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Season 3 Episode 22 - Grand Final Recap!
47 Plays25 days ago
Huuuuuuuuuge episode to celebrate the NBl1 East Grand Finals of 2025
Featuring:
* James Mullan (2FeetInDaPaint)
* Matt McQuade (Inner West Bulls and GOAT commentator
* Pete Herak - NBL1 East COTY 2025 from Canberra Gunners
* Nate Kirwin - NBL1 East COTY 2025 from Manly-Waringah Sea Eagles
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Social Media Promotion
00:00:37
Speaker
Hey, what's up everyone? Welcome back to another episode of East Got Game where we give you the X's, the O's and the insights of the NBL One East.
00:00:48
Speaker
Thanks for joining us tonight live on YouTube and Instagram and Facebook. And remember, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Instagram and Facebook at East Got Game.
00:01:01
Speaker
Or you can continue to find out episodes on your preferred streaming platforms.
Coverage of NBL One East Finals and Lockie's Weekend
00:01:06
Speaker
on this week's episode we'll be covering the grand finals that were in penrith over the weekend and also looking forward to the national finals in canberra but before we get into the headlines let's do a quick check-in locky how are you feeling after such a massive weekend Massive is right. I mean, i went out on Friday afternoon to watch some JPL finals, watched the ah Sutherland under-16 girls in their game and milled about, watched Illawarra and Penrith girls go to overtime. Had to catch the Norse Comets under-18s with players like Rebecca Donnelly and Liv Hastings and Malki Halwala from Comets.
00:01:50
Speaker
So it was real fun. And then, of course, grand final day on the Saturday and JPL as well beforehand. And then, yeah, calling the Manly versus COE grand final with Lockie Beavis was amazing.
00:02:02
Speaker
And then watched the watch the ah men's grand final from the bar right behind the Canberra bench with ah James and Garen. And had a quick chat to Cal Bruton, who was obviously there supporting both sides because his boys were on each team.
Highlights of Manly Warringah's Women's Grand Final
00:02:17
Speaker
An absolutely amazing day. ah Couldn't have wished for anything better. That sounds absolutely delightful and wholesome and very exciting indeed. And one of those aforementioned people you're watching the men's game with is going to join us very, very soon.
00:02:34
Speaker
ah but yeah, let's just quickly go through some of the headlines from around the East ah from the grand finals rounds. What do you got for us? Well, what what else is there to talk about? But the two grand finals and Manly Warringah were absolutely ruthless in getting the win over the center of excellence in the women's grand final.
00:02:57
Speaker
Won at but it was 51-24 halftime.
00:03:00
Speaker
at half time was all done in the first quarter. It was 24-7. I think Taylor Wurtz was 5-7 from three-point range at one stage.
00:03:11
Speaker
They just couldn't miss in the early stages, the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. And it was just, as I said last week, cold, calculated ball movement. They just... always got the better shots and, you know, the better looks. And, um, you know, they had their, they actually turned the ball over 19 times to 13, but they offset that so well with how good the looks they get are.
00:03:37
Speaker
Um, You know, it was, as I said, it was over early, but I think the COE can still be very, very proud of their efforts throughout the season.
Commentary Experiences and Co-commentator Dynamics
00:03:47
Speaker
You know, we talked a bit about, you know they got some players on rest, some players played a lot.
00:03:52
Speaker
In's, out's, Duckich not being there. know, and they, said you know, and to be fair, they were in pretty average form coming into finals and put it together at the right time, but they just ran into a team that nobody was beating on that day.
00:04:07
Speaker
um And, We've got ah just a quick comment on our Instagram live video from SJ from Love of the Game saying, Lockie, heard your call after. Well done, man. You killed it.
00:04:19
Speaker
Thank you, sir. Thank you, SJ. Yeah, Lockie Beavis, he just made the call so easy, honestly. um Yeah, i may I mean, I think all all three grand finals I've done, I've been lucky to get to call with great people.
00:04:33
Speaker
And that extends to when I did Nationals in 2022. I think so much of being a good commentator is how well you work with other people. And Lockie, Hamish, yourself, Squinn, twice, both at Nationals.
00:04:44
Speaker
ah Matt Hickey, Josh Morosky down at Nationals. They're from South and North. um Yeah. having Having a great co-commentator is half the battle sometimes.
00:04:56
Speaker
Yes, and I
Knox Raiders' Withdrawal and Its Implications
00:04:57
Speaker
can tell you a bit more about that maybe off air, what happens when you don't have great co-commentators sometimes. That might be a podcast for another time. no But to be fair, I've also had nothing but good commentators. But what's this about you crying during commentary? This is a vulnerable moment for you.
00:05:16
Speaker
so it's this person's fault. Delaney. Yes. So 40 seconds to go or so. They empty the bench, of course, Manly Warringah. They had ah four players who seen the court. So Niamh Smith, Gabby Van Dyke, Tanika Parker, and Freya Biker i hadn't gone on the court. So they emptied the bench.
00:05:36
Speaker
And Alex Delaney comes off court. And our commentary position is actually slightly to the left of centre. So camera position right in front, and then we're off to the left. So we're closer to the home bench. And I'm close enough to Alex Delaney to see that she is crying. And I was just gone straight away. i was actually saying, if I look, I said on the call, if I look at Alex Delaney for too long, I'm to start crying.
00:05:58
Speaker
Before I finished my sentence, there were tears. ah just couldn't help it. That's really, really nice. What a nice sentiment. I mean, you've been following players like Alex Delaney, Kim Dickinson as well for so long. And to see them finally get a chip, that must have felt really
Lockie's Commentary Insights and NBL One East Overview
00:06:14
Speaker
special.
00:06:15
Speaker
Yeah, it it really was. And um yeah, talking to Brian Delaney after the game about, you know, how long I've been following Alex. He comes out, puts an arm around me and just, you know, just like, I'm not a, okay.
00:06:31
Speaker
Everyone's going to be like, look, he's a Manly fan. He loves Manly now. It's like, I'm not a Manly fan. I'm a fan of this Manly team. The dynasty. I think that it's the people I know in this manly town. You know, and that's what people say. You're fan of every club. And it's like, well, I'm a fan of people for the most part.
00:06:52
Speaker
So, yeah. I think that's fair. think that's fair. And it sounds like the men's final was
James on Multi-club Coverage and Love for the Game
00:06:59
Speaker
quite exciting as well with Canberra securing their second championship in four years. Yeah.
00:07:05
Speaker
It was. it was very exciting. ah It was definitely a lot closer than the men's game. ah You know, the big names came to play. Todd Blanchfield, obviously looking to lead the Illawarra Hawks to a championship. He hit five of 16 from three-point range.
00:07:22
Speaker
But I think ah feel like all five were incredibly tough looks. um 10 of 11 from the line. But Glenn Morrison, he was a man who made a one-line speech as the losing captain at Penrith last year. And he came out and played like a man who did not want to have to do that again.
00:07:44
Speaker
Well, that sounds real. Like, it looks like a really great day. It looks like all our favorite people were there. So we may have to talk to some people who are right there in those championship winning sides a little bit later in the show.
00:07:57
Speaker
And just before we get onto our first very, very special guest for this grand final episode, There was news that broke today that the reigning NBL1 national champions, the Knox Raiders, have withdrawn from the national finals, sending the Illawarra Hawks into bat instead as they were the minor premiers of NBL1 East.
00:08:19
Speaker
So it looks like ah there's going to be four NBL talents missing from that Knox team, hence why they probably withdrew. But ah Jason Kadee did say something interesting in our episode last week, Lockie.
00:08:34
Speaker
He did. He he mentioned you know that this whole thing with NBL players having to leave before Nationals, it can often make it about
James' Season Highlights and Unexpected Outcomes
00:08:47
Speaker
just who's got their full roster there.
00:08:50
Speaker
Or if you're Canberra and you don't have NBL players, yeah if you can make it with a roster that doesn't have NBL players, you can often be in the box seat.
00:09:02
Speaker
And, know, we saw that with Rockingham in 2022. They had some guys who had just finished NBL and probably still NBL caliber players, but they weren't playing in the NBL at the time. So they were able to play.
00:09:14
Speaker
Frankston, you know, they had Lockie Barker and Iggy Hadziomerovic, who guys who, you know, were at or around the and NBL, but not quite there at the time. I think Barker probably picked up a DP spot or an end of the bench spot by the end of the season because he always does.
00:09:27
Speaker
But, you know, these these were teams that had guys that were right on the cusp. And, you know, We want to see the NBL guys at nationals.
00:09:38
Speaker
So, can we just get it ah week earlier? A week earlier, two weeks earlier. be very got to get so We've got to get something together. I was talking to Sammy Mack today, you know, chair coach of Aubrey Wodonga Bandits, about when are we when could we actually put nationals, I thought, maybe in a fever break window or ah long weekend like the June long weekend perhaps when no one's actually playing.
00:10:04
Speaker
Then we also threw around the idea of condensing some of the conferences so everyone has a uniform amount of teams, can start at the same time. and can end a little bit earlier, up but way above our pay grade.
00:10:19
Speaker
I mean, you don't even really, you don't need a uniform amount of teams, just a uniform amount of games. You know, if a 12-team comp plays a couple of teams twice and a 16-team comp just plays everyone once, South, of course, with their, think, 19 or 20 teams, you know, that's very tough.
00:10:35
Speaker
um But, I mean, there's way to, no schedule is uniform at the moment. And apart from North starting a month later, everything starts and ends at around the same time already. So maybe you just pick out one or two games or weekends from the season and just condense it.
00:10:52
Speaker
Yeah, yes, there's lots of to think about, I guess, in preparation for future NBL1 Nationals. Question mark around whether Illawarra will have their full
Role of Content Creators in the League
00:11:01
Speaker
squad, but here's hoping because Illawarra Hawks NBL team, ah their assistant coach, Joel Carlou, was the coach of the Mackay Meteors last season who also went to NBL1 Nationals final.
00:11:14
Speaker
So hopefully he's in favour of his team still playing the Nats. Yeah. Oh, fingers crossed. And I think it'll help, um you know, the connection that they all have, ah the two two entities have.
00:11:29
Speaker
And also the fact that, mean... i mean
00:11:35
Speaker
I know there's two schools to think about. it's like You could say that Kobe McDowell-White, Todd Blanchfield may not get a whole lot of minutes playing in the NBL this year, but still, if they're part of the squad, you still don't want them to get injured because it still compounds any issue that you you might have with injuries down the line.
00:11:50
Speaker
Suddenly, if a star player gets injured, then your next man up is not there kind of thing. So you can say, oh, there they're not likely to be 30-minute-a-night players. it's okay to send them to NBL one, but I'm sure the clubs aren't thinking that way. They're, you know, just as you know nervous about injuries as if it was, you know, Tyler Harvey.
00:12:10
Speaker
Well, we had ah Sammy Mac, Sam McDonald, uh, Yeah, McDonald. McDaniels. Sammy McDaniels. Jeez Louise, getting my Sammy Max messed up. Sammy McDaniels playing for the Brisbane Capitals here in NBL 1 North.
00:12:26
Speaker
He had a slight injury at the back end of the season and Brisbane Bullets pulled the pin and he didn't play any of the final series. I don't think he played the last round or last two rounds, didn't play any of the final series because last season he did hurt himself in the NBL 1 finals and he was unable to play for the and NBL season. So this time they're like...
00:12:47
Speaker
No. Yeah. Once bitten, twice sh That's right.
Humor and Cultural References in Commentary
00:12:51
Speaker
That's right. So let's see. It'll be interesting to see what teams and what rosters are going to be ah arriving to Nationals. But ah we can talk a little bit more about that. Let's get back on track, though, talking about the weekend that was the NBL1 East Finals.
00:13:08
Speaker
We have a very, very special guest patiently waiting in the wings. I can see they've even got a special singlet in the background ready to go. I'm keen to sit hear the story of that.
00:13:19
Speaker
This is someone that no one in the league will be a stranger to. They are one of the many faces of NBL 1 East, providing free content for everyone, doing the hard work behind the commentary brought box as well, covering four different clubs in a season, which to me just seems impossible.
00:13:38
Speaker
It is none other than James from Two Feet in the Paint. Hello, Frank. How are History in the making. It's great to be here. I'm a long-time listener, first-time guest.
00:13:50
Speaker
haven't missed an episode since season
Storytelling in Commentary with Matt McQuade
00:13:52
Speaker
one, so it it feels a bit surreal. I'm actually a little nervous to be here. Mate, it is borderline insulting that we haven't had you on the show earlier than we have now. So we appreciate your patience waiting to jump on today and for your call-up to be a guest on EGG.
00:14:12
Speaker
No, it's an honour. And as I said to you in that message, um there's hundreds of more interesting guests around the al basketball world community in New South Wales. So look, I'm just happy i finallyly you finally got my call up and um yeah, kind of get into it were after weekend that i feel like I'm still recovering from.
00:14:28
Speaker
Yeah, tell us all about it. You know, Lachie mentioned earlier that you and Garen and Lachie watched the men's final together. What was the whole finals day like from your perspective? Yeah.
00:14:40
Speaker
It was a bit interesting walking into the women's final because with CRE playing, there wasn't really a crowd for them. But I got to say, the Manly fans did a really good job of filling up the grandstand nonetheless.
00:14:52
Speaker
um We know Manly fans, no offense, don't like to get out of the peninsula that much. um We know that. I'm sorry, I'm a Bears commentator, so I'm a little biased there. But um yeah, it was a bit of a strange atmosphere for that one because there's also junior, as Lucky said, junior finals going on at the same time. yeah,
00:15:08
Speaker
um I actually got lost trying to get my way into Penrith Stadium, which is a bit strange because I'm the Penrith commentator this year. So I got a bit caught up and then was watching games. Oh, damn, missed quarter here.
00:15:19
Speaker
um Also, parking was an nightmare. But on the positives, though, the atmosphere was off the chain from those Manly fans. And um I remember two years ago, they brought it at UCED. They brought it this year as well.
00:15:30
Speaker
And ah you could just see the relief. I think Lockie's right to shed a tear or two, the relief on the players, but also the fans' faces, Nate Kerwin as well. um They really deserve it, the Manly the manly Girls team. um they've been They've been waiting four years for it.
00:15:45
Speaker
And, um yeah, it was just great to see them get over the edge finally. So there's there's a big sense of relief and... Boy, did they put on a great performance as well. That was just Manly basketball 101, the ball movement, the defense, the the the cutting, the shooting.
00:15:58
Speaker
It was like a perfect display of Manly's basketball why they've been so good for not just NBL one era, but also in Waratah before. And then um as the the sun went down a bit, the men's game came on and um the atmosphere really ramped up. It was intense in there.
00:16:13
Speaker
um Canberra fans, Illawarra fans, they they made the trip and they it was about 50-50 split in the crowd as well. um And the atmosphere was just off the chain in there. Like there was no no room to move.
00:16:26
Speaker
Both fans, fan groups are parochial. And I think you get that from your teams that are kind of one-town teams. um No offense of the Sydney squads. Yeah, maybe I'm just used to Bears games where sometimes the grandstand is not as full. But I know for the, um I guess, country teams, know Canberra's not much of a country team, but um ah the the fans just brought it and that game just lived up to expectation. it was just tit for tat, tit for tat.
00:16:48
Speaker
And it was getting down in the last few minutes. months Someone's got to win it.
Coach Pete on Canberra Gunners' Grand Final Strategy
00:16:51
Speaker
Was praying for overtime to so many lucky could spend a little more time together at the bar. But... um Ultimately, Canberra just edged it out in the end. and um And again, you can just see the relief on their faces. I mean, of course, Illawarra was sad, but Canberra, i think after the disappointment last year, like they they were they were kind of bounced back and um put on a great display as well.
00:17:10
Speaker
And a big shout out to Derek Emelofonwa as well. We've had huge raps on him for a couple of years now and he stepped up big time.
00:17:17
Speaker
Yeah, that's what I love about finals time too. Like Derek's been an integral part of the team this season, but just found something extra to get the Gunners over the line in this particular occasion. And he was crowned finals MVP, was he not? With his stat line he had, 28 points, three rebounds, four assists and a steal, and he shot at 55% overall.
00:17:41
Speaker
That did give him the MVP on his, am I right, James? Yeah, he did. He got the um MVP honors, rightfully so. um of course, Glenn Morrison probably put probably could have been up there, but we interviewed Glenn after the game he said um Derek really deserves it. He's flown under the radar a lot and is underrated in a lot of people's books. So, um again, just another weapon on the canberra on the Canberra side that they can use. And um I've always said that the NBL one is always a game of depth.
00:18:08
Speaker
um You know, you can have a great starting five, but if you don't have the people to back that up, as the season goes along, you end up falling off. And um even in times in the finals, those kind players can really step up. And yeah, I was really, really happy for Derek. Again, if you want a case for an NBL team in Canberra, you just throw it on the weekend. And um look, I'm sure Canberra is going to be shining for the Nationals. It's going to be shining for... um ah the was it the blitz or the pre-season tournament um in nbl so i gotta say canberra made a really good case for the nbl but it's probably a conversation for another day ah conversation that we've had more than a couple of times on this very podcast yeah yeah and i i i hey look i'm just we're just hoping to get gigs when um they eventually get back in the comp
00:18:54
Speaker
Yeah, so what was it like for you this season, James, having to cover commentary for so many teams? I thought two clubs. You know, last year you and Garren did Hornsby and North, and Lockie has been doing Sutherland and Comets. And in my mind, that that would just stretch me to my absolute limit. I already personally struggle with just doing a game of the week and a Brisbane Caps game on a weekend. How do how did you cover four clubs this season?
Canberra Gunners' Team Depth and Key Players
00:19:22
Speaker
we you We only did have three. Penrith was the third. Still three for a lot. We got UBL coming up, though, for UNSW. So, yeah, maybe that's the fourth there.
00:19:33
Speaker
um like Very patient girlfriend, i've got to say. um not many date nights happening um over Saturdays, Sundays, Friday nights sometimes. um I said that before the season. I'm like, I'm not going to be home a lot over the weekend. But Look, I think having a commentary partner like Garen, we love spending time together. we love those road trips out to Penrith. And I mean, Hornsby's closer to our houses, but you know um that kind of stuff, having someone to do it with, I think is what keeps you going.
00:19:59
Speaker
um Because yeah, Garen and I have so much fun talking smack in the car, getting ready for the game, heading home. um getting getting a feed after the game. I don't know if you can tell it from all our all our content is we love the East. We just love going to games. We love the atmosphere.
00:20:15
Speaker
um And we're just we're just so fortunate um and thankful to Penrith and Hornsby and North for letting letting us do games. I mean, Spiders only... you know We can only do half the games for Spiders. Sorry to the Spiders fans out there.
00:20:28
Speaker
Wish we could do all of them. But um they they they accommodate us for for only half the games. And Penrith got us on board this year as well, and they've been awesome. And, um yeah, it's very exhausting, though, because i'll also work five days a week. So sometimes it gets to Monday. I'm like, oh, no. What?
00:20:47
Speaker
I swear I had more time. So the weekend's normally just like three hours on a Sunday night where I get to lie down and relax a little bit. i feel I feel that, mate. I feel that. And these guys, they they love the East. like they're They're dropping names at the bar with me. They're on par. You know, like dudes can just stand around maybe old sports players and have the best time.
00:21:08
Speaker
That's James Garrett and I at the bar during the men's game. that's true Garen's got the waratah league on lock here he remembers it like um like it was yesterday and um yeah I've um definite definitely
NBL One East League Development and Contributor Recognition
00:21:20
Speaker
spent a little too much time preparing for commentary editing videos and all that kind of stuff that that you just come out come familiar with um so many players and you also realize there's just a lot of talented players out there who don't get the recognition which something we try to do on two feet we try to shine a light on players and maybe don't get as much attention Yeah, I think Lockie and I also try and do the same with EGG, try and shine a light on some of al the players that we admire that probably don't make the headlines all the time but are always doing the hard work and playing really well and representing East really well.
00:21:53
Speaker
And i feel like sometimes the content between Two Feet in the Paint and EGG can sometimes complement each other where the players that we haven't spoken to, you guys are. So then between us and Love of the Game, everyone's nearly covered.
00:22:08
Speaker
Yeah, we we got them all. We finally got a Josie Borman interview. I'll tell you what. like we We got one on the weekend. And i remember, episode one this season, you guys had Josie on, and um we're just like, finally, we get to hear more about her and guys like Geordie Hunter as well.
00:22:22
Speaker
He's absolute character. I really enjoyed that episode. um and But yeah, again, it's more more the unsung heroes of their teams. um But people just... Real interesting stories because a lot of these people aren't full-time athletes. So to find out what's going on outside of the game makes them just as impressive when you actually watch them between the lines.
00:22:40
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's what's kind of cool about the East as well. It is semi-pro, so you've still got people who are juggling the nine to five, just like the three of us are around commentary. They're juggling it around playing and training and travelling and stuff. So you still want to respect the people off the court as much as on the court.
00:23:01
Speaker
But, yeah, what have been some of your highlights with Two Feet in the Paint this season? Oh, wow. It really feels like a blur. um It really does. Okay. I got i got a few, actually. um mean One of them actually came in Penrith earlier this year, um which is a very kind of strange one that just stood out for me. And again, no offense to the Manly family. I was giving you huge reps before, but I'm going to rub something in a little bit here. um It was a game between Penrith and Manly.
00:23:27
Speaker
um it was maybe round two or three um where... Everyone ah coming in, I'm like, yeah, you've got Bragg, Lee, um Eldridge. like Panthers have struggled a little bit in the last two years. No chance they'll get the win. And the Panthers came out.
00:23:41
Speaker
No Ben Kierens, who's one of their star players. And they upset Manly that day, which is just incredible. um And Jonah Perez, who's a player that I can't say enough good things about. Jonah Perez really keep an eye out. I'm glad to see him get in the um youth ah you top five voting um or whatever it's called.
00:24:00
Speaker
um this year and they they came in and they upset them. And um it was just a ah good wake-up moment that ah what a lot of guests have said on this podcast is like no team can be underestimated in this league.
00:24:12
Speaker
And um to see a Penrith side that out of I think they scored a 15, they only had one non-Penrith junior or two. um The rest of them were all Penrith boys. um I think that was a huge highlight.
00:24:23
Speaker
um Flipping over to the women's game though, um and I've talked about a lot and guess gets talked about a lot in the league, but watching Jessie May Hall this year for the Spiders was ridiculous. um Last year, she burst onto the NBL1 scene. And then this year, um we always made the joke on commentary, Lucky Specsavers is um sponsoring the Spiders this year because our eyes just could not keep up with like her darting around. and She seems like...
00:24:48
Speaker
A player who who just... like Physics just doesn't really matter for her. She she can jump in the passing lanes, run the fast break. um There's so many games where she where you would... You'd look down at your score sheet and you're like, whoa, what?
00:25:01
Speaker
like Are these numbers wrong? Is this updating badly? Is there an error here? Just every stat category she's filling up. But... um Yeah, you've got to believe the hype on watching Jessie May Hall. And um also even just like the Spiders women's program, I've got to give a big shout out to as well. They are very resilient and they're they're so much fun off the court as well. You can tell they really enjoy playing together.
00:25:21
Speaker
um And those two clubs well, Penrith and Spiders, haven't done that great in the last two years. No offense to the people, that but it's not from a lack of effort and a lack of culture in those clubs. And I think one thing we've talked about a few times is it's it's easy for you teams to look good and happy and, you know, you're all your social media posts when you're winning.
00:25:42
Speaker
But Hornsby, even when they're losing their women's team, their Instagrams are just filled with posts of them hanging out with each other and, you know, just having fun together.
00:25:53
Speaker
And I mean that demonstrates more of a culture than, you know, than anything. Yeah, no, it's wonderful. And um Nicole Hutchins makes a great cookie as well, which I think just keeps everyone it keeps everyone really fired up as well. So, yeah.
00:26:09
Speaker
yeah Squint, how do we not know this? I don't know. I i haven't been had the privilege of having baked goods from Hutch, but, I mean, it goes to prove that you don't win friends with salad.
00:26:23
Speaker
You certainly win friends with cookies. I got to say the references on this podcast, sometimes you can tell we're all kind of born in um a very similar era. don't know, man. Some of your references I've heard in the commentary ah and the games that we've reviewed where you and Garen have commentated. I'm like, how is James picking up some of these references? Because they are beyond his years. Like some of them are.
00:26:49
Speaker
quite deep cut where they're probably more our era than yours. And I'm always really impressed to and surprised at what you come up with. Like I'll have to pause it every 15 seconds just to write down. And then James said this bit.
00:27:02
Speaker
And then James said this bit. Like some of your references, I'm like surprised at that they seem beyond your years. But, yeah, I love them. They're great. ah Thank you. i've got three elder brothers and um I love a bit of Aussie nostalgia. That's something always got. We always try to put in um putting some of that into our videos as well. And and thank you for Who Dares Wins with Mike Whitney for sponsoring our women's video last week.
00:27:22
Speaker
And um also Crazy Johns for sponsoring our um Photographer of the Year Award. That was really generous of Crazy Johns, especially in our financial position. Crazy Johns. you It makes sense now when you say you've got older brothers. I'm like, this is like, these are the types of references that surprised me because they were things that were around when I was a kid. And I'm like, I'm pretty sure I got like 10, 15 years on you, James. So that's I was like, how do you know about Crazy Johns? and Who yeah are we getting at what who who we getting sponsoring next year? Ansett?
00:27:55
Speaker
OneTel? Yeah. Axel the Crazy Frog. We were in talks with Hogs Breath Cafe, but then we realised there's still two of them exist.
00:28:06
Speaker
And we actually went to one out in St. Mary's um on the way home from a Penrith game. And um i don't know if i have whole earth but I have also been Breath. Actually, the second ever Waratah League game I went to was it at Penrith.
00:28:22
Speaker
And I went to Hogs Breath afterwards. And that was 11 years ago. oh boy. They're still hanging around. So, yeah. The original one that opened in early beach is still there as well.
00:28:35
Speaker
That's the OG. And Lockie Everett put in the Instagram live Bob Jane team up, but I'm pretty sure that's still around too. Definitely.
00:28:46
Speaker
Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Um, Yeah. ah Oh, we've got another guest who has jumped on. and That's okay. They can just sit in the green room for a couple of minutes.
00:28:59
Speaker
um Now, James, we've got to ask, tell us about that jersey you've got in the background. It's a good story. ah Yeah. Well, i well i know that um I know that every week i always... mean, now im I'm glad that you guys let film the show now because we can see some of the niche jerseys that um you two have collected over your years of of fandom and playing as well. But this is a 2023... Oh, 2022 Townsville Heat. Yeah.
00:29:23
Speaker
three on a twenty twenty two um townsville heat um NBL one jersey. don't know any Townsville Flames jerseys. I don't so don't know why Townsville is two different sides, but um my family's originally from Townsville and um um the first ever NBL game i went to was it was a Townsville Crocs game up at the Swamp and um players like Toddy Blanchfield were actually playing in that game, which was a full circle moment because I got to interview him ah this year, which was a bit surreal. I don't normally get starstruck when I interview players, but with Toddy, I was like, wow, I've been watching you for ah for years. And um i remember even as a kid trying to model my game off him a little little bit.
00:30:00
Speaker
Not very successfully, might I add. But Toddy, if you do one-on-one coaching, I'm happy to... just shout you some hogs breath cafe yeah so so soggy mushrooms for it um but yeah so uh we actually custom ordered these in um uh so yeah it's not a real player it's just been on bry like and my family name on it um but it was actually the same year the uh townsville women with eliza fabbro won the north championship i think that year um which is there you so i knew lucky would definitely know that but um well um
00:30:34
Speaker
I actually commentated the Townsville-Aubrey-Wodonga women's match at Nationals. Damn, he's done everything, folks. He's done everything. um Yeah, so that's that's the one I got up there. So it still got a very soft spot for Townsville and we'll hope one day the Crocs can come in. But, hey, the Fyre are um ah holding down the Fort Real World. They've been in great form for so many years now under Shannon Seabombs. Yeah.
00:30:58
Speaker
um And Kate Seabom now, I think, is an assistant coach up there. So there's there's a lot of lot of strange connections between Townsville and um the East as well. But um no, it's it's it's it was just what got me into basketball originally when um my auntie took me to a game all those years ago at the Swamp.
00:31:14
Speaker
That's a really sweet story. And love props to your auntie ah well for taking you. does she is she across all of the content that you've been creating and you're commentating and stuff? The the seed that she's planted has grown.
00:31:29
Speaker
Mum, I noticed all my aunties started falling to feed a couple weeks ago and I can just tell mum put it in the group chat, like, look what James is doing. It's great. yeah um She does actually, she used send us some Crocs merchandise back in the day. So I've got some old valuable stuff. But um yeah, they they they were very proud of um what, what ah I mean, that what little we've achieved here. I'm commentating. So now she knows.
00:31:50
Speaker
Because back then I didn't even play basketball. school i played cricket, but that game kind of hooked me. um So yeah, she's very aware of it. and We got our James O'Donohue, one of the goat photographers of MBL1 period, not just the East, jumping in on Facebook saying two feet in the East and East got paint.
00:32:12
Speaker
Perfect. Perfect collaboration names. Thank you, James. james don James O'Donohue took photos on Saturday.
00:32:23
Speaker
and wow Oh, my Lord. He me after the game, 22,000. The 30 frames a second, the old shutter was working hard.
00:32:34
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, the photography and videography crew at Penrith was was insane. It was so good. And um and that's another thing that actually was maybe a low-key highlight of the year has been the um the coverage of the league um from, you know, being a W2 photographers and videographers has been amazing.
00:32:51
Speaker
crazy i i don't know how they do it so some of these like some these photographers so i'm not going to try and name any of them or all of them you know you all know who you are that's just done such a good job but covering the east and that was a huge highlight of the year um and i think the players and and coaches and everyone gave us plenty to shoot so um yeah big shout out to all the content creators and photographers and videographers Yeah, and James just said the 20,000 snaps he took on the weekend was between JPL finals in the morning and NBL one finals. And listen, James, if you need us to ah Venmo you some money so you can buy yourself a couple of more coffees or energy drinks to stay up editing those photos, let us know because that's a ah lot of work. But I think it was you guys from Two Feet in Da Paint. I always say Two Feet in Da Paint as well.
00:33:40
Speaker
Two Feet in Da Paint. ah who did make a really good post or something online this year just recognising not only the photographers, videographers of the East, but just making the point that I agree with, no bias, that the East has some of the best videographers and photographers of the league, like, period.
00:34:06
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. i remember even like year well, I was was making the joke, i think, with um Aaron from North and um on Saturday saying that the photographer for North's first ever home game was me um with my little crappy DSLR. And um that was season one, game one. And now we have just such...
00:34:24
Speaker
great coverage um all over the league and so many talented players. And yeah, we did we did the top five. It was really hard to narrow it down to five. So we tried to split into two categories and um make extra awards. it was just a way of recognizing all these people who, hey, some of them, you got you got to say, don't get paid as well. They do this freelance and um kind of do it out of passion.
00:34:41
Speaker
um So, I mean, even though we don't have that big a following, i just wanted a way of just saying, like, please, like, if even if you can't give these people money for what they do, like, follow, like, subscribe and share, comment, because it makes a big difference.
00:34:55
Speaker
um And as i was saying just a little earlier, The players have just brought it this year. They've given us so many things to be excited about um and so many things to cover. And um that's also why we did podcast of the year. So congratulations to making the final six.
00:35:09
Speaker
um We didn't crown an MVP. Yeah, thank We can do it. But, you know, love of the game and JMO, they do a great job. The Hawks hang out. um Damien from... Oh, no, I said i wasn't goingnna list anyone um because i know I was going to miss people, but Lucas up at Manly as well.
00:35:24
Speaker
The more content, the better, because even if you feel like there's not an audience out there, I will be hoovering up all that information because it makes our commentary ah a lot better. um it helps improve the the commentary as well, which I think is an underrated part of it.
00:35:36
Speaker
um But also, there are so many things to talk about, and i think once people discover the league um who may be a basketball fans but haven't had look at NBL 1 before, Like they've got so many points to jump in and and and the photographers, um videographers and podcasters just make the league look so good.
00:35:55
Speaker
It sounds so good. And I think it stems from, fact as you said, first Norse game, it was just you with you, you know, your camera. um You know, in the first season, maybe all the freelancers and content creators were kind of filling a void that the club and the league perhaps weren't,
00:36:10
Speaker
doing as well now the clubs and the league have stepped up and everyone's still producing as well so we've really got it coming from all three angles we've got you the league's doing great job the clubs are doing a better job and the freelancers and content creators are still bringing you it just as well as they always have and better in a lot of cases
00:36:30
Speaker
yeah totally agree totally agree um Lockie Everett in the chat says, I wonder who organized the fabulous software to upload it all.
00:36:41
Speaker
I'm guessing that's some kind of back-end NBL1 stuff. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks for letting me on Iconic this year. That actually made my job so much easier. You start to you still have to, sorry to all the photographers out there for stealing your photos. That's where I'll i'll buy you coffee next game.
00:36:56
Speaker
But, um yeah, that centralized photo system, I'd spend, like, twice the amount of time editing a video because I'd have to go on Instagram and then, like, either screenshot or go to, like, a, like, kind of shonky Instagram downloader, like, bootleg website and get it down to um to to get those graphics for the videos we make. So, yeah, having that all centralized is great. so Lucky, thank you for the platform. Thank you.
00:37:19
Speaker
And thanks for letting me in. Don't kick me out. Yeah. And we've got a great question here for you, James, from Love of the Game. Which player did you enjoy calling the most this season since you covered the whole league?
00:37:31
Speaker
i see no I see no lies in that. ah You essentially did cover whole league. Damn. This is really hard not to... Oh, Well, did yeah, I did mention Jesse Mahill before, so I won't double up.
00:37:45
Speaker
um ah I'll pick just one home player to start off with, which Carla Pittman from North. um She elevated to a whole new level this year, and you can tell those two two years in the WNBL have really developed her game.
00:37:59
Speaker
um and also playing UBL as well for UCEDD. Everyone get around UBL if you're missing um any of the actions, by the way, put that plug in. But Carla Pittman, especially when she put the shooting sleeve on, was just incredible this year. And just to see her develop from a player who four years ago um was like kind of featuring off the bench when North had a lot more of a kind of established starting five um to really carrying this team, not just in point scoring, but in rebounds, assists, and um seeing her develop over the years. And she's so exciting. Like when she gets that first step going baseline, ah tell you what, shut the gate, it's over. Like she's so quick.
00:38:35
Speaker
um And if nothing's doing, she can just pop up for three as well. So really did enjoy um watching her play this season. um So that's just for the Bears. But, oh, boy, it's really hard to pick... um To pick a player from one, that's a good shot that's a good question, SJ. Actually, i'm one other player I really do enjoy to give manly men a bit of love is Mason Bragg. And I know we they everyone does hype up Mason Bragg, so I won't stay in for too long, but I've never seen ah such a methodical point guard who can just glide around the court. Like he's the silver surfer, or I can't even remember what you guys called that. Quick silver. Quick silver. silver. over
00:39:11
Speaker
That's a good one. um Yeah, he he's so methodical with the way he plays the game. And and i don't know, I've just never really seen a point guard like that after years of following basketball. He's very dynamic um on the ball. And of course, I really did enjoy watching Toddy play um live and in full HD at the Bear Cave, um which is just wonderful. But...
00:39:31
Speaker
you know would Then extended podcasts because must go through all the plays in the league. Oh, and one last one, actually, one last one because this didn't actually get a whole lot of attention. Sarah Cherry played her final NBL One East game or Waratah top division, ABA, whatever you want to call it. um I think I could be wrong.
00:39:49
Speaker
Don't shoot me on this one, but i think it was after... 20 or 25 years um in the top flight of New South Wales basketball um and got a chance to chat to a little more this year and um just mad props to Sarah Cherry. I didn't get enough coverage um for playing a final game in the top flight of New South Wales basketball. So it was an honour and a privilege to watch Saz Cherry from, I think she previously, like you probably had with her, played for North, played for Hills as well when Hornsby didn't have a team. So it was it was an honour to be part of Saz Cherry's last game.
00:40:19
Speaker
and Very good. Quicksilver. Very nice. We didn't coordinate that one. Perfect. When you live in Cronulla, Quicksilver fills your wardrobe.
00:40:31
Speaker
The part that isn't jerseys. Yeah.
00:40:36
Speaker
And we've got to go ahead, everyone, and jump online and vote for Mason Bragg. He's down to one of the top he's down to the top two of the Red Bull moment of the year in NBL1. So get online, vote for Mason Bragg, represent the East for Red Bull moment of the year. ah But, James, before we say goodbye and bring on our next guest, actually, let's have a five-minute crossover.
00:41:00
Speaker
with our two guests. I'm not too sure. I'm not, James, I'm not too sure if you could see who's waiting in the green room to jump on after you. it Sarah Cherry? Yeah. No. that That would have been a great outing right cross out. That would be hilarious. Well, think of it this way. and the The three of us in our budding commentator careers and content creator careers are all just following in the giant footsteps of arguably the goat of MBL.com.
00:41:33
Speaker
and nbl1 commentary uh he cut he's covered the inner west bulls he's covered the sydney kings i'm sure he's probably i wonder if he's he's covered the australian boomers at some stage too we may as well get him on and ask it's only matt mcquade guys you're really embarrassing the crap out of me aren't you just yeah hu Please.
00:41:57
Speaker
And I heard what you said, and it was very kind. I ain't no Damien Martin or Andrew Gaze. You know, I don't need an award name for me, please. But I do appreciate this.
00:42:08
Speaker
I would love it. Actually, Boomers and Opals. ah once a upon to okay Once upon a time, I was the Australian Opals media manager for a night.
00:42:23
Speaker
ah They played Brazil down in Wollongong at the sandpit. And it was my job to manage all the interview requests for primarily Penny Taylor and LJ, so who are both lovely people, obviously.
00:42:40
Speaker
So, yeah, so that that's one of my connections to the Opals. And, yeah, I have called Boomers games as well. Now, Lockie Everett's on the Instagram Live winding you up, Matt, saying, could you sit any further away from your camera, Matty? You don't want to see this place. I've got a face for radio, I've been told, so, you know.
00:43:01
Speaker
That's why we commentate, Lockie, because of Lockie Everett. That's why we commentate. It's my little laptop. Let me break. Bloody Everett, go away. I know Mr. Everett very well.
00:43:13
Speaker
Now, while we're in this little commentator's corner here, umarily James, before we say goodbye to you, is there anything you'd like to ask the goat? yeah He already hates me because of something that wasn't my fault, but anyway. yeah That's for the Patreon version. That's for the Patreon version of this episode. Yeah, the up late version, the unleashed. Big brother up late. Yeah, big brother uncut. There we go. Oh, no, guys. Move the team, guys.
00:43:44
Speaker
um but No, it's going to be Matt. How do I get a grand final gig? Maybe polish the game off a little bit. um But no, for Matt, ah the um the the one question I do have, um as someone who's relatively new to commentating and all this is...
00:44:02
Speaker
Don't you ever want your weekends back? And what keeps you going in year in, year out? Like I've got to say, like I know you're passionate about the game, but um what what motivates you every um February, March, every year when they give you a call again? What what keeps you going?
00:44:17
Speaker
It's, you just said it. It's love and it's passion. is Those are the two things. And I've always said this to anybody who asks me, you know, yeah they're they're starting you know, what should I do?
00:44:29
Speaker
It's number one, you got to have that. That's one. And most people would have that in terms of, mean, we all do. We've all been around a long time. We all love this game to death, you know.
00:44:40
Speaker
I'm older than a lot of you probably combined these days. You know crazy you know you would know Crazy Johns better than any of us. You know what's funny? ah i was listening to what James was saying.
00:44:52
Speaker
You guys did the whole we're sponsored by Black Stump. Remember Black Stump? I used to love that. There was one in Bankstown I used to go to. Oh, my God. There was one in Windsor. There was one in Windsor. There was one in Aaron Affair as well. Black Stump.
00:45:06
Speaker
yeah that was not an ah fair as well no blex time Oh, my gosh. yeah Sorry. Sorry, I got you off track. Getting serious. So that's that. And then the other thing is just you've got to be prepared to put the work in. You've got to be prepared because I know, look, we all do.
00:45:24
Speaker
Preparation is absolute key. That's fundamental. If you don't prepare properly – And by that, you have to dig up as much information. You have to trawl through stats. You have to – and everybody's got different ways of doing it. I've got my own particular way.
00:45:40
Speaker
um i I print out a whole sheet about that thick. And I don't know if Lachim might have seen it in the grand final, but it's got you know notes, all kind any kind of stats, which is why you know guys like – oh, God, I'm going to forget his name – Hoops DB, who does all the stats, like that is God's own work for me because that makes my life so much easier to sort of go in there and go bang, bang, bang, bang. Because, I mean, the league stats are good. They're certainly a lot better, I think, with degree that they used to be, but they're not kind of what we as commentators, you know, because being a commentator, it's not just calling the play.
00:46:20
Speaker
It's telling the story. And in order to tell the story, you've got to understand about a player, about his tendencies, about his stats. You've got to understand about the team that's going back on, you know, I've got to understand what what Canberra is all about as an organisation since it all started.
00:46:39
Speaker
I've got to understand, obviously, the the background in Willowarra, but not just them. Everybody, has to be everybody in the league. Because you've got to be able to sound like you know what you're talking about at a base level.
00:46:50
Speaker
And, yeah, so preparation is is so huge. and it's But fundamentally, yeah, it does come down to love and passion, James. I mean, look, I wouldn't do it otherwise, you know, and for so long.
00:47:05
Speaker
Would you say it comes down to the love of the game? Big shout to SJ as well for you as chinning in. But no, I get you. That's why that's why we do it. You're definitely not in this business for the bucks. No, we're not in it for the money. I mean, let's be honest, we're not.
00:47:20
Speaker
We've all got job. We've all got nine to five jobs. Some of us 12-hour-a-day jobs these days. But... um Yeah, and but but how I also see it is it's it's not work if you love it, if that makes sense. It's more, you know, I spend hour upon hour upon hour putting stuff together every week.
00:47:38
Speaker
I know you do, Jacinda. I know Lockie does. um i know James does as well. And and um you know that that the good ones you can tell. Yeah, they do all that. They've got the love, they've got the passion, and they do the prep.
00:47:52
Speaker
Yeah, and like I totally agree. I like what you said that you mentioned to the Warren Cameron and they said you've got to know everyone because something that I took with me when I – actually, learned this when I was doing my football refereeing course is that every game is the most important game in the world to someone. Yeah.
00:48:10
Speaker
Yeah. um Doesn't matter if you're refereeing a World Cup final or, you know, Tuesday night social comp. If you make that wrong call, someone's going to get very upset.
00:48:22
Speaker
And I take that into everything i do with commentary. What I did for the grand final, I'm going to be doing for youth two women this weekend at Terrigal. I will do exactly the same preparation because the parents and the families of those players and the players themselves deserve to have a game called professionally.
00:48:40
Speaker
Yep.
00:48:42
Speaker
100%. Yeah, actually, yeah, couldn't agree more. I love that slogan. always love the slogan that every game's the grand final. But all right, anyway, as much as far out, I really don't want to go. But um look, I'll leave you in the hands as well. we'll have to do this again. We'll have to do this again. It looks like we've got this little commentator's corner going. We're going to have to have some kind of commentator. Yeah, new show coming as well next week commentator's corner.
00:49:05
Speaker
Commentator's Corner, little side hustle. Sponsored by Seagaworld in Darling Harbour. Take the monorail there now.
00:49:13
Speaker
right. That's me. Thank you so much, A-Scot game people. I just wanted say thank you um for all the work hard work you guys do. um Haven't missed an episode and and you help us out the league so much and made preparation ah prepare for commentary so much.
00:49:28
Speaker
um And I just want to say I really appreciate the effort you two put in. um I don't think a lot of people maybe acknowledge how much um preparation goes into all of this. So I just want to thank you so much um because you made it a lot easier for for us to do what we do. So thank you guys.
00:49:43
Speaker
ah Thank you so much as well, ah James, for all of your content and for your dedication to the East and you always lead with your heart and your passion for the East and the game first, which definitely comes across in all your commentary and your content. So thank you all. So thanks for coming on, even though it's a long time.
00:50:02
Speaker
coming, but we've definitely got to tee something up again very soon. Yeah, I'll see you next week. See you in Canberra. See you in Terrigal. Oh, yeah. See you there, guys. All right.
00:50:13
Speaker
Yeah. See you, brother. See All right, now we do have another guest waiting in the green room patiently, but before we bring them on, Matt, because it actually is good timing, so maybe given that you commentated the men's final, this next guest having you both at the same time is quite serendipitous. It wasn't not entirely planned, but here we are. We love how the universe provides.
00:50:37
Speaker
Matt, before we bring the next guest on, tell us your perspective from the NBL One East finals day. Fantastic, obviously. um And it was interesting listening to you guys before and you were talking about it it is so true. i mean, the three of us have been part of this thing since it started in 2022.
00:50:59
Speaker
And the first thing that struck me walking in to Penrith, and obviously I came for both games, was just the setup and how much more professional it continues to get.
00:51:13
Speaker
So for, and and the the amount of media that was there, the photographers and the, you know, the videographers, as you guys talked about, the content generators, which has just gone, it's exponential from what it was when we started in 2022. And then then obviously with me and Waratah, that goes back and ABA,
00:51:34
Speaker
I mean, we're talking way, way back. ah And it's just a completely different, excuse the pun, ball game. It really is because of the of so many people getting involved and providing not just content. I mean, look, anybody can provide content.
00:51:50
Speaker
Great. And you talked about it, Jacinta, and you're on the money. I think it's it's the best I've seen. i mean, look, purely from a selfish aspect, obviously, even, you know, Lockie talked about it, the clubs, and Interwest Bulls, Tane Mundine, I've got to give the young man a shout out, and he does all the social media for the Bulls, and he's done a fabulous job, and he's only come on, that was last year, he's just a young guy, still learning, but...
00:52:16
Speaker
He's there, he's working his butt off at every game and and it's fantastic to see. And I'm sure there's that story in pretty much every one of the 16 clubs. And then you've got kind of, if you want to say the freelancers, I mean, James and Garand do a phenomenal job.
00:52:30
Speaker
Obviously, goes without saying what you two guys have done has been phenomenal. um And then obviously SJ now and and um and other people just – other podcasts and um stuff on youtube and instagram it's it blows my mind and so walking in there and seeing all these people and seeing how bnsw set everything up you know we had media areas we had little little tents on the court too and and uh yeah and the bar and and everything it was um yeah it just got me really pumped uh
00:53:06
Speaker
Look, ah you know, from from the women's perspective, ah look, I knew, I figured that was going to happen. I mean, Manly were phenomenal. um You know, Nate Kerwin's someone I know for a long, long time. I do tend to say that a lot about people I know, and it bores some people to death because, oh, McQuade knows this person, McQuade knows that person.
00:53:26
Speaker
I can't help it. I mean, Nate's a good friend. And, you know, um so – and I know how much it meant to him. And so I was absolutely thrilled for him and thrilled for the girls.
00:53:38
Speaker
But I was a little bit not – I don't want to be too harsh on the COE girls because, I mean, I mean, Sataya Fagan is the future of basketball.
00:53:49
Speaker
She is. I mean, like, what's she got? 26 power four college offers, which is a record yeah for an Australian. And she can take a pick. She wants to go play with Dawn Staley at North Carolina, fine.
00:54:01
Speaker
She wants to go play wherever. i mean, you name it. It's an amazing position to be in. Zara Russell, another one. I mean, these these girls are phenomenal.
00:54:13
Speaker
But I kind of thought it was a a brief it was a bridge too far. I think purely selfishly, I would have loved to have seen Manly Norts because i would I think they would have packed that place out. And that was the only slight disappointment of the day for me, that the girls' grand final wasn't as well patronaged as what Illawarra, Canberra and the men were, because they deserved it.
00:54:33
Speaker
Because the women's competition, i mean, um look, Lockie's the guy as far as that's concerned, but I'm a massive advocate of Swinton knows as well. And... The women's competition has been phenomenal this year.
00:54:48
Speaker
Absolutely awesome. And again, it just continues to go to... and you either We get girls from WNBL. The imports are improved for the most part. you know There's more depth, more competitive games.
00:55:02
Speaker
You're not getting you know as many. You're getting the odd one, but not as many of the blowouts. So like the men's comp, super competitive, of course. So that's, yeah, that that was the only thing I would like to have seen more people. and but But Manly were fabulous. Taylor Wirtz, I mean, that first quarter, that was ballgame.
00:55:20
Speaker
You know, she was just incredible. And Zoe Miller and, you know, and I get what you saw. I ah saw Alex. ah ah i didn't I was standing right next to Locker. I didn't see the tears, but I saw Alex. I was too late watching the game, but I can understand it because, I mean, she's a great girl, obviously. And and um again, it it was great to see. And and from a personal standpoint, seeing Nate get his championship ring and getting absolutely drenched in champagne afterwards.
00:55:48
Speaker
Because he came over and had a chat. But so yeah, and then the men. i Look, you know, I've called a lot of games in my life um and that was that was up there. that That game was phenomenal. I'll use that word phenomenal.
00:56:04
Speaker
It was ah an amazing game and I did expect it to be because people were asking me, who's your tip, who's your tip? I said, well, you can make an argument for either team. and and i'd And I'd believe it.
00:56:15
Speaker
um But at the end of the day, there there was that one team that is the epitome of that word and is so magnificently coached, um has a core group of guys that, you know, use the words connection and chemistry and togetherness and understanding. And um they may not have the imports, the flashy imports whatever,
00:56:38
Speaker
whatever they've got some outstanding players but they are unselfish every everybody's involved at some level um so you couldn't have found a more worthy winner um than canberra and um illawarra i kind of felt like ran out gas at the end because you know maddie flynn who's a great head coach done a phenomenal job this season that he had to rely on kind of those four guys and he wore them into the ground. I thought, and when they were missing shots down the stretch, that's how you knew, know, they started, Toddy Blanchfield started getting a bit short on his threes and as great as he was and, and,
00:57:18
Speaker
William Mayfield did an amazing job defending him at the expense of his own scoring output, did everything else, you know, nine assists and bunch of rebounds and three steals and the usual diving on the floor for loose balls. And that's what he does. And and James Toohey did his thing. And Emile Fonwu was amazing. I mean, he was our minor Mookie's pick for MVP.
00:57:41
Speaker
ah We had one of the votes and um so I was glad to see him get it. Well, I'm just so glad to hear that you have so many nice words to say about the Canberra Gunners program and their coach because waiting very patiently in the green room. He knows love coach of the year. There he is. This was not planned at all. So I just love how things are.
00:58:06
Speaker
a turnout like this. Thank you, Universe, for providing. But, Pete, welcome. And, Lockie, we've two. We've now just had three. Now, this is Pete being the third of our biggest ESCOT game fans in one episode.
00:58:19
Speaker
Christmas has come at once for us, mate. Couldn't be better. Hello, Pete. How are you? Thanks for waiting ah patiently and thanks for joining us on EGG. Thanks very much for having me, guys. I really appreciate it. And, yes, Matt, i appreciate the very kind words.
00:58:35
Speaker
and you You know, and we've we've spoken a fair bit over the last couple of seasons, so I do appreciate everything you say about the program. It's all true, mate, as you well know.
00:58:48
Speaker
Yeah, it's certainly a very special program. Yeah, do you go for it, Lockie. Pete, I think the first question is, how the boys pull up? If you hadn't cancelled training today, how many would have actually made it?
00:59:00
Speaker
I think they would have made it. I think I probably was a little bit A little bit worse for wear. I think I was more more hurt locker than they were. So ah no, they they they certainly lapped it up. We stayed in Penrith on Saturday night and one of the sponsors helped us out and set us up at a brewery in Penrith and and shout out to DMC who helped us out there and then ah Yeah, we decided to take it back to the hotel and just, um you know, kick on there. And I think I kick ah kicked the last boys out at about 4.30 of our room and just said, boys, I've got to go to bed. I've got to drive you home tomorrow. Come on. like So, yeah, two and a half hours sleep. I'm a bit old for that these days, but a few of them bounce back quite well.
00:59:52
Speaker
Yeah. Wow, so no black stunt for the Gunners? No.
01:00:01
Speaker
I'm getting PTSD from a Flames post-WNBL grand final celebrations. it was it was it was a big night. and There's a lot of photos of James Toohey with the trophy.
01:00:17
Speaker
As there should be. Yeah, he he he has, there's a lot of photos. he He went to bed with it. He showered with it. There's a lot of photos. And SJ from Love of the Game sending you some love as well, saying congrats, coach.
01:00:32
Speaker
Appreciate SJ. Appreciate all that, like you spoke about, the content creators are just phenomenal. As Matt said, um you know, the photographers, everyone involved, the people who just do it for the love, you know, yourselves. It's just phenomenal how much you all put in and it just shows. And, yeah, it's why, yeah, long-time listener, first-time caller today.
01:00:53
Speaker
um it's it's ah a really great to see. And you know what? there's There's some stuff sometimes I pick up from you guys that I might not have picked up. when doing my scouts. So that's why I always have a listen and I listen for some extra motivation. Sometimes I hope someone. yeah motivation Okay. All right. Which one?
01:01:13
Speaker
Who was it? back chamber one No, everyone was pretty good. Even, even Jason last week, he, he sort of, he nailed a few things. He was great to have on. You should definitely get him back on. he was awesome to listen to. Look,
01:01:29
Speaker
He's a very experienced campaigner, very well media trained, obviously. um But yeah, he was just great to listen to last week. But yeah, the um mentality that we have is he picked up on that. So um yeah, kudos to him and understanding what we're about. And and yeah, it was great to listen to.
01:01:51
Speaker
Yeah, I also really like Jason Caddy as a guest. I would encourage him to start his own podcast somehow as well because he has a lot of experience. And he calls a spade a spade, ah which is a great combination of of things that I want to listen to ah But look, while the three us three Nerdburgers are in the the room with Coach of the Year, should we try and chop it up a little bit and see and talk a little bit more about this men's final?
01:02:19
Speaker
I think so. Excellent. ah So um let's start from the beginning. What was your primary game plan going into the final against Illawarra Hawks, Pete?
01:02:31
Speaker
Look, it was definitely to try to stop their transition. You're never going to ah fully stop it. And we didn't like they had a number of runs during the game. was about weathering the storm and limiting those runs as much as possible and trying to slow down their transition.
01:02:49
Speaker
ah Part of that was our shot selection and making sure we got good shots and also crash the offensive rebounds, which you could see early on. We definitely did and got some extra opportunities early on in the game. And I know Matt and Mookie talked about it.
01:03:05
Speaker
And then that dried up in the second and third quarters. And you could see how the script sort of flipped there. um And then, you know, we we sent some more bodies again in that last quarter and it kind of ah put a little bit more pressure on that transition.
01:03:19
Speaker
um And, you know, look, trying to slow Todd as much as possible, but, you know, it's a difficult task and, you know, you've got to send multiple bodies and then he's going to find other open guys and you look at,
01:03:32
Speaker
Kobe McDowell-White and Lockie Dent both hitting big shots who are big time players and they're just, um you know, elite players themselves. And we we definitely knew they could also hurt us, but it was kind of a case of we just needed to try pick what we were going to try limit and what we were going to, you know, hopefully scramble and rotate and just make as difficult as possible as we possibly could.
01:03:58
Speaker
And obviously, Lockie and Matt, if you've got any questions on the fly, feel free to jump in as well because I'm sure you'll you were there. So I'm sure you've got some observations too.
01:04:10
Speaker
No, it's interesting, Pete. It struck me. Obviously, yeah, we we talked about, you know, it was a real styles make fights game. yeah That was kind of how I intro'd it because on the one hand, you've got Illawarra. They shoot the most three, make and, you know, take and make the most threes in the league.
01:04:26
Speaker
um Quickest in pace by a fair margin. You know, you guys have got obviously, you know, the ultimate low post weapon in Glenn and, you know ah And you've been a more deliberate kind of half-court set up in the pace. I think you're eighth in pace in the league.
01:04:41
Speaker
But what struck me was interesting, and something Mookie pointed out as well, is that um you didn't mind running with them, though. There there were stages where you know Derek got out in the break, or you know obviously Will is a guy that does, and James does as well.
01:04:56
Speaker
And that that was, I found that really fascinating. Was that something you talked about to to not be afraid of the pace and and to take your opportunities where you had them? Yeah, definitely. Like I think last year, the grand final, when the pace ratcheted up, we just couldn't go with Maitland last year.
01:05:15
Speaker
um And it was something we've talked about all year about having that ability to play with some more pace. we yeah We are never going to lead the league in pace when you've got ah the six foot 10 superstar that is the Brindabella Beacon. You're going to go to him and you need to use him um as a reason why he's a four time All-Star Five member.
01:05:37
Speaker
ah he's just elite down there on the low block and his decision making, particularly this year, he upped his assists this year. um He was really, really effective for us this year um in drawing doubles and triples and making great decisions. But yeah, we talked about The fact that last year we couldn't go when the pace ratcheted up and then we didn't have a second year when we potentially, um you know, were down in points and, you know, the Sutherland game is probably the prime example.
01:06:08
Speaker
ah sorry Lockie for bringing it up but he's still annoyed with you about that no I picked Canberra at the start of the season so he did he did so that's why i still love him hey but yeah so the Sutherland game was a prime example whereby we had to increase the tempo another team that likes a bit of pace and um Yeah, we we had that string to our bow this year that we could go. And yeah, that was probably one of our fastest games of the year in the grand final. or But the game was kind of dictated by that for us a little bit.
01:06:44
Speaker
um But you could see that in the big moments when we needed something, there was one guy we went to and that was, you know, the big fella inside. And that's why we ended up coming away with the win.
01:06:58
Speaker
ah Yeah, 28 and 14 that Brinda Bella Beacon had. And going back to what you said about crashing the offensive glass, five of his 14 rebounds were O-boards.
01:07:09
Speaker
So he was really locked in and sticking to your game plan. And it sounds like he was going to do whatever it took to make sure that you left Penrith with a chip. Yeah, look, I thought he was going to have a 40 piece, but some interesting calls ah probably limited that. um And, you know, ah the Todd is just so smart.
01:07:33
Speaker
um And I was talking to Glenn afterwards and he said to him when he had his second. The next time he just ran straight at his hip, he was going to draw that third foul no matter what. And that's just a veteran who is so intelligent. And, um you know, it it it definitely was a foul, but it was probably not the hardest one of the game. But you know what? That's why he's at that elite level and he's, you know, the MVP and a superstar because then, yeah, we had to adjust after that happened.
01:08:01
Speaker
But how big was it when Glenn had to go to the bench with those three fouls and the guys not only um stood up in his place, actually took the lead.
01:08:13
Speaker
And it wasn't, obviously, you know, Glenn could have easily won MVP. I went for for Derek um mainly because of the fact that he held things together when Glenn was on the bench and was just that absolute go-to guy. Yeah.
01:08:27
Speaker
But couple of guys that that probably most people wouldn't talk about that I thought were huge were William Rice and Angus Byatt. You just giving you that that production and those quality minutes when Glenn was on the pine. yeah I thought, you know, hit a big three, Will hit a big three, and, you know, Angus, great in transition. And, and yeah, ah I thought those two kids were outstanding. And, again, it's a pointer.
01:08:49
Speaker
to you know how deep the team was, but um and but how together you were that everybody you know played their role and and did so in ah an absolutely selfless manner, which you know I've often said is is a tribute to yourself, Pete.
01:09:04
Speaker
Yeah, look, those kids have put in so much work and I'm so happy that they've continued to grow. um Angus AB, as we call him, he is um only going to get better and better. he's He's just scratching the surface of how good he could be.
01:09:21
Speaker
He can play at both ends of the floor. He really can hold the defense together as a team defender. Uh, but yeah, he ran the floor hard and had a couple of big, you know, layups. He thought about dunking him, he said, but he thought about just making the right decision. and He got me. He got me.
01:09:36
Speaker
I don't know if you've seen the replay, but he got me. I have seen it. And I went, oh, you're going to dunk it. I saw that. I was like, yeah. Oh, he just dropped it in. He just sort of just put it in. was like, good, good.
01:09:50
Speaker
but But yeah, he, he was, he was excellent. Um, And then yeah, Will Rice, like he's had an amazing year and I couldn't be more happy for him. um He's really started to grow up and understand what he has to to do on both ends of the floor um as a player.
01:10:10
Speaker
And he's worked hard on his game. And i think also he's just relaxed a little bit out on the floor now. He understands what he needs to do and the guys will find him in the right positions and the guys trust him and the coaching staff trust him to make the right decisions. And, you know, he's an elite shooter who you have to run off the line and because if you don't, he will hurt you.
01:10:33
Speaker
But also he had a couple of big defensive plays in there too. So I was super happy that those guys did that and we wouldn't, be having this conversation today he and Angus didn't step up.
01:10:46
Speaker
I think that also goes back to what Matt was saying before you jumped on, Pete, how it sounds like Illawarra kind of ran out a little bit of legs, was really heavily relying on the the main four from their squad versus, you know, your team, the Gunners, you have your depth and you've been able to prepare them all season for moments like this. And it always goes back to that cliche of,
01:11:09
Speaker
The bench makes the team. So being able to give your bench those opportunities during the season, getting more reps up and then being able to have the flexibility of that depth when it comes to game time and your opposition to run out of steam, you've still got fresh legs that you can rely on.
01:11:26
Speaker
I mean, that's really going to put you over the line to get a championship as well. Yeah, we had a really deep squad this year and we had a deep roster as well. Like we had 17 guys essentially at practice most weeks.
01:11:42
Speaker
um A number of guys who didn't play the back end of the year who just deserve just as much credit for where we end up because practice was absolutely brutal every week and everyone was competing for spots.
01:11:57
Speaker
You know, a Mitch Robinson, a Zach McDermott, which... I've had a number of conversations about like, unfortunately for Zach, he plays behind what I feel are the two best three men in the comp, which is Will Mayfield and Cameron Pender.
01:12:09
Speaker
um I know Cameron's still young and there's probably some better three men out there, but I love Cameron and he's the superstar in my eyes. And, um you know, he he he doesn't get as much opportunity potentially because of those those guys. But at practice, he's driving those guys to be better every single week.
01:12:28
Speaker
You know, um a Lockie Smith and a Brooklyn Bruton who both can get on fire, um you know, and it was a case of matchup based at the the weekend where I felt that we just needed a bit more defense rather than offense.
Team Performance and Leadership in Tough Season
01:12:41
Speaker
Our offense was humming. We scored 99 points. There's not many games where we've scored 99 against an elite team like that.
01:12:47
Speaker
So, yeah, it was a case of we went with the guys that we thought would provide that defensive presence at the weekend, but they were also, you know, phenomenal players and um brought a lot of spark to our squad this year. And, you know, a guy like Evan Wardlow who stepped in late and then, you know, just provided a bit of senior leadership, that which is what we kind of needed when, you know, we had a three-game skid there where it was, you know, 6-0 and flying high and then, you know, three games where we,
01:13:14
Speaker
ah didn't look so good. And we'd been having conversations with Evan and that sort of ah helped us pull the trigger on that. And we were like, right, if we want to go deep against some of these teams that are really stacked and loaded up, we need some veteran presence out there.
01:13:29
Speaker
And I think it's a really easy thing to say looking from the outside, especially with country teams that have got the, you know, solid core to just say, oh, they're the country team. They're all local guys. They're going to, you know, be a, you know, a solid close knit unit.
01:13:44
Speaker
But I think that's a lazy take because there's plenty of, you know, teams out there regional that have got local kids that don't come together like you guys did. How, I mean, how do you get 17 guys to all come together and, you know,
01:14:00
Speaker
work together as one for a championship when they know some of them pretty much are coming in, knowing that minutes are going to be almost non-existent. Yeah. It's, it's not easy and you know, it's never fun as a coach to sometimes have those conversations with guys. Uh, that's one of the worst parts of the job for me, is, you know, having those conversations.
01:14:23
Speaker
um to tell those guys like whilst ah ah like I enjoy trying to help them get to that next level, it's never fun to say, look, you're probably not going to play today or um you're not going to be in the team this week.
01:14:35
Speaker
But I will say that that's driven by our senior leaders who You know, James Toohey is ah leader through and through, particularly getting guys on court every single day, pushing guys to be better, being positive with the guys, helping them out.
01:14:52
Speaker
And it's a case of um practice is just fun. Like it's just competitive and fun. And we had this thing about when I first came in, we didn't think that necessarily the best players in Canberra were all playing.
01:15:07
Speaker
at the highest possible level. And so we were like, righto, we have to convince all the best players to be in the room before we can actually be considered a quality team. And now players are fighting to get in the squad. And, ah you know, unfortunately, some of our academy players are having to go elsewhere, which, you know, is a double-edged sword of, yes, it's a positive and I want them to get to the next level.
01:15:31
Speaker
Unfortunately, we may not have the space for them now, but a guy like a William Rice who went away for 12 months to Illawarra, got some more experience and then ah came home and was just a better, more well-rounded player ready to plug in and ah provide excellent minutes.
01:15:48
Speaker
um It's a case of all of those guys just know that when they come to practice, it's going to be the highest quality basketball they're going to play each week. i mean, we had a few in 2024 come up to Sutherland from Canberra and, you know, they... they are they put in for us and we're, ah yeah, we we would love to have them back. But I think... ah yeah You're not getting one of them back for sure.
01:16:15
Speaker
there was There was one I was sad that he went, but the experience was amazing ah that he that he left. And again, same thing. um And that's, you know, young Spencer Musgrove. He's, yeah, an excellent young player. yeah um Joy Hilda, like I've always also rated really highly.
01:16:34
Speaker
It's just unfortunate that he is behind Glenn, who's, you know, the best centre in the comp.
Impact of New NBL Signings and Team Dynamics
01:16:42
Speaker
And just before you go, Coach, just a couple more questions I wanted to ask you just as ah a general kind of thing. well What were some of your biggest surprises this season as a whole, given that you have coached NBL once since it started? Yeah.
01:16:56
Speaker
it start
01:16:59
Speaker
Uh, I think the, the new signings of all the NBL talent, that was probably the biggest, you know, surprise initially. And then there was, you know, a bit of excitement around, okay, well now we've, we've got to up our game again from a coaching perspective. Um,
01:17:16
Speaker
You know, shout out to my assistant coach who puts in many, many hours and I've spoken about to many people who could be a head coach anywhere in this league or in the NBL one. He's an unbelievable, um unbelievable coach. But yeah, that was probably initially the first ah thing that I was surprised by. you know, Kawhi Tanoi, Jalen Galloway, Jason Kadee, Todd Blanchfield, Kobe McDowell-White, like then Lockheed Dent signs late and you're like, holy dolly, like teams are loaded up here. Like how we how are we going to deal with all these guys? And, um you know, we had some success against some and less against others. But, you know, that was probably the first surprise for me this year. And then I think the next thing was that,
01:18:07
Speaker
like every single game was it meant a little bit more this year like there weren't as many blowouts there were some there's always going to be blowouts you know teams are going to have injuries teams going to lose players or for whatever reason lives etc but yeah there weren't as many blowouts there weren't as many games that you walked in and i never walked in going oh yeah that's don't worry about this we can just walk roll in don't worry about the scout we'll beat these guys. We know who they are. Like, no, no, we had to prepare the same way
Investment Needs and Strengthening NSW Basketball
01:18:38
Speaker
every game. So that was, you know, a nice surprise that, yeah, the league is just way stronger and way deeper.
01:18:46
Speaker
And then the last question I kind of had was, ah where do you see the NBL1 East in the next three years?
01:18:54
Speaker
ah look, I think, you know, hopefully even stronger again. um ah Hopefully the like Toddy's already re re-signed for two more years, which, you know, is huge for Illawarra. Really, really exciting for them. And, you know, ah they're definitely going to be um looking for a revenge in two weeks' time, I feel. um So ah possibly Toddy won't be there, but just because of the NBL Blitz commitments. But, yeah, it's... um I think it's just going to go from strength to strength. I think teams are realising you've got to invest probably a little bit more money if you want to be competitive.
01:19:32
Speaker
um I think that ah we've got to find a way to make sure it doesn't head the way that it has in some of the other conferences where teams are folding because they've gone heavily all in on one or two seasons worth of talent for whichever of the two programmes.
01:19:51
Speaker
um I think we just really need to be careful of that because at the moment, you know, we're the second biggest conference. And so, um yeah, we don't want to get down to, um you know, 10 teams because a bunch of teams folded. We actually want to get stronger. We want to be way more competitive. We want New South Wales to be challenging, you know, the Vicks, you know, challenging the Queensland Norths and show how strong New South Wales basketball really is.
01:20:22
Speaker
ah Gentlemen, Matt and Lockie, any more questions for Coach Pete before we bring on our next guest and say goodbye but now? For now, yes. For now.
01:20:36
Speaker
ah just say see you in Canberra at Nationals.
01:20:41
Speaker
Excellent. No, appreciate it Appreciate everyone. Matt, appreciate you, Squinn, Lockie. ah Everything you do and, um yeah, keep up the amazing work. I know it's not easy to do this on top of all your game prep.
01:20:56
Speaker
ah Listening to Matt before talking about his game prep, you know, it's very similar um to a coach's game prep. You're looking through the stats, you're pouring through for information. So, yeah, i appreciate how much work all you guys put in.
01:21:09
Speaker
It's amazing and just keep it up. And we're really stoked that you are such a loyal listener. So thank you very much for listening to EGG especially. We're glad that it has been helpful and that some of our our takes and analysis and nerdy behaviour is benefiting someone else other than ourselves. So that's also nice. yeah um But and we oh have we started to prepare for Nationals just yet, Coach Pete? ah Basically, yeah, started today. So, um yeah, we're... we're
01:21:41
Speaker
Looking at it, myself and my assistant coach have been chatting over text, just starting to prepare our team for that. And yeah, the boys are getting excited and looking forward to, you know, really challenging ourselves against all those other teams. um You know, there's going to be some missing guys, but I think also the way they've done the draw, there's probably going to be some guys that might surprise that actually turn up on the day.
01:22:06
Speaker
So, yeah, I think um there'll probably be some more guys than usual. And I think they've sort of aligned it for a reason. And, yeah, it'll be really interesting to see. Very good. Yeah, we're looking forward to seeing you there
Preparations for NBL1 Nationals
01:22:21
Speaker
as a coach, especially, and that the Canberra Gunners are going to be representing the East on home soil. I think that's probably the first time in NBL1 Nationals history that that's actually happened, where um the host has qualified by being and the champion. So it's going to be super exciting and showing what the East can do.
01:22:41
Speaker
yeah very excited. Can't wait. Awesome. Thank you so much again. we will fit We'll ah bid farewell for now, but we'll definitely have to have you on again in the future. But we'll definitely see you in Canberra.
01:22:53
Speaker
Sounds good. See guys. see you mate now matt we've got one more guest in the wings would you like to stay on or would do you need to bid farewell yeah no no i can see if you'll have me yeah you're not yeah it's just so you've just said so many of the right things today matt just by chance this is someone that you just before referred to as one of your good friends that you've known for a long time.
01:23:19
Speaker
You followed their coaching history from coaching. I personally remember this person having a lot of great success in the men's program pre-NBL 1A and I was very happy when they took on the coach's role for the women's program and look how it's flourished.
01:23:35
Speaker
Getting the Manly Warringah Seagulls their first chip, especially for such a talented bunch, sticking with the process and getting their rewards. It is Nate Kerwin, Championship Coach. Congratulations and welcome.
01:23:51
Speaker
Hey, guys. Thanks for having me. Thanks for jumping on. How are you feeling? Are you a bit as dusty as Coach Pete <unk>k was from the Gunners? ah I'm probably just starting to feel human again today.
01:24:05
Speaker
You got the champagne out of the shirt yet? Yeah, no, it's still there. Actually, I haven't washed it yet. Oh, no. It's upstairs somewhere, I think. oh We had a good night that night.
01:24:18
Speaker
so I wouldn't want to be the ah poor junior team that i had to walk in there during JPL. Oh, the change room after? Yeah, the change room. Yeah. oh i can i can pass it i didn't know that was coming, so I can pass the blame off on to probably Gail, actually, and some of the girls.
01:24:39
Speaker
But yeah, how has it, how how does it feel after you have been so successful since NBL1 has started men's and women's competition for yourself, pre-NBL1, now NBL1, getting so close and not quite there, how does it now feel to finally have that championship under your belt?
01:24:59
Speaker
Yeah, um it feels awesome, first of all. um Just really excited for the girls. Obviously, they've worked so hard and all of them have been together for so long as well. Like, um I think I said to Caleb, like even the year before I started coaching them, they were they were one possession away from a grand final. So like um they've been so close ah for now.
01:25:20
Speaker
Yeah, like the fourth year pretty much. So to see them all get, see how much it meant to them all get and see them get over the line is unreal.
01:25:32
Speaker
um Were you aware that one of your players made Lockie cry during the broadcast on the weekend? i I heard after. That's all right, mate. ah They make me cry sometimes as well.
01:25:44
Speaker
um Yeah, no but I can understand it, especially with, um you know, I think Lock's known... her as I can see the the jersey in the background there. um Known her for a while and, and you know, knowing her and ah like all of them, obviously, but knowing her and how much effort she puts into it and how much she loves it. So um I can imagine getting to see her achieve that with her sister and her mum there as well would be special. so And so ah similar, same thing, Lockie and Matt, we're just going
01:26:19
Speaker
uh get yeah we'll get nerdy together ask Nate some questions about the weekend and the season jump in when you're free uh and when you're ready but uh the first one I just want to know is we asked coach Pete the same Nate is uh what was your game plan going into the grand final against the COE um like obviously they're super talented and and young and athletic um watched a fair bit of them and like the game we played against him in the last round, even though they were missing a couple of players, we had a ah fair few out also so just ah the big thing was containing the ball, like from the
Game Strategies and Motivations
01:26:56
Speaker
perimeter. They want to get to the rim.
01:26:58
Speaker
um They live on points in the paint. Even though a lot of them can shoot threes, it's probably not like the first thing they want to do. So, yeah, really focused on just containing the ball from the perimeter and and making it, you know, a contested jump shooting team and and a one-on-one against our pretty pretty good defenders that we got. So that was the main point.
01:27:17
Speaker
I feel like your roster is probably pretty much made to do just that. um Yeah. You've made it. I mean, obviously you've made it really hard for teams all season, but I feel like the matchup is is really good against COE in particular. But, I mean, did you really take much out of the game, the last game of the regular season against them?
01:27:38
Speaker
Yeah. More so just from the defensive end on what we had to focus on. like Obviously, like with Sataya and Zara Russell coming back um to add to the team that we played.
01:27:50
Speaker
But just how impressive Isabel Smith was against us. um and ah who ah I'm going to butcher her last name, but Olivia Aleknewicz, I think, maybe.
01:28:02
Speaker
Is that how you say it? Aleknevic. Aleknevic. Sorry, Olivia. Closer than most. Yeah. um Just how impressive they were, right? and And so, like, not to just concentrate on the two coming back from the World Cup, but, like, how good they were as well. is like we've got to be on our game. There's no one that we, like, can just ignore and not guard.
01:28:22
Speaker
So, um yeah, probably just more defensively. Like, I think we're pretty... pretty good offensively no matter who we're playing if we stick to like how we like to play basketball so it was more on the defensive end from that last game even though you know we had I think four of us well Alex couldn't play the half of the second half so it says essentially we didn't finish the game with four starters that game and still managed to play some young girls and and come up with a win so yeah a little bit but not not heaps Mate, I wanted to ask you, 2023, and
01:28:56
Speaker
and ah yeah obviously Squint's talked about the fact that it's been a lot this has been a long time coming, this championship for you. yeah a bunch of those girls were in 2023 and that loss to North.
01:29:08
Speaker
Did that drive you this season? And you know I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on, yeah obviously, North's loss to COE in that prelim final, which was a bit of a surprise um because I think most people were expecting you guys to,
01:29:23
Speaker
ah do battle in the grand final. But did that that experience kind of motivate you? I know it was two years ago, but obviously Alex played, Kimberley was there, Zoe was there, um you know quite a few of them in that game. And I know was a huge disappointment for you, but was that a motivating factor?
01:29:40
Speaker
Yeah. Thinking about that loss in 2023? Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I mean, me personally, and for like I hate losing. I'm super competitive. so I know. To get that far and have a really good season and then not ultimately not get it done, definitely.
01:29:55
Speaker
um And it definitely kept them coming back for more and and working extra hard, like um all of them work really hard but you like I don't know if you you see the improvement of someone just like Josie Buhlman like that year to this year like completely different player and that's just from yeah no hard work and and a lot of days is driven by like one lap that loss but more so like just wanting to get it done for each other so yeah definitely drove us um but
01:30:25
Speaker
probably being our rivals didn't help as well. So I probably added it to a little bit as well. Even though like we know how much respect, like I've got heaps of respect for them and they're like such a good program. But um losing a grand final hurts as it is, but then losing to North probably adds that little bit extra of just motivation and wanting to get it done even more.
01:30:44
Speaker
Yeah.
01:30:47
Speaker
Yeah, because we had Josie as our very first guest on East Gok game for season three. so almost like a bit of a full circle moment now that we could have you. and I think she was talking about now, I'm probably going to paraphrase this maybe a little bit too plainly. So, Lockie, please fill in the gaps.
01:31:04
Speaker
Like ah that like i I lean on you a lot for that. So please fill in the gaps. But Josie was talking about how, This year it had to be lot more of that mental edge or that kind of real, yeah, winning the mental game this year to help you win that championship. So was that something that you purposely addressed again this season or is that something that you just ingrain in any team that you coach?
01:31:29
Speaker
Yeah, well, yeah, true you try to and we did purposely, but I think accidentally like the round two, like our second game against Norths, that probably was in hindsight like the best thing that could have happened to us. Like I don't know if you guys got a chance to see it, but um we were down Zoe and still up 17 with three minutes to go and I've never experienced anything like that in all my time in basketball and ended up losing in overtime and it really stung at the time.
01:31:59
Speaker
um But I think it probably helped us in the end to just like that's never happening again and we need to you know, I guess just like you talked about, like mentally being on top of everything and being confident in that, like that's just that can't happen ever again. So um probably a bit of an accidental thing, but it is something we we tried to talk about before the start of the season.
01:32:23
Speaker
And you mentioned Zoe, and I want to talk about her play during the middle portion of the game because I've watched her in a lot of big games over the years, and she always seems to find another gear. um Yeah. what what What is her kind of mentality, knowing that like she is you know an absolute staple of this program, but probably also slightly behind in terms of, you know,
01:32:51
Speaker
um like credit she gets. She's kind of behind Wurtz and Delaney and Dickinson. So I guess how does she go into a game like that? Well, she's she's quiet, but she she's so driven and so like ah like I just mentioned before, I'm super competitive, but she's like the ultimate competitor. And you're right, like not just in the final, but the two playoff games previous, she she was massive for us, right? And We spoke during the season while I did with her and and just how good of a job she's doing at being a point guard for this team. And like you said, that doesn't always go get noticed with, you know, numbers on the score sheet or anything like that when you've got people like Taylor and,
01:33:34
Speaker
Kim scoring the ball and and stuff like that. But she pretty much gets tasked with guarding the best guard every week, um has to run our offense, make sure we're getting the right looks. and And she's turned herself into way more of a playmaker, I feel like, over the last year than what she has been previously because she's She's been a point guard size, but she's probably been a bit more of a scoring guard previously.
01:33:58
Speaker
So just um she's done such a good job of like becoming an actual point guard and she's still so young as well. Like she's still got so much good basketball ahead of her. So yeah. Yeah, like I think she takes the approach of trying to get into the game ah defensively and then, you know, get us going.
Player Development and Team Camaraderie
01:34:18
Speaker
And then she, I don't know what it is, she just finds a switch and and finds her spots to be aggressive. And, you know, um I've been on her about, um being aggressive as it is. So I'm glad that she was able to, she needs to shoot the ball more as well.
01:34:31
Speaker
I think she's the best shooter. at Well, sorry, but Josie's actually the best shooter on the team. She's only second now. Yeah. Yeah. ah but um Not the same volume as Taylor, but still no I've been on her about shooting the ball more. Like she, she's a really good shooter. And sometimes she turns down some shots because she's so good at getting in the lane. So yeah, on make um next year as well.
01:34:52
Speaker
I mean, she cooked Jemima Maniok over and over and over in the space of about three minutes. Yeah, she's hard to stay in front of. when When we've been um short this year, unfortunately, ah begrudgingly, I've had to put some shoes on and fill in a couple of times at training. And I keep telling Zoe, if you keep calling me up for ball screens, I'm going to be bench you for the weekend. Stop getting me up in action and i'm going past me.
01:35:20
Speaker
three That's awesome. kind of It's kind of weirdly nice and humbling to know that even the championship winning team are sometimes short at practice and have to find a way to get and get their coach to fill the bench.
01:35:34
Speaker
Yeah, um um like especially at the the time of the year it was. They don't want to be doing breakdowns and drills the whole training session. So we want to we want to get up and down and play. Yeah. I had to hobble up and down the court a few times and, yeah. just Can you claim workers' with compensation if you get injured?
01:35:52
Speaker
I should. I should. I'm sure you hit couple of those corner threes you were famous for. Yeah, yeah. I was still hitting a couple of threes, but the size six ball doesn't agree with me. I'd rather – I need the seven. That's right, yeah. yeah I'm the opposite. I can't shoot with a size seven because I spend so much time around women's basketball that I've used a size six more often.
01:36:11
Speaker
yeah Yeah, I think it's just um ingrained in me and habit, I guess, right? Like, even though in theory it should be easier because it's smaller ball, I can't do it, so. No, i follow, I agree with what you're saying, Nate, because if you shoot ah lot a large volume of shots over your life with a certain weight and size and stuff of a ball, your brain is finely tuned and conditioned to to that kind of a, that thing. So when you then when you have to switch, it's totally different.
01:36:42
Speaker
I mean, I don't know what Shaq's problem was just because he had big hands, but I mean, for yeah people that are training day in, day out. or Yeah, that's yeah that's my that's my biological explanation.
01:36:54
Speaker
ah yeah People can argue with me in the DMs. But ah um it's really interesting. You know, you gave us a quick glimpse of what practice is like. It sounds fun. It sounds like you're still running up and down ah with with your team when you need to.
01:37:12
Speaker
Lachie made a comment earlier in this episode just about how There are teams like your manly team who are, you can see online how much they support each other just as people and as friends.
01:37:24
Speaker
You know, they're posting pictures of each other. They're going to each other's engagements and milestone birthdays and things like that. Do you think those types of things, um you know, court stuff really do transfer onto on on court to create that chemistry and make a team so special?
01:37:43
Speaker
Yeah, i think I think it's very rare that you can be successful without that, I think, and they're definitely like that. It's actually really similar to Maddie would remember, but, like, the group that we had when I was playing with, we were all super tight and super close and went to each other's weddings, and it really reminds that makes me when I keep coming back and coaching them, like, they really remind me of that group as well, like, just – um i think at our level it's different in the wmbl and the nbl but at our level i think you need that baseline of at least some form of you know like wanting to do it for some because you know most of these girls aren't getting paid anything and they're working a full day's work to then come to training after like it can be a grind so if you're not really
01:38:30
Speaker
you know, don't have that respect or not close with the team that you're playing with. Like, I think you kind of just battling uphill from there. So the fact that we have that as a group and the girls are so good with each other, I think just it makes it way easier for some of them to sacrifice the things that they do and their basketball to to then I just get to coach the X's and O's and it's easy.
01:38:56
Speaker
And be on a few Instagram reels. yeah i'm not happy about that to be honest it's definitely not something that i like to do but my is hard to say no to and she's really good at it so um yeah don't know get pressure from my wife and my daughters to do it as well so um my babysits uh my two daughters sometimes and and my girls are like you got to get and do the tick tocks with my arm i'm like oh god but Yeah, no, she's really good at it.
01:39:26
Speaker
So I'm happy to maybe do one or two a year maybe. That's about it.
01:39:33
Speaker
It does add to the fun though, especially when you are the head coach and... ah you You are coaching adults, so it can be hard sometimes to have that separation between this is when I'm your coach and this is when I can muck around with you. Sometimes so that can be mixed up when you're coaching an adult team.
01:39:53
Speaker
And I've definitely had coaches before who have tried to stay almost like two stars. So we can have too much of that coach's personality and separate themselves from all of that fun and mucking around with us sometimes. And it didn't work out well for them. So I think you struck a really nice balance. And I think that's, ah you know, if you want your players to kind of buy in sometimes into what you're planning for the season, I think doing doing the odd tick-tock is probably not a bad thing.
01:40:20
Speaker
Yeah, you've got to give up something, right? So, yeah, being on social media a couple of times a year is probably not the end of the world. So does that mean when Lockie and I come to Nationals that we can grab you and do some EGG TikToks?
01:40:35
Speaker
I don't know. Hey, hey, hey, hey. me know what you've got planned. or If it's any dancing or anything. We won't. Don't worry. Maya keeps it really simple for me. I do one take. It's really simple and then I'm out of it. so One take wonder.
01:40:52
Speaker
Yeah, that's it. Maybe Squid and I have to sneak into a manly one. Yeah, yeah. yeah Pop in. Yeah, yeah. Get more views than I was in it. So, yeah, pop in there. No, that might be more realistic. We'll be too busy to be mucking around with TikTok, I think, at Nationals. So, yeah, you're safe.
01:41:10
Speaker
You'll be safe from us. Okay, perfect. ah Lockie, Matt, any final questions for Coach Nate before we wish him well and good luck for Nationals? i i had one.
01:41:24
Speaker
When – you have to be honest – okay When did you know it was over, the grand final? When did you know it was over? And I'm asking this on the day. Great question.
01:41:35
Speaker
Brian Delaney was asking me that all Saturday night because they um we went to their place before we went out and they put the game on just to, I guess, bask in it. And he's like, surely by now you thought. And honestly, like I was clearly aware of the score, but i just there was no way I was allowing myself to – think of anything but like what was going on in the game even when I sub the starters out like I'm like I just need the buzzer to go before I can like actually I guess breathe a sigh relief so i don't know that I have the answer for you like obviously being up 27 at halftime
01:42:13
Speaker
In the back of my mind, I'm like, we're in a pretty good spot here, but um I can't let them know that. So, yeah, i i did I really didn't allow myself to even think of anything until – Even like I gave them the starters a quick quick hug when they came off. But like I also wanted to make sure that the girls were on the court knew that like I wasn't just ignoring them as well. Like they put in heaps of time. And even if it's only 40 seconds, like I wanted to make sure that they got something out of me and and their time in
Coach Nate's Grounded Approach to the Game
01:42:44
Speaker
the spotlight as well. So, yeah, it sounds really boring and sounds like a massive coach answer, but literally not until the buzzer went off. And then I was like, okay, I can ah can breathe now.
01:42:54
Speaker
Yeah. I think I held on. I gave ah gave Gail a hug. And I remember thinking, all right, I should probably let go now. This has gone on for a bit too long. But I couldn't let go for about six or seven seconds. so Because I think I knew when Josie Bullman hit that corner three to start the game.
01:43:14
Speaker
Literally 17 seconds in. First possession. I was like, the way they just moved the ball and then the shot went down. i was like... no one's growing horns no one's taking it upon themselves they just played the same team basketball they always have they're going to do this they're going to roll it yeah i mean i was happy with the start but i definitely wasn't thinking that was the game about i think it's a coach's job to be a bit pessimistic about that type of stuff so grounded grounded not pessimistic we've got to be grounded yeah sure yeah Yeah, because he, I mean, when I say we, I don't coach.
01:43:47
Speaker
um But you know what I mean? youve got to stay grounded in those situations because I'm sure you've coached and played way too many games and seen people come back from a 27-point deficit to relax. Yeah, well, I mean, Norse almost did it to us in three minutes. So, like, there's no way I was, yeah, allowing myself to think anything but ah the game was on the line until it was finished. Yeah.
01:44:11
Speaker
Yeah, and you're playing the team that beat North. So if you're feeling that way yeah against North and then you're playing against the team that beat North, certainly can't young and got so much energy. I was like, no, there's just like we're not doing it. Young people, up, back, up, back, up, back. Like take a rest.
01:44:28
Speaker
Yeah, relax.
01:44:32
Speaker
ah But, yeah, Nate, thank you so much for jumping on, ah being a guest for Scott game this week. Again, congratulations on winning the championship with such a great group of female athletes. And I'm guessing the prep for national starts for you as well.
Nationals Preparation and League Growth
01:44:48
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. I started looking at a couple of the teams. i think we'll have one of the – it'll depend on the West game this weekend. But um looking – I think we've got one of the Victoria teams first up. So it's not going to be easy.
01:45:01
Speaker
But, yeah, gave gave them last night off. We normally go Monday, Wednesday for training. So I gave them last night off. And then youth league girls, ah like, train before us. And a lot of them double up and do both. So we're going to scrimmage against them on Wednesday night because, obviously, they've got a massive weekend as well. So – ah Shout out to the youth league girls. Hopefully they can do a bit of a clean sweep for the manly women.
01:45:24
Speaker
um And then next week we'll go back to regular training as we normally would. Will you be tuning in to the manly youth league women's semifinal? I think I'll be there. Excellent. yeah i think you don't have to Once again, you don't have to listen to my commentary.
01:45:38
Speaker
I think I've got permission to go up and, and I, willing that they make the final. I think um Nicole, my wife and and my girls were going to go up Sunday morning and watch it.
01:45:52
Speaker
Very good. But, yeah, best of luck in your preparations. We will see you in Canberra and ah I can guarantee that ah you and your squad will be very competitive at Nationals. So we're really excited to see it all unfold.
01:46:06
Speaker
Thank you. Yeah, that's the plan. We hope so. We'll give it a crack anyway. Yeah, luck that that's all you can do. All right. Thanks, guys. Thanks thanks again, Nate. See you then.
01:46:18
Speaker
Yeah.
01:46:20
Speaker
And Matt McQuade, you have ah stuck around ah for a lot of this episode. Thank you again for sticking around. Do you have any final thoughts on NBL One East before we say goodbye to you?
01:46:32
Speaker
Just an incredible season. um Not so incredible for the Interwest Bulls men, unfortunately. That was a bit of a disaster. But on the women's side, it was great that we were really competitive. They won the most games in a season that they ever have. And obviously, a lot of that had to do with Talia Tapia and Christina Moore. But...
01:46:52
Speaker
Also, I just think that the girls really came together um it was and just missed out on the playoffs. The competition a whole has been awesome. Yeah. And you look, as I said, if you love doing what you do, it's it's not work. it's It's just, it just becomes part of what you do and you look forward to it every week. And I absolutely did, whether it was commentating or or going to games or which I went to a whole bunch and um yeah outside Bulls games and then then being able to commentate the grand men's grand final was the icing on the cake.
01:47:26
Speaker
And it's just it's so exciting. And look, I know I've said this a million times, but um yeah you guys, just congratulations to both of you. You'll do a phenomenal job, as you always do in nationals.
01:47:37
Speaker
But for this in particular, the work you do, i hear... People talk about it all the time. And, you know, you you you kind of were, know, you're the ones that kicked this off, this whole thing off. We talked about how great the content's been this season and how it's gone to a different level. It doesn't happen without you guys starting this podcast in the first place.
01:47:59
Speaker
ah when no one else did. And um so everybody should be thankful to to you guys. And you continue to set the standard. You do a phenomenal job. You both obviously love the game, even though Squins deserted New South Wales, unfortunately. We know why. We know why.
01:48:15
Speaker
i right Hey, yeah I'm bilingual. I'm bilingual now. I speak east and north. East and north. That's right. Yes, you do. and Yeah, great job in the grand final too with um our good friend, Mr. Guarana.
01:48:28
Speaker
um So um up there doing it as well. So, yeah, just a ah big thank you to to everybody that um but on behalf of everybody, I guess, that tunes in and um has been a part of this for a very long time and and long may it continue.
01:48:47
Speaker
Thank you. Thank you so, so much, Matt. Yeah, that's really, really kind of you to say. And we know that you've been one of our biggest supporters as well since the very, very start. Thanks for recognising us as a couple of the OGs of getting this NBL One East content up and underway. I should have said OG, but ah that's what the young people say. So, yeah.
01:49:10
Speaker
The sentiment remains the same. Still remains the same. ah But, yeah, thank you for you as well for our you know, cutting the path of up and coming budding commentators like us as well. We all, there's a lot of people, including us in the league and um interstate that still look up to you as one of the goat commentators. So thank you as well.
01:49:31
Speaker
i appreciate it. It's embarrassing, but i appreciate i love We all like doing it, don't we? yeah And it's it's nice to know that we're we're kind of driving. And I said this, I mean, it's on KO if you want to go back and watch it, but I kind of, I did give ah a thanks at the end when i was when we were um signing out to everybody, like the content people and the videographers and the photographers and the podcasters,
01:49:57
Speaker
um And, yeah, and and to all the the the commentators who who do it um week in, week out, a lot for no money. um So, yeah, that though everyone's doing a ah great job in helping to drive you know, the ah professionalism of the league and take it in ah you know, an even better direction. And um the next, you asked Pete about the three years. I think the three is going to be a month. We're going to see.
01:50:26
Speaker
i just get the sense we haven't seen anything yet. Yeah. You mean, you know, like for, I mean, Will Hickey, we didn't even talk about him being in the NBA. Oh, yeah.
01:50:38
Speaker
But Wally Bales, another one. um Yeah. And I just think, you know, I mean, look,
Future Predictions for the League
01:50:45
Speaker
The people where, I mean, even I can say from the Bulls' perspective, you obviously they've already started preparations for next year.
01:50:52
Speaker
And people we're looking at are NBL players already. So without saying who, and I think the women will be in the similar boat. We'll be looking at, okay, ah can who can we attract that's WNBL quality?
01:51:05
Speaker
And that's going to be a story among a lot of teams this year, I guarantee it, in next year rather, and in years to come. And then we're going to start seeing more money come in and we'll be able to play pay players more and it'll be less and less of a semi-pro league and more of a pro league. it's And then you've got the national component of it. it's It's fantastic. I mean, you can tell ah get pumped about the NBL One East. it It already means a lot to me after four years. and You know, as someone who was watching Warratay League for forever and a day and even before that, the ABA and then the old CBA back in early 90s.
01:51:40
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Central Coast Cavaliers. Let's go. Yeah. And and the yeah the the CBA, the the final, if you remember, the grand final of the CBA 1992 was actually televised on Channel 10. Yeah.
01:51:52
Speaker
So if we can get to that back in the day, so that if we can get, that's where, that's kind of the next step, right? From a broadcasting perspective, but we can get there because the talent's amazing.
01:52:05
Speaker
and and And men and women, a lot I mean, ah the women's comps, unbelievable. You know, you look at, there's national team player or people who that can represent Australia playing.
01:52:16
Speaker
And will. And Sataya Fagan could be the next Lauren Jackson for all we know. You know, this is the thing. That's what's so exciting about it all.
01:52:26
Speaker
Yeah, very well put. Very lovely positive light over the the future of the NBL1 East as well. But, Matt, again, thanks so much for joining us today. We love having you on Talking All Things East and we'll certainly have to catch up with you again soon.
01:52:42
Speaker
Absolutely, guys. Great to be here. Thanks for having me. And once again, good luck at Nationals. I'll be tuning in critiquing the hell out of you. Please, bring it on. Bring it on. yeah You need it. I've got notes.
01:52:56
Speaker
I don't care if you send me a voice memo saying when I need to improve one. Bring it on. ah No, not you. You're perfect. Mr. Francis, on the other hand, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. No, I critique myself enough. The next thing is to actually work or work on those critiques. That's right, yeah.
01:53:21
Speaker
All right. Thanks, Pat. We'll talk to you again soon. See you, guys. See you. oh All right. It's been a monster of an episode, Lockie, but we better plug NBL1 Nationals one last time for our listeners and our viewers.
01:53:36
Speaker
Just remind us when and where it's happening. Well, Matt just scooped our news by wishing us good luck at Nationals. He did. We did kind of say as well to to Pete and Nate that, hey, we'll see you there. But it wasn't, we may we may have just been attending as fans, but ah Matt had added us.
01:53:57
Speaker
Yeah, Matt kind of outed us. Yes, so we will be Canberra. uh, four nationals on the mic, both of us. Uh, it will start on Friday, the 29th of August down in Canberra games on the 29th, the 30th and the 31st. So Friday through Sunday Tuggeranong basketball stadium down on the South side.
01:54:21
Speaker
I'm sure the Gunners fans will pack it out. I'm sure Illawarra fans will, uh, make the trip over the hills and far away down to Canberra. Uh,
01:54:33
Speaker
I call it the Macquarie Pass melee for nothing, although I don't know if you'd be allowed to take a fans bus on that road. But nonetheless, looking forward to seeing the Illawarra, the Canberra, and the Manly Warringah fans all there.
01:54:47
Speaker
So it should be absolutely outstanding. We got ah five teams locked in for both at the moment, I'm pretty sure. Mm-hmm.
01:54:58
Speaker
Yeah. In the men's, it's Canberra, Illawarra, of course. Southern Districts from North, Sandringham from South, West Adelaide from Central.
01:55:11
Speaker
And
01:55:14
Speaker
who is the depending women's national champion? I can't even remember. That would be the Waverly Falcons. Ah, so it'll be Manly Warringah, Logan from North after they've won Game 3 in overtime.
01:55:29
Speaker
And who called overtime in the game preview? Who called that? That would be the same person who called game three. Squint. Yes. Correct. Correct. And it was 78-76 in overtime, so very close as well. The Knox women who beat the undefeated Geelong by 20 in the grand final.
01:55:48
Speaker
one bill Woodville from Central with or without Erin Phillips. She did post a retirement post and say 13 out. And I was like, my last. Erin, don't do it to me.
01:55:58
Speaker
And then the Waverly Falcons are the defending champion spot. The West have their grand finals this Saturday. It's Coburn versus Warwick in the women and Geraldton versus Warwick in the men.
01:56:11
Speaker
So we could see two Warwick teams there representing the West. ah That will be very interesting to see, although I think we'd all like to see Johnny Narkel and Geraldton over in Nationals because he is hooping at the moment, but that will be decided on Saturday. But, yes, if you can't make it down and you better have a good of reason as to why not, please do tune in.
01:56:35
Speaker
We'll be on KO Freebies with Squint and myself bringing you all the action. Hopefully there's a r North versus East game that we are going get put on together because that was very enjoyable when we got to do and game at 2022 Nationals.
01:56:51
Speaker
Yeah, I'm sure the stars will align where there will be a North versus East game that we'll do together. ah But like I said, I'm bilingual in East and North now, so that's pretty handy for me. But, yeah, Lockie and I are very lucky to have been selected to commentate the NBL1 Nationals amongst seven other people from across the country.
01:57:13
Speaker
it is something you have to apply for and get selected for, so being selected as part of the commentary team is always an honour. Very much looking forward to it, and that's why we're very, very pumped to be going because it's very competitive. They get 200-plus applicants to commentate the Nationals a year.
01:57:32
Speaker
So for us to be A, selected, and B, selected again is ah is the highest of honours for us as commentators. And, yeah, make let's make sure that the NBL One East is hosting.
01:57:45
Speaker
We've got, I'm pretty sure for the first time ever, the hosting city or hosting club has also earned their spot to play. they're going to be playing in front of their home court.
01:57:57
Speaker
Manly's going to be there. Now Illawarra's going to be there. So we'll have three East teams on East Home Court. Let's pack it out. Let's get there in droves.
01:58:08
Speaker
Let's do Yeah, 100%. Take that audio. Come down on the Friday. It is so much fun. It kind of has that air of nostalgia for those that used to play club nationals as kids or ah country cup or something like that. when we It has that same air about its it. It's super fun. It's certainly kind of a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing because the East may not host it again. So, yeah.
01:58:36
Speaker
Take the opportunity as it as it has arisen. Exactly. And it's more NBL1 basketball. Who doesn't want that? Who doesn't want that, exactly? ah So, yeah. Otherwise, ah that is East Scott game for the regular season. We will hopefully have another couple of special episodes up our sleeve very soon. So keep your eye out for that.
01:58:58
Speaker
ah But in the meantime...
01:59:02
Speaker
Don't sleep on the East.
01:59:05
Speaker
Very good. Now I've got to get the banner ah the betterner ready. All right. Peace out, everyone. See you soon.