appreciate it. You guys are awesome. And yeah, I am happy to be back. It's been nice being home.
01:46:02
Speaker
Lockie, would you do the honours? Don't sleep on the east.