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Season 3 Episode 11 "A pleasantly enjoyable game" with Carlie McAlister
33 Plays5 days ago
NBL1 East Headlines of Round 6
EGG GOTW: Maitland Mustangs vs. Canberra Nationals (W)
Good Eggs of the Week
Interview with Carlie McAlister (Canberra Nationals)
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Episode Highlights
00:00:38
Speaker
Hello again and welcome to another episode of East Got Game where we give you the X's, the O's and the insights of the MBL1 East competition for 2025. Thank you for joining us tonight our live on YouTube and Instagram.
00:00:56
Speaker
Remember you could subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Instagram and Facebook at East Got Game. or you can continue to find our episodes on your preferred streaming platforms.
00:01:11
Speaker
On this week's episode, we'll be covering our ESCOP game, Game of the Week, our Good Eggs of the Week, aka our top performances of the round, and we'll also be playing an interview with a very special guest.
00:01:25
Speaker
But first, let's check in.
Hosts' Banter and Instagram Scams
00:01:27
Speaker
It's me, Squinn, the most vulnerable ah person to Instagram scams in the NBL1 East. And as always, I'm joined by my co-host, Lockie France, who is the protector of Instagram accounts from scammers in the NBL1 East. Lockie, it's been a day.
00:01:46
Speaker
It's been a day for us. it's It's been a day. It's not how I expected to start life as a 37-year-old, but it's what it is. Yeah, so let's actually first rewind a little bit and say a massive happy birthday to you, Lockie, for yesterday. Happy birthday. And I'm glad that you mentioned your age because I actually had forgotten how old you turned.
00:02:08
Speaker
I really wish I didn't know how old I turned, but thank you, Squin. Yeah, so my present to you was giving you the responsibility that you've now earned as a 37-year-old by protecting our Instagram account for from, you know, the, how would I say, um misguided generosity of myself.
00:02:30
Speaker
sorry I think that's a good way to put it. Yeah, basically, you know, I had good intentions. Basically got a a message from an NB01 East player saying, hey, will you vote for me in this thing?
00:02:45
Speaker
And halfway through work I'm like, yeah, sure, why not? I need a distraction or procrastination from one ah my actual job. Signed into this thing using our Instagram account.
00:02:57
Speaker
Wouldn't work. And then all of a sudden we started getting these notifications about all these strange sign-ins. And there we go we were scammed. So I think a whole bunch of our followers were also messaged with the same link once the scammers had access to our account. so massive apologies to everyone that got that got that random message about voting for us for a podcast, which being a podcast could actually seem like a real legitimate request.
00:03:25
Speaker
um So hopefully no one else got caught up in the scam because of my negligence. But big thank you to you, Lockie, for recovering everything because that would have been a headache. It's a good thing I work from home today.
00:03:37
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. ah It's a very good thing. You work from home and a very good thing that you um know how it's how to do those things. Cause I think I would have just been stressing out and our friend SJ from love of the game on Instagram said that I need more spam email training.
00:03:56
Speaker
And the funny thing is that we legitimately have to do spam email and scam training at work. And look, It's rubbed off for me from using a work account, but perhaps not from social media. So I think you're right, SJ. I probably need a little bit more training.
00:04:13
Speaker
Need to wise up a little bit, hey? Maybe.
00:04:19
Speaker
I'm going to take that as a gentle yes.
NBL1 East Competition Recap
00:04:23
Speaker
ah But kicking off our episode tonight will be our East Got Game headlines of the round. ah We've just finished round six. Can't believe it's round six already.
00:04:36
Speaker
i'm Probably going to say that for every round. But Lockie, take it away with our headlines of the week. Well, first headline of the week, and it it stems from the game I called between Sutherland Sharks and the Newcastle Falcons on Saturday night.
00:04:51
Speaker
Will the real Newcastle Falcons please stand up? They're 3-5. They got smoked by Sutherland on Saturday night and then went beat Canberra on Sunday. So they're 3-5.
00:05:04
Speaker
Their wins are over Maitland, Canberra, and then Illawarra with Blanchfield.
00:05:13
Speaker
That's huge. Why don't you do that for the rest of the game?
00:05:19
Speaker
So, yeah, three really big teams they've managed to knock off at full strength when the opposition's been at full strength. ah Yeah, I think that's a legitimate question to ask the real Newcastle stand. Please stand up.
00:05:31
Speaker
What did you see in the their game against Sutherland that was – what was missing from that game against Sutherland that they then went and implemented the next day?
00:05:43
Speaker
To be honest, I haven't watched the next day's game just yet, but it was funny. At the start of the end, of course, so Luke Jamison, Billy Fichetti, and Cooper Wilkes were off playing 3x3.
00:05:54
Speaker
So we had no Luke Jamison. and well you Jake and I were speaking about it before the game. You know, no Luke Jamison. This is a chance for, like, Cherry, Beastie to just, like, you know...
00:06:07
Speaker
go to work against the sutherland team is going to be slightly smaller but sutherland just trotted out jameson and uh spurgeon and gerlach and noi and then conor woodbridge had 14 points and it really it turned out to not really matter all that much in the end at all which i found really really odd but yeah so what i Yeah, what I thought would be an out that would help Newcastle lot didn't really... i mean, to be fair to them, they stayed within 14 or 15 for a long way, and Sutherland just blew it out in the end. But they gave up so many offensive rebounds, especially in the third and fourth quarters.
00:06:49
Speaker
I couldn't... I literally said, these offensive rebounds are killing Newcastle. I think there was three baskets in the space of a couple of minutes that the Shafts got off offensive rebounds that really put a gap between them.
00:07:01
Speaker
I was not expecting from a Newcastle team. Yeah. Do you, and especially given it was in the third and fourth quarter, do you feel fatigue was at play there or just, you know, perhaps just not concentrating for whatever reason? Yeah. I'm not sure about fatigue.
00:07:18
Speaker
um I know you want to pace yourself for the big double header, but I mean, don't, yeah, and don't think so. And, but to be fair them, they got, still got Leo O'Boyle to come back. So,
00:07:30
Speaker
That'll be a big help, but yeah
00:07:35
Speaker
but yeah. I mean, yeah, they were slow out of the gates and then brought it back. Kuat Noi scored the first 12 points of the game, but then Matur Malawaj also had 16 in the first quarter. So yeah, just just in inconsistent, I think is the best best way to describe them at the moment, but inconsistent, but dangerous. Yeah.
00:07:59
Speaker
Yeah, that's true. Probably. Unpredictable, perhaps. Inconsistency and dangerous is unpredictable.
00:08:06
Speaker
Because they've got plenty of pieces. Like, you know, Cherry, Stephens, Kobe Shannon. Kobe Shannon, I think, relies under the radar in this league. I think he's a really good player. Beastie.
00:08:18
Speaker
um And, yeah, as I said, Malawach had 16 in the first quarter and didn't score another point for the rest of the game. So... But he averages six per game, so you know you need someone else to go on with it. I think that was the thing. No one else really stepped up and went on with it, built on the foundation that he created.
00:08:37
Speaker
And do you think those three wins that Newcastle have over the likes of, um who was it Maitland, Canberra and Illawarra, do you think that's going to kind of have an effect in the end result or the end ladder placings come the end of the season?
00:08:54
Speaker
If they can put together some consistency, I think so, because that's three wins that probably not a lot of the other mid-pack teams around them are going to get. They could be the three wins that sneak them into the top eight if they can turn it around, to be honest.
00:09:07
Speaker
They just need to, yeah, they need to start beating the teams they really should beat. Like, they've got they've got Hornsby this weekend. So they need to make, you know, they need to make sure they win that.
00:09:19
Speaker
They've got... Bainstown and Inner West the week after that. So Bainstown, probably the worst time to get them, right, as Galloway's in and hitting his straps. But you know Inner West and Newcastle, both teams that need to ah kind of go up a gear because I think Inner West have of dropped a couple of games that they probably would think they shouldn't have as well.
00:09:43
Speaker
Yeah, I think you're right. So just looking at the ladder after round six in the men's competition, Newcastle is still sitting 13th with that three and five record you mentioned earlier. Inner West Bulls are only just above them in 12th place with the same record, but only just above Newcastle based on the four and against points percentage. So, ah yeah, they're...
00:10:05
Speaker
Probably still a little bit of an a distance from that top eight. But as we know in the East, anything can happen. So certainly not counting out either team just yet. Anything can happen and it usually does.
00:10:20
Speaker
That's a guarantee. The great Murray Walker, I believe, says that. He's not wrong. Yes. Yes. murray as Murray Walker, the great Formula One commentator.
00:10:33
Speaker
ah What other headlines from round six do you have for us? Well, I think we are need to ask ourselves some questions about the Canberra Gunners because they lost both games this weekend to Newcastle, as we just mentioned, but they also lost to Maitland in the ah big rivalry.
00:10:57
Speaker
We talked about a couple of years ago. If they keep playing big games, it's going to become a rivalry, and now it's a rivalry. And they shot 34% from the field for the entire weekend, the Canberra Gunners.
00:11:12
Speaker
Against Maitland, Mayfield had 30 and Morrison had 10. No, know, Morrison was second leading scorer with 10 and they lost eighty six seventy two And then against Newcastle, they shot 34% from the field. The big three, Mayfield, Morrison and Thuy combined for 55 points, but it took them 52 field goal attempts to get there.
00:11:33
Speaker
i just And like against Newcastle, they won the turnover battle. You know, they're not, you know, coughing the ball up for fun.
00:11:43
Speaker
ah just yeah They just couldn't put the ball in the hoop. And from, you know, last undefeated men's team, they've now slipped behind Centre of Excellence and Sutherland. And they've got to take on Illawarra, who should have Blanchfield back this coming weekend.
00:11:59
Speaker
Yeah, Gunners finding themselves in a slightly precarious situation, which is a little bit unexpected. I definitely talk a lot about having top teams tested early in the season in preparation for the back end.
00:12:15
Speaker
Do you think perhaps this might be a little bit of a twist early in the season that the Gunners need to ensure their place in the top four, as we've seen in the last, well, since the inception of NBL One East?
00:12:27
Speaker
I mean...
00:12:31
Speaker
um A mistake's only a mistake if you don't learn from it. So, you know, Pete Herrick's a very, very good coach. He'll go back, watch the film, sort out what they need to do. I'm sure it's just a, you know, a bump in the road for them. I don't, I mean,
00:12:50
Speaker
Even if they fell to Illawarra this weekend, that wouldn't be horrendous. It'd be if they started slipping. know, they play Aubrey-Wodonga. So they've got Illawarra, then Aubrey-Wodonga, but then they've got Sutherland and COE, and then Manly in their next few games. So...
00:13:10
Speaker
Yes, a lot of these are not losses that individually are horrible. You know, they lose to Sutherland, that's not horrible. They lose to CEE, that's not horrible. They lose to Illawarra, that's not horrible. Lose to all three, that's kind of bad because then they've already racked up five losses and suddenly top four is looking a little a little iffy.
00:13:32
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. it's it It's the climb. It will be the climb by Miley Cyrus for them. The climb by Miley Cyrus, love it.
00:13:40
Speaker
um And actually, you mentioned Aubrey. We actually had someone message us via Instagram today um before we were hacked, I will say, asking about the new signing for the Bandits Men.
00:14:01
Speaker
ah is it Francis Wimanera who played for Newcastle Falcons last season? Yes, yes, for instance, when you're at Mobile Hill. Yes, yes. and he's He's signed for the Bandits Men, and this person has asked, you know, I've noticed that Bandits have signed a new guard. I've also noticed that Jasper Rentoy didn't suit up the last game.
00:14:22
Speaker
Is that perhaps a replacement? ah You know, are they changing their roster? Is Jasper injured? What is the intel? Do you know anything, Lockie, officially? don't I do not know anything officially or unofficially.
00:14:39
Speaker
Only that bandits have picked up a player who's already shown himself to be a pretty solid rotational player up at Newcastle last season. Yeah. So, uh, I wonder as well, like, the timing of it. I think it was a very well pointed out. um I think was a very good question to ask from this person via Instagram. So thank you for your question and bringing it to our attention.
00:15:01
Speaker
i think the devil is in the detail with the press release and the Instagram post of when they and announced Francis is joining the Bandits because if you look quite far down in this description, ah it just says something along the lines of um reshaping of the roster or trying to redirect our season.
00:15:21
Speaker
which I don't know if I'm reading too much into it, but that to me reads as possibly a replacement in terms of, hey, we've tried this. It's not working. We're going to try something else.
00:15:32
Speaker
And is it a little bit too convenient that Frances has joined and
Key Player Performances
00:15:35
Speaker
Jasper wasn't there? i don't know. maybe Maybe I'm getting a little bit too de moi about this and reading too much into it, but that's how it that's how I took it.
00:15:44
Speaker
Yeah, it does. I mean, it does sound a little convenient, but ah I mean, re reshaping the roster could just mean bringing a player in and shaking up the rotations a bit. Could be correct here to here and anywhere in between.
00:16:02
Speaker
Yeah. So I think that's what I'm suspecting, but definitely not confirmed. And bandits are usually really, really good with being transparent with their fans and posting things in a timely manner on their socials about any changes. So maybe we might just have to keep an eye out for that.
00:16:20
Speaker
Definitely. ah And have you got any more headlines from the NBL one East Round 6 Lockie? I think we need to ah mention the the three big names that made their debut. two Two that have been a long time coming and one that was a slightly newer newer addition. Of course, so well we'll work our way up. that We'll start with ah Austin Patterson coming off the bench for North on debut. 22 points in 28 minutes for the Bears.
00:16:49
Speaker
ah Five rebounds, three assists, three steals. Shot 7 of 15 from the field and the Bears got up 97, 86.
00:16:57
Speaker
So that was quite a way to announce yourself to the league. And of course, for Wiley Bales, we know what he can do. And he did it. 26 points, 10 rebounds, 10 of 22 from the field. sevenness assist send of twenty two from the field Got the Comets over the line, 80-65 over the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.
00:17:14
Speaker
But you already know who the next one is because he won NBL One East Player of the Week with his 37 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 50% from the field, 107-87 win over the Orwell Wodonga Bandits.
00:17:30
Speaker
It's Jalen Galloway. What a way to announce yourself to the league. we knew We know what he's capable but ah but still to just come in and absolutely mash like that is, that's pretty impressive.
00:17:46
Speaker
Has there ever been a bigger debut in the East than that?
00:17:55
Speaker
I'm going to say, well, I mean, apart, maybe like, if you think back to like the inaugural day of the season, did like someone go absolutely off kind of thing, but.
00:18:06
Speaker
There wouldn't be many bigger.
00:18:10
Speaker
No, I don't think. I think that's a ah pretty, that's definitely up there. Definitely is. Yeah. And just announcing yourself like that and to come in with the, you know, Bankstown have been treading water, you know, same with, like like with Comets, you know, they've just been doing enough to keep themselves in contention until their big name arrives and then both Bawali and Jalen just come in and knock it out of the park first up.
00:18:37
Speaker
Yeah, huge, huge. well We love to see it. We love to see it in the East. This round six has been a real shake-up. I mean, Kawhi Noyes, big numbers. Jalen Galloway's big numbers.
00:18:48
Speaker
The next headline we're obviously going to talk about as well, adding to the huge narrative at the moment in NBL 1 East. But also, after round six, a lot of shake-ups, a lot of, we won't say upsets, but a lot of surprising results.
00:19:03
Speaker
Teams getting... teams losing, you know, Canberra Gunners losing two in a weekend is surprising. Some teams getting one and one. Like, it's been quite a dramatic round six.
00:19:17
Speaker
It really, really has. And, I mean, and ah you look at the ladder now and... especially on the men's side, just how many teams are sitting there at four and four, three and four, three and five, like seventh to 13th. There's a win between a lot of them.
00:19:35
Speaker
And, know, my comments going to play Sutherland. Illawarra sutherland illwa we've got to play Canberra. They're one result from either being right up there or being dragged back down into that mid pack. So it's a very, very interesting And one more headline just before I'm going to throw.
00:19:57
Speaker
ah So we've got our first proper fan question live on our YouTube stream, Lockie, and it's directed Fat You. So just hold on tight. Before we get to that question, it's a very good question too, ah we just want to also mention that the Newcastle Falcons women and the North Bears women continue to remain undefeated in the NBL1 competition.
00:20:19
Speaker
And I say NBL1, period. period Is it NBL one overall now? yeah all right No, there might be in West. I'm sorry, there's actually also Geelong women are also still undefeated in the south. But there's definitely the only two teams in the east that are now undefeated, both teams eight and zero, which is a hell of a start to the season.
00:20:45
Speaker
ah And I would say they're probably one of very few. So I think that list that came out last week of the undefeated teams has been reduced. I'm going to say there's probably there two of the, say,
00:20:56
Speaker
maybe four teams in the kind competition now that are undefeated? Yeah, i think, well, the problem is North started now. So they've got teams that are like two and zero They've got, they've got a leg up.
00:21:09
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. yeah yeah it's It's easy to be undefeated when you've only played one, what one or two weeks. yeah Yeah, that's true. no NBL 1 North perhaps doesn't count at the moment. Yes, that's true.
00:21:22
Speaker
That's true. ah Next round, the Norse Bears women play the centre of excellence. So that will be really exciting, a really good test to see if they can keep that winning streak going.
00:21:35
Speaker
And then Newcastle and Norse play each other two rounds later in round nine. ah So that will be a really good test for both teams as well.
00:21:46
Speaker
Yeah, that is going be must-watch viewing.
00:21:53
Speaker
And Newcastle play Hornsby-Karingai away as well. And then Bankstown and Inner West in round eight in preparation for that game against North. So keep an eye out for them.
00:22:06
Speaker
You don't want to be Mike Tyson versus Buster Douglas and lose before the big one. So but they'll still have to turn up and, you know, play their best because I'm sure everyone's itching to knock off both of these teams before that round nine game.
00:22:22
Speaker
Yeah.
Lockie France's Milestone
00:22:23
Speaker
And I'm going to pretend I know who that other guy is that you referenced. He's the guy that beat Mike Tyson in the Tokyo Dome. He was 42 to 1.
00:22:34
Speaker
I'll have to send you the 30 for 30 win. Please do. He should be a household name then. Yes. He probably is, just not in my household. All right. On to this question, our first legitimate and fair question on YouTube. Here we go. I'm going to pop it on screen, Lockie. It's to you.
00:22:53
Speaker
It's from our lovely friend Dean Andrews. Now, for those who don't know, Dean Andrews is also a basketball journalist in ah from Victoria. basketball journalist. He has his own website and blog where he publishes a lot of great articles about some of our local legends, um including especially including the WNBL.
00:23:12
Speaker
He's also the guy that you go to for any kind of confirmation of a historical fact in the WNBL. Dean Andrews would definitely know before anyone at BA will know.
00:23:24
Speaker
Yes, 100%. 100%. Dean Andrews is guy you need to follow on socials for the facts. but For anyone who's a cross-sport fan, if you're an A-League soccer fan and you know Andy Howe, Dean Andrews is like the WNBL version.
00:23:41
Speaker
Yeah, he's your guy. He's your guy. ah So he's asked he's saying, congratulations, Lockie, on reaching 100 games as NBL1 commentator when the Sharks host the comments on the Saturday, the 17th of May.
00:23:55
Speaker
See, he remembers. He remembered from our chat last week. What have been some of your highlights during the journey to this milestone? Yeah. Well, obviously national, like doing the inaugural women's grand final and the inaugural nationals, because that's just something no one can ever take away from you to say you were the first to do something.
00:24:19
Speaker
um So those will always be very special memories. mean, commentated both with you, Squin. That was amazing. um I guess... um just some of the like some of the players you get to comment out I commentated LJ dropping 50 at Sutherland basketball stadium can you imagine like when I when Rach Herrick dragged me out of the bar line at a WNBL game and took like 10 minutes to convince me to jump on that I would end up doing something like that so
00:24:57
Speaker
and Honestly, like this individual game highlights like the LJ50Ps, the two, the grand, fault both grand finals I've done, um the Nationals, just some of the great players. I had to commentate on Lauren Nicholson who, she was a DP for the Flames the first ever time I went to a WNBL game.
00:25:16
Speaker
And now I commentate on her, well, last season, every week and hopefully some point this season. But um honestly, the highlights include Watching, commentating with Jake every week and watching and listening to his improvement.
00:25:38
Speaker
Because he he's done actually he's done more Sutherland home games than I have. Because I had COVID one round. Oh.
00:25:47
Speaker
ah at his improvement and comment honestly being down there with Chris and Scott and Zach and Jake Ella and whoever else joins the inn for the crew on a particular day. It's just, it's just the best thing every week.
00:26:04
Speaker
And now at Comets, I get the same. ah Commentating with Freddie was great. Now I brought Will on, like Will Constantinidis just messaged me out of the blue and said, there a spot for me? I live near Hills. I live near inner West. I'm like, mate,
00:26:16
Speaker
Hills and Inner West, they're tough places to ah get a spot in at commentary. But why you try Comets when I'm not there? So I like the idea of paying it forward. And actually, for my birthday, I've got a commentary headset.
00:26:32
Speaker
So now when I'm at Comets, we can have a third. So any players, anyone wants to jump on, be our third. If we've got a spare spot, hit me up.
00:26:45
Speaker
I'd love to get i love to get players on. We're going to have a player on for my 100th game, actually. Ooh, okay. Watch this space. Yes, a player I've had on before. But back to the highlights, yeah, probably yeah probably the Nationals, the Grand Final, LJ's 50-piece.
00:27:03
Speaker
And just like watching some players just watching players come through the ranks and improve. And some of them go away and come back. Like they go to college or they go interstate and they come back and just watching them improve. Like, um
00:27:22
Speaker
I got so many I can mention, but I'm going to mention her because it's kind of in the memory. Sophie Brennan. Just from the regular season to her performance in the grand final to how good she looked on the weekend. just players like that you just watch get progressively better off and It's happened so many times.
00:27:39
Speaker
You get to call it and it's just it's just amazing. I just love being able to bring it, bring the action to people every week because I've been Lockie France and you have been amazing.
00:27:55
Speaker
Now, for those that don't know, that is Lockie's signature sign-off for any game that he commentates. So that'ss that's not out of context, out of the blue. That was perfect. um
East Got Game of the Week
00:28:06
Speaker
But, yeah, very well done, mate. Congratulations on your upcoming 100 games. And like I said, if anyone from Comets or Sutherland or Surrounds sees Lockie, at least shake his hand and congratulate him, please.
00:28:19
Speaker
and if and and And if you can, you know, at least shout him a couple of bottles of dare ice coffee, bag of snakes. I was going to say a Coles cake, but i know if I've actually seen you eat a Coles cake.
00:28:34
Speaker
But those two are surefire, Ben. Those two are sure things because I turned up to Nationals every day with them. Yeah, yeah, exactly. I'm like, all right, this is, I i took a mental note. If I ever need a buy Lockie something, it's those things.
00:28:47
Speaker
It is. And now I'm sharing it with everyone else. But also birthday present is something to share with other people. And I think that's a representation of the kind of giving person you are, spending your, getting a birthday present that you can share with others.
00:29:03
Speaker
Yeah, so anyway, very great question, great answer. Thank you again, Dean. And ah for those that still use X or formerly known as Twitter, please go and follow Dean at Dean Andrews 7777.
00:29:20
Speaker
He also has a website called Milestones and Misses where he posts a lot of cool articles. He's just like the nicest dude ever. Great insights, great stats and facts that he's always willing to share with everyone.
00:29:33
Speaker
Great focus on especially Australian women's basketball. Absolute legend. Thank you, Dean. Thank you, Lockie, for that great answer. Thank you, Squint. No worries, bud.
00:29:44
Speaker
At least I could do. um But tell me, are you ready to get cracking into the East Scott game of the week? ah You know, I am always ready to talk about this particular, both of these particular teams, really.
00:29:59
Speaker
Yeah, get your notes in order. I see you. I see you getting organised. I have my headline notes, so now I need my game notes. Very good. Very good. I love the preparation ah preparation. Expect nothing less, though, to be fair.
00:30:11
Speaker
ah So our East Coast game game of the week for round six was the Maitland Mustangs versus the Canberra Nationals in the women's competition. This one was a really, really close race. Two tightly matched teams in both level of talent and I think kind of like how they've built their roster as well.
00:30:31
Speaker
So that already made up for an interesting matchup. Maitland winning this one 75-68 on their home court at Federation Centre, winning the fourth quarter twenty to ten to really clinch the win and just sprinting on home.
00:30:47
Speaker
The Stangers, which the, you know, the Stangers, as the Stangers would do, i guess. That's the thing. I was watching the game, so I knew the result and i was like, when do they take the lead? When do they take the lead? When do they take the lead? And it's like, oh, okay, now they've taken the lead.
00:31:01
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. it It really kind of crept up. It was a pretty steady gallop and it turned into a sprint.
00:31:09
Speaker
nice yeah Nice Mustang reference. Yeah, i was I was close before I had to get it out there. ah But yeah, so yeah, seventy five sixty eight Maitland notching up another win, fairly spread scoring and stat lines from the Stangers as well as the Canberra Nationals.
00:31:30
Speaker
ah But from the tip-off, talk me through this game, Lockie. Well, it was really a game of two halves, and I don't mean that as in Canberra won the first half and then Maitland splits the second half. It was...
00:31:43
Speaker
Maitland had 30 points in the paint in the first half and 12 points in the paint in the second half. And it was... And Canberra... Canberra were a little bit more even, but to go from absolutely unstoppable scoring in the paint to barely being able to put the ball in the paint was just too...
00:32:05
Speaker
diametrically opposed things that I think were probably a case of a lot of chat in the locker room at halftime. But in the in the opening quarter, in the very early stages, what I noticed is Maitland, they look happy to move the ball. like They're safe in the knowledge that they have so many players who can do so many different things.
00:32:28
Speaker
that they know someone will always be able to pull something out of the bag. And that's not a bailout. That is a, there's always someone good enough that's going to have the ball in their hands as and find an opportunity every play.
00:32:44
Speaker
So yes, i they might've got deep in the shot clock on occasion, but it always looked measured and patient and like something was brewing, which not every team does when they get deep in the shot clock.
00:32:59
Speaker
Like intention. and Everything had intention. everything Everything had intention. Whereas, mean, Canberra, they they play quick. And why not with that roster they've got?
00:33:17
Speaker
ah They don't just play quick in terms of getting the ball up court. They look to find matchups where they win on speed. And I think that's why Abby Solway had such a day out is because she's quick off the mark.
00:33:34
Speaker
They found her some matchup. And this happened probably throughout the game until it started falling away, especially in the first half. um Loved getting on, like just being in the corner, coming off curl, off the handoff.
00:33:48
Speaker
It was a couple of times um she was on... who had played a guarding her and just got half a step and then she was absolutely gone. um And I think that was real. I think that was one of the best things Canberra did in the early stages was just focus on using their speed when getting to the cup. Cause you look at those,
00:34:14
Speaker
points in the paint and probably and especially the shooting percentages were really high as well probably looking directly at the stats you first thought is okay people are posting up getting in the paint and shooting from three feet it's like oh actually no it's probably more and definitely was more people driving into the paint with good matchups and being able to lay the ball home
00:34:39
Speaker
yeah thought it was um Yeah, it was really interesting where both teams for a lot of the game I feel like were mirroring each other. It looked like they were both playing with very similar team concepts.
00:34:53
Speaker
Like both teams had really great ball movement, team concepts, floor spots. um Everybody knew. Everyone looked really in sync of what they were running. There were very few possessions from either team where you didn't know what they were running or you could see people were confused.
00:35:11
Speaker
Everyone was very well organized and focused on the same thing. Sometimes at the start of the game particularly that read to me as though like everything was coming a little bit too easy for each team as well.
00:35:22
Speaker
Similar when we spoke about COE against Hornsby in our last episode where in that first quarter COE could just kind of did whatever they liked until Hornsby changed their defense and disrupted everything.
00:35:35
Speaker
i felt like a lot in this game that Both teams were just able to to run most of their sets with ease and get the open shots they wanted with ease, ah despite the on-board defense being quite good. But I think at times so the defense on both teams was a little bit too reactive rather than being proactive.
00:35:55
Speaker
Both teams as well getting caught up in that second line of defense where – There's a lot of backdoor cuts and a couple of plays where there was absolutely no one on split line. So it's just really interesting how both teams had so many similarities.
00:36:08
Speaker
um It was interesting. seeing The stuff that Campbell were running is stuff that's been out there for yonks. Like I was watching some of those plays and I was like, oh, no, I've run that before and I've done this before.
00:36:20
Speaker
And it's some really like – I mean, I'm pretty sure we still even ran it when I played for Crusaders under Eddie Whitmore ah before we had, a when it was still Warratah. was like, oh, that's what, I can't remember what we used to call it.
00:36:32
Speaker
But yeah, I kind of could pick what was happening. it was kind of cool to see Those types of players coming back, but it just shows that like when you execute your timing properly and have people in the right places in those plays that may be old, it can still be effective.
00:36:51
Speaker
So, for example, when they had Abbey Kettles down in the low post in the catch, just waiting for the timing of that back screen to get McAllister open for an easy layer was great.
00:37:01
Speaker
Yeah. i think what changed for me i think the the biggest change for me happened in the fourth quarter otherwise for the rest of the game ah think it was pretty free-flowing and a good exchange of of baskets from ah from a from a fan point of view where i'm like this is entertaining this is pleasantly entertaining yes but there was a lot of watching this game Yeah, I like watching this game. It was almost like watching your favourite TV show. You know how there's that kind of growing trend online where it's like people start re-watching their favourite TV shows to help them like
00:37:36
Speaker
mentally or emotionally like regulate because it's familiar we know it we know it it's familiar and we like it and we're comfortable with it and it helps me like feel nice this is kind of one of those games i'm like i've seen these things before there's a pleasant exchange of baskets but everyone's doing something good it's a very pleasant game to watch i only really saw some change in the game in the fourth quarter
00:38:01
Speaker
Yeah, it kind of, I mean, it was it was by far the lowest scoring. Well, it wasn't the lowest scoring quarter of the game overall, but it had Canberra only scoring 10 points, which I think is probably the most noticeable thing.
00:38:16
Speaker
What I know, main thing I noticed at the start of the fourth quarter was that Maitland opened with three three-point attempts on their first three possessions. which kind of diverged away from, well, mean, they only had, I think, 17 three-point attempts to the game. Was that Maitland?
00:38:31
Speaker
Yeah, they only had 17 three-point attempts to the game, and three of them came in a two-minute stretch to open the fourth quarter. Yeah, and I would think 17 points traditionally for Maitland with that roster, and I know that Will also likes coaching the style of threes or layups, 17 is kind of unexpectedly low. Yeah.
00:38:53
Speaker
Yeah, well, Shaq was one of eight, Miller was three of six, and then Newbert, Hunter, and Plater had won ah one attempt apiece.
00:39:05
Speaker
So, yeah, at least the main three-point shooters were shooting. Yes. Yeah. But, yeah, only four of 17, so... I think and the the focus on the inside game and getting the ball through Newbert and Hunter um and perhaps being more aggressive on dribble penetration, like you could hear Coach Granger in the background just yelling, two feet, two feet, two feet.
00:39:31
Speaker
and So it was obviously a very clear focus on getting two feet into paint. Yeah, James and Garren pay the med. He's giving you free. I am giving you this for free.
00:39:43
Speaker
Two feet. All right, we're just going to randomly shout our favourite NBL1E's podcast in a game now, are we just yelling out two feet, two feet? um Anyway, we digress. But, yeah, three-point attempts for Canberra was 25%.
00:39:59
Speaker
Bourne, Williams, McAllister and Solway shooting most of them. And they were only seven from 25, but I still feel like they were pretty good shot selections despite not going in most of the time anyway. The only surprising number there is that ah Jazz Boots also only had two in 19 minutes of action.
00:40:20
Speaker
o I guess then you've got Mickey Williams taking five and Abby Solway taking eight. So, know. kind of kind of balancing things out.
00:40:34
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's similar to what you mentioned about Maitland, how the Maitland roster have all very versatile and very capable athletes on the offensive end.
00:40:46
Speaker
I think Canberra can be seen as something similar where you can easily slot Solway, Bourne, Williams or Butzos to be your main three-point shooters for a certain game depending on who's open and who's hot and you know, the the game plan is still going to be followed. Yeah.
00:41:06
Speaker
And, I mean, especially like i they had both Solway and Bourne bringing the ball up. You know, there was no real designated, i guess, overwhelmingly primary ball handler, whether it was Bourne or Solway, it didn't really, know, didn't really trend one way or the other massively, I don't think.
00:41:25
Speaker
No, and that's obviously something they've consistently worked on and all agreed to because it was really nice to see sometimes when, um you know, Canberra obviously always looking to run as well, getting transition buckets when they can.
00:41:39
Speaker
McAllister had some really nice rebounds and just, know, baseball passes down the court to find someone open in the ah in transition. But then just as easily enough, Asuna was in either Bourne or Solway's hands, everyone knew where they were going. Everyone was in order.
00:41:55
Speaker
They really didn't waste a lot of time getting organised, which I thought you should kind of expect at this level, but it doesn't always happen like that. So I think that was a really, ah really good strength for the Nationals in this game. Yeah.
00:42:11
Speaker
I think it actually reminds me of the first ever NBL one game I called between Newcastle and Sutherland is that in that game, there was two distinct strategies where the kingdom was bringing the ball up, where the Munger was bringing the ball up. um Sorry, not the first ever game I called the first, the first ever game of after the first game of the 2023 season, it would have been, because it was the game. I got the photo with Munger after the episode.
00:42:40
Speaker
So, yes, but it was a distinct strategy because whether depending on which one of them is on the ball, it's two very different players kind of thing. And it's kind of the same with Bourne and Solway.
00:42:52
Speaker
If Bourne's off the ball, you know, she can play on the perimeter or she can she can post up if she really has to. whether But you're not going to throw Abby in the paint when Callie's bringing the ball up. So they...
00:43:05
Speaker
It may, you know, when you see who's on the ball, you know yeah what your role is going to be. It's fairly delineated.
00:43:12
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, that's right. Yeah. And I have to say as well, this is probably one of the best games I've seen Abby Solway play in a little while. Yeah, she, especially compared to the last time I saw her play, you know, she was with Darwin Salty's up here in North.
00:43:29
Speaker
uh last season and unfortunately just kind of getting left out of the rotation for a little while as the season went on ah but it's just really nice to see her back playing like she just had a bit more of a sense of ease sometimes i think i've seen a play before she's quite tense and you can tell she's kind of trying to overthink what she's doing but she just looks so much at ease this game and everything the game just came to her naturally she was making some really great reads uh just um and making things look so easy. So it was really, really nice to see her playing like that again.
00:44:05
Speaker
And she shot 50% and had 19 points. so yes Yeah, she was really real. i like and There weren't many moments in the game where i was like, oh, Abby, what are you doing?
00:44:16
Speaker
Or anything like that. um And, ah come yeah, it comes back to, like you mentioned before the team's running plays, is that when I, know, when I pause and rewind and,
00:44:30
Speaker
um Rewinding, that's what we used to do with VCRs, ah by the way.
00:44:36
Speaker
Yeah. when When I was pause and rewind and watch a play again, most of the time it would be, ooh, that was a good offensive play that caused the defense to X, rather than going, defense, what are you doing? You made the play happen for them, which I have done a lot of this season, watching players going,
00:44:58
Speaker
defense you just You just gave them the read. Whereas here, the offense was making the defense do what they wanted more often. Well, even the last game we reviewed, the COE Hornsby men's game last week, a lot of it was like,
00:45:13
Speaker
defense you were overplaying and gave that offense the read. Like you kind of just either parted the seas for a drive or made it or something. ah Yeah, i totally I totally see what you mean. The offense was certainly dictating a lot more.
00:45:29
Speaker
I'm going to say for both teams, for three and a half quarters of this game, everything was all more dictated by the offense until – ah until it changed for me in the last five minutes. And that's when I saw the most dramatic change. Like there's certainly little changes from both teams during the games, but the most dramatic change I saw was in the last five minutes. And that was from Maitland.
00:45:55
Speaker
Okay, go on. But, oh, I was going to say, before I get to that, I feel like I'm skipping ahead though. I feel like I'm skipping ahead. Yeah. So we'll circle back to that. Okay.
00:46:07
Speaker
um But, yeah, going into the half, it pretty much looked like ah Canberra was still ahead only by six points. So a decent buffer to go into halftime with, but certainly gettable for Maitland.
00:46:22
Speaker
And then, yeah, Maitland came out and won the third quarter, 15 to 12. I felt like each team in that third quarter, like ah we'll hear later, I guess from our special guests without giving ah little bit away. Yeah, both teams did kind of come out a little bit flat in that third quarter, um little bit sleepy.
00:46:44
Speaker
Yeah, it never felt like it never felt like Canberra were going to break it wide open from six points up. But by the same token, it also never felt like Maitland were going to run over the top of them.
00:47:01
Speaker
And I think that's probably the best way to put it is that no, it didn't look like either team was really taking a stranglehold on the game.
00:47:10
Speaker
Yeah. i taint You would, You run a decent play. mean, there's not a lot of scoring, but, you know, it you you would never, you know, to put put it in tennis terms, you'd never consolidate the break.
00:47:24
Speaker
You'd never score, stop, score, and really either extend your lead or bring the deficit right back. I mean... i mean I think the the paint, de the defense in the paint and just preventing people from getting decent looks in the paint really stepped up, um which was exemplified by pretty sure it was Sophie Williams putting a monster bump on Kelly Bourne.
00:47:51
Speaker
ah She ah drove to the basket in the middle of the third quarter. that was That was big, but i just in in general, yeah, yeah
00:48:03
Speaker
i think yeah I think both teams went in at half-time and probably had a pretty frank discussion about preventing the opposition from driving into the paint in the second half. yeah was the ah As i said earlier, it was the probably one of the primary methods of scoring. and If either team could shut it down and maintain the advantage, it probably would have sent them on their way.
00:48:26
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. That's kind of what added to the whole this is a pleasant game kind of attitude for me was that, oh, yes, everyone's getting a drive and everyone's making stuff happen and everything looks good. But, yeah, I was then starting to wonder how much of this is just the defense kind of letting this happen a little bit too, um playing too passive. maybe Maybe there needs to be a few more bumps. Maybe they're...
00:48:51
Speaker
I know that Maitland did try and do a couple of switching in the second half on certain situations, but sometimes that just meant that the likes of Carly McAllister are going to have a mismatch on the switch, and you don't want to mismatched on Carly McAllister when she's close to the left. And she's such a tough player to guard. I mean...
00:49:12
Speaker
Probably the only player on that Maitland team that matches her for speed and size is Hunter because she showed she's got a step on Newbert. She's obviously got the size on just about everyone else. Except maybe, yeah.
00:49:24
Speaker
Well, no, not except. i Probably Mila could affect her shot with the length, but maybe that's about it. I'd still back McAllister in the battle. So, yeah, when you when you start switching, as you said, you risk a mismatch.
00:49:41
Speaker
Yeah, because McAllister has the the foot speed, the agility oh and of like a guard, but then the height and the length of a center.
00:49:53
Speaker
So, yeah, it's very, very, very difficult to guard. I think Mila did a pretty good job on her, though, in that third quarter in patches when she had to switch on her. Yeah. I think Mila finished with poor blocks.
00:50:05
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, she did. Yeah, she did. Yeah, she did. I mean, Kyle McAllister, that 3x3 skill set, you've got to be you gotta be able to do everything. Yeah, absolutely. It's a perfect ah player type for 3x3. Yeah, definitely, definitely. um Yeah, no one else.
00:50:28
Speaker
I mean, Canberra only had two blocks in total, and here's Mila having four on her own. that's like It's just a luxury to have a guard with that length. Yeah.
00:50:40
Speaker
so which So for me, now getting into the biggest change and going back to what you said before about how you feel like no, neither of these teams started to take control of this game, really had a choke hold on it to try and influence the game into their favour.
00:50:58
Speaker
For me, that only really started in about, say I'm going to say, be generous, so the last six minutes of the game. Maybe even a tiny bit earlier, actually. Probably just about seven or eight minutes, say, off the from the fourth quarter.
00:51:14
Speaker
This is when I feel like Maitland started to play with a little bit more desperation and hustle on the defensive end. And all of a sudden they're starting to get these really great defensive stops in a row. There was, I think, you know, one of Mila's blocks. um There was a couple of situations where i think, can't remember it was Mila or it was Sydney Hunter.
00:51:39
Speaker
They also blocked Solway's three-point attempt in the corner. There just seemed to be a little bit more hustle, a little bit more desperation from Maitland where they put all these defensive stops in a row as individuals and then as a team, sometimes doubling from the split line.
00:51:55
Speaker
And then they started to convert those stops into scores. And that's when they started to shut down on this game. All of a sudden, they're starting to get a little bit more momentum. They start taking a little bit more control, converting those stops. And then that's how Maitland found themselves ahead.
00:52:11
Speaker
And to their credit, they were able to maintain it and get the win. That's honestly, for me, the biggest change in this this game. Funny, because that's why I wrote down. I wrote um Maitland guarding Solway better.
00:52:25
Speaker
Then I wrote Miller's length, got ah one of those blocks on McAllister. And then Shaq had that pass for Lexi Plater on the opposite. i think she might have almost been in the corner for the three.
00:52:37
Speaker
And that's when they started getting on a roll. And pretty much you've just written down exactly. You just said exactly what I've written down, but a lot better. And then... abby kettles fouled out not long after that yeah she i think she fouled out with a good was 533 left yeah 533. as soon as the whistle blew she just walked off cause she was like sometimes sometimes you just know Yeah, that's right. sometimes ah really it was It really sucks for her. But also we're not basketball nerds to know the timestamp of when someone gets fouled off.
00:53:16
Speaker
ah But, yeah, it really limited her her foul trouble, really limited how much she could impact the game because she only played just under 18 minutes due to the foul trouble.
00:53:29
Speaker
But while she was on in that 18 minutes, she had three rebounds and four assists and two steals. ah So I think that she definitely won.
00:53:40
Speaker
ah her absence was definitely felt by the Nationals in the stretch of this game. So that's really, really unfortunate. And I think sometimes as well, some of her fouls were out of circumstance of covering for someone else, I think, a couple of them. So that's that's really unfair.
00:53:55
Speaker
Yeah, that is. Yeah. And that's, as you said earlier, teams running good plays. Guess the defense... Out of sync. But I will say i did like Elise Finney stepping up because I thought she...
00:54:10
Speaker
um you stepped into that kind of bigger role, both physically and in terms of minutes. um She set a lot of good screens. um I sent you that photo before they are before we went on of Bourne and McAllister. It was just a screen at the top of the arc by Finney, and Bourne and McAllister just ran.
00:54:30
Speaker
was Newbert and someone else just crushing, crushing like Finney as she's ah setting a perfect screen, and Bourne goes straight to the basket.
00:54:41
Speaker
i thought she yeah I thought she was good. um She had five points in 22 minutes and and three rebounds, but she was she was ah just about everywhere off the ball, though. and All the things you can't find on a stat sheet that are equally as important.
00:54:56
Speaker
That's right.
00:54:59
Speaker
I also quite like the look of Mickey Williams, who I haven't seen her play before. And she played 20 minutes, had seven points, three rebounds, but also just a really solid, consistent role player for the Nationals.
00:55:14
Speaker
Always in the right spots, taking the right shots, doing what she could on defense. Yeah, I really like ah really like her game so far. So I'm keen to see how much she develops.
00:55:26
Speaker
Yeah, I haven't seen a lot of her either. I know she went off to college like a good few years ago now, like around maybe around COVID. I don't know if that affected her time of going or how long she was over there. But yeah, I haven't seen a whole lot of her. I've seen bits and pieces. But yeah, I think she slotted in pretty well. Just one of those rotational guards that are just, as you mentioned earlier, that list of guards that Canberra have.
00:55:56
Speaker
Yeah. And then we need to circle back and talk about Alexis Plater as well. we always know that you We always need to talk about Alexis Plater. Yeah, yeah. She's someone that you've mentioned since the start of season three of ESCOT Game that you're very excited about.
00:56:12
Speaker
ah And I think in the ah perhaps in a similar way where someone like Finney had stepped up when Kettles was in foul trouble.
00:56:23
Speaker
Looks like Casey Newbert was also in a bit of foul trouble. She had... no. ah no what Yeah, she had four. And then Hannah Fox had four and 11 minutes as well. So where Fox would come in and spell Newbert, you're sort of juggling.
00:56:39
Speaker
But I think Newbert's fourth was about four minutes left in the game. So they were able to get a bit more time out of it. But then you've got Fox getting four and 11 minutes, which is tough for the player who's supposed be spelling Newbert.
00:56:55
Speaker
Yeah, that's right. And so Platter able to slot in and pick up some extra minutes here or there. Ended up playing 27 minutes, 43 seconds, 18 points and five rebounds.
00:57:07
Speaker
Like she, she's, I mean, another Mustang's pun, but she's a real dark horse in this team. She is the, she's New South Wales under 20s national champion.
00:57:19
Speaker
um And the reason the reason I'm so high on Alexis is I commentated her in Waratah League semifinals last year and she dropped the best part of 30 on Maitland. Maitland won that game, but yes.
00:57:31
Speaker
yeah And now she still travels down from Coffs Harbour because she's still finishing year 12 and goes down, drives down from Coffs Harbour to Maitland, drops 18, goes home and goes back to school on Monday.
00:57:46
Speaker
Geez, while you're young, works while you're young. But seven of nine from two-point range. And, you know, she's strong. got a good step on her. She's just good all-round player and only going to improve.
00:58:03
Speaker
As said, she's still only in year 12. So a way too early prediction to say she is the rookie of the year for the women's competition. Do we even give it rookie of the year?
00:58:15
Speaker
No, I think it's youth player of the year. Oh, youth player of the year. There's so many. Every year I look and think, how are you still eligible for youth league? Yeah, I agree. I agree. There's some players who are playing in it that are eligible. Like apparently, like I think Zoe Miller is still eligible for youth league.
00:58:34
Speaker
Emily Garland and Jordan Dewhurst are still out there every week doubling up. wow how it's this Wow. That's just how young how young some of them start in Youth League and then NBL1. It's like, how are you and he's still eligible for Youth League? It's like, oh, well, because you started when you were 17. Yeah. Yeah.
00:58:53
Speaker
yeah Yeah, that'll do it. That will definitely do it. ah But, yeah, other outstanding performers from this game. So Mila Wascovic ended up with 17 points, four rebounds, two assists, and four blocks.
00:59:12
Speaker
Shaq Riley had 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. So just sprinkling a little bit of everything with Shaq. And as mentioned before, Alexis Platter had 18 and 5 in just under 28 minutes. And for Canberra, Abby Solway had 30, sorry, not 33. In 33 minutes, she had 19 points and three rebounds.
00:59:38
Speaker
Carly McAllister played nearly the full game at 37 minutes and 11 seconds and had 16 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and four steals.
00:59:50
Speaker
And then Caliborn had 15, 8, 2, and 2. Were there any other outstanding stats for this game that you feel like may have affected the overall outcome or performances for each team should i Should I mention the free throw numbers, Swin?
01:00:09
Speaker
You know what? As soon as I finished that sentence, I was like, oh haven' it sped I will mention that canberra Canberra missed some down the stretch that could have tied the game and then Hunter went 0-2 with a minute to play.
01:00:25
Speaker
So Maitland had the better percentage. Neither team was good. 61.9% for Maitland, 13-21 to twenty one to seven of four saying for Canberra.
01:00:36
Speaker
Neither team, yeah, neither team blameless here down the stretch by any stretch. Yeah. yeah Yeah, Sid Hunter could have made it 72-68 with a minute to play and missed both.
01:00:50
Speaker
Ladies, I'm going to chew out as much as I chewed out the men last week. Please, get in the gym. Practice your free throws. ah yeah i what Once that I will mention is Reilly was one of eight from three-point range, and that one was the one to put them up 74-68.
01:01:13
Speaker
It's Shaq. As I said to like i said the you the other day, if Shaq smiles at you away from the court, you're about to have the best day of your life. If Shaq smiles at you on the court, you're about to have the worst day of your life.
01:01:26
Speaker
She's going to nail her through and say, good night. I'll see at the bar upstairs. Yeah, pretty much. ah But there, that free throw count, is percentages aside, Maitland's still shooting seven more than Canberra.
01:01:42
Speaker
And I think sometimes, that in itself in a tight game can have a little bit of an influence. But yeah, seven from 14 ladies, ah definitely room for improvement there. Definitely.
01:01:58
Speaker
Well, no one shot more than five, so you can't really, you know, hang it on anyone keeping the number up or bringing the number down. Everyone just sort of had a middling day.
01:02:10
Speaker
Middling day. Any final thoughts on this game, Lockie, before we move on to the next segment? ah My main thought is that Maitland just keep winning the games that they're supposed to win or the other games against the mid-pack teams that they need to win.
01:02:30
Speaker
What are the point? You know, the two they do they've lost against teams well up the table. think it's Newcastle and Aubrey, the two teams they've lost to. You know, they're going do that. Six wins, all against... And it's gotten to the point where they're not just winning the battle in the mid-pack. They've separated themselves from that mid-pack.
01:02:50
Speaker
And to be 6-2, they'll have some tough games. I think they've got ah you got Manly coming up. They've got some other tough games. um but I think that their schedule trends harder in the back end and that's why it's so important for them to get. They got this win and then they pulled out that win against crew that they... Going into the fourth quarter, they had... don't think they had any earthly right to to be winning that, but they pulled it out in the back end. Sorry. sorry I know you're wearing Chris Maitis long sleeve today.
01:03:21
Speaker
That's okay. We've got to own it. We've got to own it. We've got to own it. But that's the thing. Yeah. They've, yeah, 6-2, done the heavy lifting in the early part of the season, set themselves up really well.
01:03:38
Speaker
um Canberra,
01:03:43
Speaker
not a result that they would have hoped for, obviously, but all all is obviously not lost. And... and I think, I mean, as you said, Abby Solway, one of the better games we've seen from her. Plenty of players put decent decent outings together.
01:04:01
Speaker
Just didn't quite all come together down the stretch. They were, you know, two points down. with the They had a chance to tie it with less than a minute left. But by the same token, they actually didn't score a point for the last couple of minutes.
01:04:15
Speaker
On such small things, do games swing? Yeah, so it makes me kind of wonder, you know, Maitland at the end of that game, you know, as we talked about changing their defence, playing with a lot more desperation, had they kind of brought that a little bit earlier in the game, I think they...
01:04:35
Speaker
perhaps could have taken control of the game a lot earlier and maybe given themselves a little bit more of a secure win in the end if it was going to be trending the same way. But, yeah, Mayland, they're currently fourth on the ladder.
01:04:49
Speaker
ah They've played eight games. Some of the other teams have only played seven so far. ah But they're six and two, and they're even one above all Rewodonga Bandits just based on point percentage.
01:05:01
Speaker
ah Yeah, so I think they've definitely gotten better at closing out games compared to the last two seasons of the Stangas. I think that's been the probably the biggest difference. they Yes, they've made some roster changes.
01:05:14
Speaker
You know, they've added Newbert and Mila's come back and that's definitely a massive boost overall. But I think a big difference is that they look a lot more organised. One, which I expect from someone like Coach Granger.
01:05:29
Speaker
But two, they're able to now close out games. There were so many games in the last two seasons, still when they had Hunter, Riley, Washington, where were really, really close and they just couldn't close out games. They just couldn't finish. So now they're able to do that.
01:05:45
Speaker
um Yeah, i think I think that's a massive difference from the last couple seasons. But, yeah, on the ladder, they're fourth on the ladder. They do play Manly away next round, and then they play Penrith at home in round eight, which is another one they should probably get.
01:06:02
Speaker
And then round nine they have a doubleheader, Hornsby away and Norths at home. So I can see them going two and two. i that's say I was looking through their schedule and I i can see them getting to 12 or 13 wins. Maybe they'll surprise me and get more than that. But that was you know kind of looking and going, oh, what if they get this one, but then they don't get that one? you know What if they go one and one against these two teams kind of thing? But I'm going to say they're in a very good very good spot. And these teams actually play each other again on the final day of the season.
01:06:39
Speaker
Cool. So Canberra will have a great opportunity to get the split at home, which, um yeah, I'm sure that they'd be very keen to get and they would have gone through a lot more trials and tribulations.
01:06:52
Speaker
ah same and I mean, we mentioned their men's men's team's upcoming schedule and it's they the women have got So we've got Illawarra, Aubrey Wodonga, Sutherland COE, Manly, Penrith, Crewe across their next five weeks.
01:07:11
Speaker
So some tough games. couple there that they have to, you know, they pull out against Illawarra. Sutherland struggling a bit at the moment.
01:07:24
Speaker
We'll see who's back by then. well Not push out. I actually have no idea. Don't worry. It's funny. I saw a piece of paper with a team list on it that said soon let next to Lauren Nicholson's name.
01:07:37
Speaker
one There's one thing wrong with the word soon. It's a relative term. Yeah. But just enough to keep us interested. yes um And, you know, they should, you know, they would want to get over Penrith and probably crew as well. You know, you've got to put put all those together.
01:07:57
Speaker
We'll see. Definitely both teams still right in the mix. You're not really going to ride it off after one game, but losing by seven points that they could have just as easily won. Yeah, correct. So, yeah, they're currently, Canberra Nationals are currently sitting at 10th place with a win-loss record of 3-5.
01:08:16
Speaker
um Above them is the Sydney Comets also on 3-5. And in eighth position is Hornsby, Kareen Guy, Spiders with three and four. So, yeah, it's super close. Penrith is just under them with three and six. so yeah, that kind of middle and that kind of bottom middle end of the table is getting a bit messy so far.
01:08:37
Speaker
I can see Canberra going 50-50 as well in the next five weeks of games that you mentioned. But can't really see if that's going to. put them up or down because it all depends on every other result. It really does.
01:08:51
Speaker
yeah i think I think King's birthday weekend, i think we have the weekend off on King's birthday. I think that's when I might get the old spreadsheet out. You have it off.
01:09:04
Speaker
We don't have it off because we don't we don't have that public holiday up here. ah Yeah. Oh, well. yeah know that's but You don't have King's birthday weekend because you're Queensland.
01:09:18
Speaker
ah Yeah, maybe.
01:09:22
Speaker
um All right, so that was our EGG game of the week. Maitland Mustangs, Canberra Nationals, women, again, Maitland winning that one at home.
01:09:33
Speaker
ah
Good Eggs of the Week
01:09:34
Speaker
Before we get into our interview, we're going to showcase our good eggs of the week. This goes to someone, either a team or an individual in the men's and women's competition for an outstanding performance for any reason that we like.
01:09:52
Speaker
ah Now, Lockie, you had ah the men's competition for good egg of the week. Yeah. And it's a pretty good one, i would say. I would say it's a tough top shelf Darryl Lee egg in the peak of Easter kind of good.
01:10:07
Speaker
It is good. It's, it's I mean, yeah a little bit of Sutherland home cooking, but it's got to be quite annoying. Yeah. Okay. So guess he dropped 40.
01:10:18
Speaker
And he scored the first 12 points of the game. But he also bought tickets in the under-16 boys. Is it under-16 or under-18? Under-18 boys were doing a halftime raffle for fundraising. He bought tickets and won the raffle.
01:10:34
Speaker
But more to the point, he he bought tickets in the raffle before the game. And um so great to see from the ah the big name player. So yes, dropped 40, first 12 points the game, absolutely lit it up.
01:10:48
Speaker
And then after I posted how much of a privilege it was to, you know, call his game on Insta, he sent me a message and said, thanks. That was very nice. So yeah, great to see from, you know, Kuat, obviously, you know, from Newcastle. So I'm sure wanted to put up a big game.
01:11:05
Speaker
against the Falcons, and he certainly did that. So that's my good egg of the week. What did he win in the raffle? What was the first prize? That's what I want to know. Carry-on suitcase.
01:11:17
Speaker
Ah. Which, unfortunately, we we drive everywhere in East. We're not like the North where you fly to games.
01:11:25
Speaker
But, you know, he's a, ah you know, he might have some kind of lovely... Yeah, NBL season or lovely off-season holiday. He might need to take some some new brand new carry-on luggage. You never know. He's a bit of a jet setter, a bit of a baller.
01:11:42
Speaker
And apparently someone in Miles Cherry's family but also bought tickets in that raffle and won a Nintendo Switch. Oh, that's awesome. Give me a Switch any day. yeah Damn, that's a pretty good raffle. Luggage and a switch.
01:11:58
Speaker
Turn up, Sutherland Sharks. Yeah, we got some pretty good donations. No
Athlete Interview with Carly McAllister
01:12:03
Speaker
idea who they were from, but yeah, pretty good donations. ah Yeah, that's my good egg. And also a secondary shout out to um Alex Clinton from Newcastle for um sharing my... I really like the commentary I did of his step back story, so I shared a clip of it and he shared it on Instagram.
01:12:19
Speaker
Ah, very nice. I will have to say as well that... ah Paul Kawatnoy received one of our i scam spam messages this afternoon.
01:12:31
Speaker
And he even wrote back saying, yeah, I got you. Like he was going to vote for us. Fortunately, i was looking at my phone. Yeah. And you're like, no, no, no, it's a scam. Don't do it. Don't do it. But you know, what a nice guy.
01:12:42
Speaker
ah Also ah blindly supporting a random link sent in a DM. Very good. at My, oh, wait, I don't think I ended up just, oh, yes, I did decide on my.
01:12:58
Speaker
You wrote one down and then you was like, I think I've done that person. and Yeah, one of us has done. I think you have perhaps already had done that person. I guess technically we can do two, but let's try and spread the love just a little bit. Yeah.
01:13:13
Speaker
My good egg of the week from the women's competition is Eliza Jane, a.k.a. Muffy Loda from the Central Coast Crusaders. I think we mentioned last episode or the episode before when we touched on the Crusaders women about their particular roles and what's happening with their scoring and how we know that Muffy can shoot the ball and she can be a great scorer, but Perhaps in a couple of seasons in North her roles change to more distributor, organiser, anchor, and maybe she became a bit accustomed to not shooting as much. But in this game against the Maitland Mustangs are where the Crusaders are
01:13:59
Speaker
Had the game until that fourth quarter where the Stangers brought it on home again. Muffy really kept them in touch, playing all 40 minutes, and she had 30 points, 17 rebounds, three assists and two steals.
01:14:16
Speaker
ah 17 rebounds is huge. She had the most rebounds for her team, which is pretty outstanding given she is, you know, a point guard. But not the most rebounds for the whole game because Casey Newbert had 21.
01:14:30
Speaker
um So shout out to Casey Newbert as well. 28. 28-21, game of the week honors, ah player of the week honors, sorry. But, yeah, just giving it to Muffy, huge numbers. Glad that she is finding her feet and confidence again with being a scorer for this Central Coast team who still seem to be really light on personnel.
01:14:50
Speaker
So the likes of Muffy, Leilani, oh, actually Michaela Donkins that says didn't play this game. ah So there you go. More heavy lifting for for the rest. And, yeah, Muffy really stepping up, keeping the crew in touch in that game to despite the loss. So she is my good egg of the week.
01:15:13
Speaker
An excellent choice. I think we just got to shout out everyone on that Crusaders roster playing 35 plus minutes every night. feels like just I've got basically 35 minutes and then couple of subs who spell people for three or four minutes, a different player for three or four minutes at a time.
01:15:30
Speaker
And it's pretty much just what they have to do. You don't have rotations at this stage. You're just subbing people who need a spell. Pretty much. And the players that they have on their roster at the moment who are doing just that are players who would be playing youth league usually, but for some reason they're either deciding to do the double or maybe they're just doing NBL one.
01:15:57
Speaker
But it's really interesting that usually there's a lot more youth play youth league players on that roster who are going to do the two or make the transition because they sometimes at least train together. But yeah, Yeah, no youth league players to rely on to make up the bench for this Crusaders women's side. So doing it really, really tough at the moment.
01:16:18
Speaker
That was the the Sunday game. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So. and It's hardcore. So, yeah, Muffy, good egg of the week.
01:16:29
Speaker
ah So now it's time for our athlete interview. Now, we had to flip the script a little bit this week because our guest has team training on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
01:16:40
Speaker
So we were able to record with this particular guest yesterday Lockie's birthday. we get to relive part of your birthday again. Yeah.
01:16:51
Speaker
So what's going to happen now is we're going to play the recorded interview on screen and while Lockie and I take a quick break. um But yeah, I won't say who it is because the intro is in the next part.
01:17:07
Speaker
So here we go. Our guest today is one of many homecoming signings for the NBL One East 2025 season. They have been a walking double-double since probably forever. And to prove it, they averaged 17.03 points per game per game.
01:17:27
Speaker
and eleven point five three rebounds per game over four years of their NBL1 North career. And currently in the NBL1 East, this player is averaging a very neat 23 points per game and 14 rebounds per game in their return season for their home side, the Canberra Nationals.
01:17:49
Speaker
Our guest has also played for Australia in one of the first 3x3 women's teams, even before they played at WNBL. Our very special guest, special guest today, if you haven't guessed already is Carly McAllister.
01:18:03
Speaker
Hey Carly, how are you going? Hey, I'm good. Thank you for the intro. How are you guys going? Oh, no problem at all. We do try and pump up our guests a little bit in the intro. so I'm glad you liked it, but we're, we're pretty good. How are you going over there, Locke?
01:18:19
Speaker
I'm pretty good. i mean, you know, it is my birthday, so, you know. It is too. Happy birthday.
01:18:30
Speaker
You know what? This morning I knew it was your birthday and I went to put up like a story posting and then I got sidetracked with my actual job. So I do apologize. Happy birthday, Lockie. Thanks, Quinn.
01:18:44
Speaker
Well, ah anyway, got to own that. um ah So Carly, here at ESCOT Game we always start and end our interviews with the same questions, our bookend questions. So ah the first question we're going to ask you today is where did your basketball journey begin?
01:19:06
Speaker
um it began in Canberra. um So I did play a lot of sports as a kid. I was into athletics and netball and I i I decided that I preferred basketball over netball. It just gave me a little bit more freedom on the court plus my older brother played. So we used to play out the back a lot. So that's probably what got me into basketball.
01:19:32
Speaker
And does your brother still play himself? ah He was playing for a little while but um he's pretty busy with his work at the moment. So he's a personal trainer. so all those late and early mornings um so it's a bit hard but yeah he we still get shots up here and there and still pretty competitive but yeah it's a lot of fun so was there pet a particular apart from the if different styles of the game did you ever get into a situation where you had to where the commitment for one sport over the other made it tough too tough to kind of juggle everything you were doing
01:20:09
Speaker
Yeah, I think like as a kid, especially when you're playing so many different sports, um there's always a juggle, but I just loved being on the basketball court. it just I just felt so free running up and down and yeah, I always just chose basketball over everything, to be honest.
01:20:24
Speaker
Just got obsessed with it.
01:20:29
Speaker
And did you start playing as a junior at Belconnen come up through the ranks of the rep program or ah did you just play local? Yeah so I played um under 12's rep for Canberra um so we did all the SJLs where we went to like Wollongong and Aubrey and that was always so much fun and we got to miss school and play basketball which was cool and yeah so I went through the junior Canberra program played for Dodgers which is in the local comp here and then yeah just kept climbing up and it's a lot of fun and Canberra's a really good organisation and they really care about their players and
01:21:06
Speaker
I'm very lucky to have gone through their program.
01:21:13
Speaker
Any chance you had Rob Parker as your coach at Dodgers? Yeah. I had him since I was like 10 years old. He's like honestly a family member now. i've known him for so long.
01:21:25
Speaker
Yeah, he is an icon of Belconer basketball, especially with Dodgers. He recruited me to play Dodgers before I left Canberra. Oh, that's awesome. yeah He's actually still coaching the now. So yeah, he's still around, which is awesome.
01:21:40
Speaker
Oh, that's so good. That's so good. Small world. I
01:21:46
Speaker
got to ask though, what netball position did you play? um Well, I was actually quite short when I was a kid and then randomly in year 10, I had a growth spurt. So I was a center for a while and then went to goal attack and then goal shooter.
01:22:07
Speaker
Yeah.
01:22:10
Speaker
Yeah, that sounds ah pretty accurate. A lot of transferable skills as well. probably would have honestly liked to try goal defense, but um yeah, netball's fun game.
01:22:25
Speaker
Cool. So you were known primarily as a 3x3 player before you got a gig in the WNBL and you know actually represented australia before playing wnbl and so how does 3x3 transfer to the 5x5v5 game yeah it was it was funny how it all happened so i was playing um for bendigo in siebel so this was a few years ago um and we'd actually made the conference final and from there i received a call um asking if i would play in mongolia for bus for basketball australia and um
01:23:08
Speaker
It was a lot of fun and we we won a gold medal there. So then i realized that I love playing three and three, but I also love playing five and five, but it's cool because three and three is such a physical game. um It's also very athletic and um There's not a lot of split line help, so yeah there's nowhere ah really to hide, so you have to be on it um a lot of the game. But um it definitely helped my five on five game um being a lot more aggressive. It helped my rebounding, um realizing that there's
01:23:41
Speaker
ah um there's other components to the game rather than just scoring, you know, like rebounding, passing, defending. So that that really helps my game with the five on five. And had you played much 3x3 before you you got the call up?
01:23:57
Speaker
Not a lot, to be honest. um In Canberra, they were running a few hustle um and CLB tournaments. So I had played a few games in the local comps that they were running.
01:24:09
Speaker
and And yeah, and then we just had a few training camps before we went away to Mongolia. And it was so much fun. I loved it. It was the best experience. And it was playing at an international level for 3 and 3 So fun. And you get to travel to some really cool places. So I was lucky I've gone to China, Mongolia, um Egypt. So, yeah, it's been it's really cool.
01:24:33
Speaker
think that's the thing with 3x3. You see so many countries that you don't ever see perform at the 5v5 level who are actually pretty good at 3x3. So you get to travel to a lot more varied places and play a lot more varied teams than you would in five v five Yeah, 100%. Like, I was lucky enough to go over to you Egypt to play and it was really cool. that The court was set up right in front of the pyramids. So it was just like this amazing experience. But exactly like what you said, there's so many countries that do play three and three and they play it quite often, especially over in Europe. So it's it's a really cool pathway for people that don't want to necessarily just play five and five. There's also another pathway now for three and three.
01:25:17
Speaker
And how's it... Oh, sorry. Sorry, go ahead, Sweeney. No, no, you keep going. Keep rolling. but So, i'm and you being one of the OGs of Australian 3X3, how has the game, how has it changed over the last few years since you first got involved with 3X3? Yeah. um Yeah, I played quite a while ago now. um But... um Yeah, there's been a lot more exposure, which is really cool. um I'm able to go to different tournaments.
01:25:49
Speaker
when i When I first started playing, there weren't a lot of girls who played. So in some of the competitions, I had to play against the boys and be on the boys team to get the ranking points um up. But um it's really cool to see, like I said, different pathways now. like The Hustle does such a good job um sending players away. And CLB's done a really good job for a long time now.
01:26:11
Speaker
So it is really cool and there's heaps of tournaments around the world so I hope people keep playing it and um yeah I hope they keep going to different tournaments.
01:26:22
Speaker
Yeah, sorry, I was going to ask about the trip to Egypt because that wasn't a Basketball Australia trip, was it? No, that was a Red Bull funded trip. So Red Bull a few different tournaments throughout the year. And um so we were lucky enough, we went to Egypt. The following year players went to New York and America. So they find these really cool, unique spots around the world. And yeah, it's it's a really amazing experience because you get to go and play basketball with your friends, traveling the world at cool places.
01:26:54
Speaker
guess that's the new 383. You can set a court up anywhere. I know like they play at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney. In China, you see them in the middle of shopping centres. It's just yeah what they can do.
01:27:06
Speaker
yeah Yeah, it's awesome. It's such a cool experience. It's so much fun.
01:27:14
Speaker
So you also obviously play a lot of 5v5 now. actually end how did you actually end up in Adelaide for your WNBL debut?
01:27:26
Speaker
Yeah. um So Eric and I came back to Canberra for a little bit and I was going to play in Canberra under Nat Hurst. um And then COVID happened.
01:27:38
Speaker
So then that season didn't go ahead, but I had already signed to play in Adelaide, um which was the hub year. So that was obviously a really unique experience playing in a hub up north for WNBL, which was a lot of fun. And I'm really grateful for that experience. um So that's that's essentially how it happened. I was back in Canberra and Nat was assisting in Adelaide.
01:28:07
Speaker
um Tell us a little bit more about the hub season for those that might have missed that blip in history. Yeah. Like being in the car for so long. Yeah, it was a crazy experience and also crazy um for my first time in the WNBL, my first time in the league being in the hub.
01:28:24
Speaker
But um it was it was cool. It was, we were up there for a few weeks. um We obviously trained in Adelaide before we left. So we had a few weeks in Adelaide before we went up and, It was a shorter season, but it was cool because there was a lot of local Australians in that hub playing. um So it's great to see the Australian talent that we have here. um Yeah, and I really enjoyed it. And it was a great experience for me, lots to learn. And um yeah, I was really grateful.
01:28:54
Speaker
And I think that season it gave some Australian players who would have missed spots to imports a real chance to get some exposure and probably set themselves up for longer stints in the league than they would have otherwise had.
01:29:08
Speaker
Yeah, I think so. Yeah, I think it was a great opportunity to showcase what talent we have here in Australia. So, yeah, was a unique situation for sure, but, yeah, definitely positives that came out of it. Yeah.
01:29:22
Speaker
You're around your teammates so often. I mean, you're obviously around teammates pretty often as it is, but you don't actually really get the chance to go home at the end of the day after a game, after a training session. How how does that affect the ah the dynamic of the team throughout the season?
01:29:39
Speaker
Yeah, that was definitely something um that everyone had to adjust to. I think um for me personally, and that I... I left home when I was 17 and um worked and played basketball as well. So I'm a very independent person. So I am used to having my own time and my own space, but it was a really cool experience to be around all the different professional athletes and learn from them, like playing with Steph Talbot was really cool to learn from her game. and
01:30:11
Speaker
And, yeah, it was cool. it It was fun. We got to just live up north and play basketball for a while. So it's a really cool opportunity that not a lot of people will experience. So, yeah it was great.
01:30:25
Speaker
And because it sounds like around that time, you know, you said you're playing Siebel and then you got the call up for 3x3 and then give your first WNBL gig. So lots of like changes in a good space of what, two, three years.
01:30:38
Speaker
ah Did you have to come up with some kind of, you know, self-care strategies or other outlets to help you cope with some of those changes? or were you just kind of rolling with it and when loving it?
01:30:51
Speaker
Yeah, it was cool. um I was definitely rolling with it and just embracing any opportunity that was coming towards me. um Yeah, like I said, very grateful for all the opportunities. But at the end of the day, there's more to life than basketball. So i think it's really important that athletes, in particular female athletes, have other outlets outside of the game because you never know, example COVID, you never know when things like that can happen. um So for me, my outlets are spending time with Eric, going to the gym, doing yoga.
01:31:24
Speaker
I love cooking. um I'm a nutritionist, so food's really important to me. So um yeah, I think those are definitely my outlets and it's good to focus on other things, not just basketball, as great as basketball it is, but yeah. and And a lot of those a lot of those things you you've mentioned,
01:31:46
Speaker
actually come back to improving your basketball anyway.
01:31:52
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I think for me personally, when I um live ah like holistically, where I focus on all aspects of my life, I think that's when I probably play my best with
Life and Career Reflections
01:32:07
Speaker
basketball. um so yeah, getting out in nature, doing yoga, like you said, it it all benefits the game at the end of the day.
01:32:18
Speaker
And what was the biggest difference between playing sea ball for a few years and then jumping up to WNBL? What were some of the biggest differences in terms of level of competition? And I guess, uh, style of play that you experienced between the two different levels of, um, of basketball.
01:32:36
Speaker
Yeah. Um, a lot of the girls were incredible athletes in the WNBL. Um, the intensity of trainings would go up, but,
01:32:47
Speaker
it was never, um, it was always really competitive, which was cool. Um, and the difference, I guess with Siebel, you train twice a week, but with WNBL, we're training every day plus gym. So that's obviously a big step up for sort of people.
01:33:01
Speaker
Um, yeah, it was, it was cool. And it was really cool to experience what being a professional athlete meant. And, um, you know, looking after your body after trainings to get it ready for the next day.
01:33:13
Speaker
So there's a lot that goes into it. But that was probably the biggest jump, just the training load compared to the Siebel or Stately level.
01:33:24
Speaker
And are those learning things you try to instill into some of the younger players now that you're at Nationals, you know, with with oh a fair few younger players on your team, just, you know, kind of instilling into them that, you know, this is what it takes to get to the next level?
01:33:40
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And I think um also what I learned in the WNBL in particular is um there's a lot more to the game, like I said before, than just scoring. So knowing your role, whether like you come in, you're just an elite rebounder, a great defender, a great passer, whatever your role is, just go and and focus on that. And I think That's something really important for kids to to know these days that, yes, it's awesome if we can all score 30 points, but you can impact the game in other ways. So that's definitely something that I try to help um younger athletes um because I know, know, people really want to score and and have a great yeah scoring game, which is awesome. But, yeah, if you can impact the ah the game and help build the team up that way, I think that's the best way to learn.
01:34:32
Speaker
And you actually played four seasons with the Sunshine Coast up here in NBL1 North, um perhaps even ah season before it was technically NBL1 North, I think.
01:34:45
Speaker
Yeah. funny yeah Yes. ah yeah And obviously where you met your husband, Eric, as well, who was also a baller. um But what brought you home back to Canberra for the 2025 season?
01:34:58
Speaker
Yeah, we were we were lucky to live up north for quite a while. um lucky We lived in paradise and played basketball, so it was really cool years of our life. But I'm very grateful because we met lifelong friends up there. um So Eric is, he currently works for the Dallas Mavericks, so he's an international scout now that he's not playing anymore. um So there were some opportunities for him back in Canberra that helped him with the Dallas stuff.
01:35:27
Speaker
um Also, Basketball ACT offered me a job in the office around women and sport. They received a really amazing grant that um is pretty much to first Firstly, to do some research to see what the barriers are around women in sport and helping females stay and retain in the game. So currently I'm working for Bassway CT around everything to do with women in sport and helping girls stay in the sport and what we can do on and off the court for females.
01:35:58
Speaker
So that was a massive drive um of why we we came back.
01:36:09
Speaker
And yes, but that's, oh you go. you go ahead. No, but you're probably we're probably going to ask a similar thing. So you go. oh Go ahead. I was just going to ask a little bit more about that role. Is it purely research or do you get to go out in the community and form partnerships or um get any ah coaching or anything like that? Or and is it part of, um do you get any research assistance? Like, is it formal kind of research to where you get to work with, say University of Canberra or ANU?
01:36:42
Speaker
Yeah, it's like all of the above pretty much is what you just said. So um it's over three years. So the first year is definitely about researching and implementing small little pilot programs, um going out to the community to see what we can do better as an organisation to help females on and off the court.
01:37:02
Speaker
um So yeah, it's all about that and implementing different programs. um ah mental health wellbeing programs. um the It's pretty much everything that you can think of, which is really cool and and I'm really loving it. and I'm loving working with Bathspace UT.
01:37:20
Speaker
They're really forward thinking with this and, um yeah, so it's been really great. And what are the, I mean, it's obviously early stages, but what are some of the findings that you've ah you've had so far?
01:37:32
Speaker
Yeah. um It's interesting the ages that sort of drop out at the moment. You'd think it's sort of the older girls, but we're finding it's the younger, around under 12s.
01:37:43
Speaker
um So, ah that's yeah that's always interesting. But definitely, I think, um costing how much it is to play basketball for people. um Culture is a massive thing for women. um Yeah, seeing what the culture is like and definitely confidence on and off the court.
01:38:03
Speaker
So those were the three main things that I've sort of um found some understanding about. So, yeah, now it's just a matter of working out how we can make changes and make it viable for women to stay in sport.
01:38:18
Speaker
And um talking about younger players and being from your 3x3 background, do you do you see 3x3 as something that can be used in yeah junior training because in 3x3 you touch the ball a lot more. You're obviously always involved.
01:38:36
Speaker
mean, you see like soccer, they play five a side up until you know under nines and then they don't really get to a full-size pitch until you know they're really properly ready to play on a full-size field with 11 on 11. Yeah. Yeah.
01:38:52
Speaker
yeah
01:38:54
Speaker
Yeah, I think it definitely benefits and it's really great to learn from three and three. Like like I said, you don't really have a split line, so you have to be able to communicate with your teammates. You have to be able to defend multiple positions. um You have to be quite versatile. So it's teaching you really good fundamentals for five on five. So i think if young girls and boys can get ah to three and three, it will really help their game in five on five.
01:39:24
Speaker
And are you aiming to help retain women in basketball, like at all different skill levels? So like reps and social levels as well and across the the lifespan?
01:39:36
Speaker
Yeah, 100% where, yeah, every everything. um Yeah, Div 1 level, rep level, um community level, all ages,
01:39:48
Speaker
um absolutely everything um is what we're we're aiming for. Yeah, so it is really exciting and it's really exciting that Basketball ACT were given this grant and it's really exciting that we're implementing this and um especially for me coming through the junior system with city i've I've been there as a player, so i understand some barriers and I can use my experience to help people as well. So, yeah, it's honestly been really great to to be back there working there.
01:40:22
Speaker
Yeah, something we found recently here in Brisbane, we started a women's only scrimmage ah and it's affordable. It's only five bucks. It's every fortnight and we welcome anyone from any skill level. And it's a good opportunity for women like in their late 20s and into their 30s and 40s and 50s who are learning to play basketball for the same time, just to be able to like be able to learn the new skill in a really supportive and welcoming environment, but at their own pace.
01:40:53
Speaker
Because sometimes, like just signing up for a social comp where you're playing against more experienced people, they're not always going to give you the chance to like just develop at your own pace without having the ball stripped or without getting blocked or something like that. And sometimes that can be expensive and also discouraging. So um I don't know, get get a mama ball going on a on a Wednesday morning.
01:41:15
Speaker
morning Oh, that's cool. Yeah, it's funny you say that. We actually um have implemented program called Mums and Bubz. So it's really cool. So we have on one court, the mums playing and then on the other court, it's like chaos, but it's so much fun. There's just kids playing and learning and yeah, we have a lot of games for them. So it's really cool. And afterwards, it's a bit of a coffee catch up and we've created a bit of a community. So it's, yeah, it's really cool that we've established that. So yeah, it's funny you say that.
01:41:46
Speaker
Are you talking about really cool yeah talking about the coffee reminds me of, uh, was it Freddie Webb was talking about walking basketball? Oh yeah. got it You gotta make sure the coffee and the biscuits afterwards are on point.
01:42:01
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so I don't know if you're going to, you know, coffee is great, but if you're going to start to introduce biscuits to the post-game catch-up, Carly, you've got to make sure your biscuit game is top-notch because I think that's also what kept a lot of people at walking basketball in Illawarra.
01:42:22
Speaker
That's fair. We did think about coffee and cake, so, yeah, maybe we'll go biscuits. Yeah.
Team Dynamics and League Comparisons
01:42:29
Speaker
ah But yeah, bringing it back home to the NBL One East competition, ah tell us a little bit more about this Nationals group looking a little bit different from last season and including your addition, which was a massive signing for the league.
01:42:45
Speaker
ah Yeah. Tell us about the group so far this year. yeah um Yeah, it is quite different different to last year and a new coach as well, as Shane, who's been like awesome.
01:42:55
Speaker
um So it's a lot of local girls, which is really cool that Fast Space CT is really supportive on supporting local and we have great talent here. So yeah it's great.
01:43:08
Speaker
We also have signed Jade, who's from Aubrey. She obviously has a wealth of experience and knowledge coming from a winning championship team. So it's, it's been really cool to have her. She's a great player and a great person. So she fits in really well. And um the team's quite young, but there's heaps of talent and we're all really enjoying playing with each other. And the style of basketball that we're playing is pretty upbeat and fast tempo. We're not a big team. um like ah Abby Kettles and I were probably the tallest on the team, but we're,
01:43:42
Speaker
often sometimes playing out of position. So we we we're not a massive team, but we're just utilising the strengths that we have and kicking the ball up, running fast, um playing up and in on defence. So, yeah, it's it's a fun style to play for sure.
01:44:03
Speaker
um I also wanted to ask as well with this particular line-up ah and I guess as well the – level of competition in the east you know we've seen the NBL NBL1 east is kind of seen as the lower rung of the NBL1 competitions across Australia but it's certainly starting to like you know show up and um the level of competition is definitely increasing every season but what's your experience so far comparing NBL1 north in terms of
01:44:35
Speaker
level of professionalism and style of play level of competition compared to the east so far for you yeah um i wasn't really was wasn't really sure what to expect with the east um obviously playing up north for quite a while and um up north had some incredibly talented women um imports local talent wmbl girls so it's it's a really strong league up there but um coming into the north has honestly just been the same like there's incredible talent here. And I think it's exciting for Basketball Australia seeing how many talented women there are and and males obviously in the males comp, but how many talented women there are and, um,
01:45:19
Speaker
I, like i said, i wasn't sure coming into the East what to expect. I was just coming with an open ah mind. And it definitely is a lot more physical down here. um I've definitely noticed that. oh But ah still, it's still great competition.
01:45:36
Speaker
So, yeah, I i think they're on par, to be honest.
01:45:43
Speaker
Yeah, wasn't expecting the physicality to be more in in the East. So that's a really interesting insight actually. um yeah's Yeah, it's honestly a lot more physical.
01:45:54
Speaker
Yeah. Wow. There you um And so every every episode of our podcast as well, we like to review a game and we call it the EGG game of the week.
01:46:06
Speaker
And the game of the week for round six is actually actually going to be your game against the Maitland Mustangs. And if it's if it's not too it was not too soon to talk about it because it was quite a dramatic game where unfortunately um Canberra Nationals uh ended up losing that one if it's not too soon if the wounds still aren't too fresh um tell tell us some of your main takeaways from that game from the Nationals perspective yeah um I guess firstly it's a massive road trip so um
01:46:42
Speaker
being up in the north i think the furthest we drove was to gold coast which was like two and a half hours so um that was that was pretty interesting for me but it was cool experience so driving up to maitland first um and yeah i think for the first half we were pretty solid um and then i think we came out a little bit flat in the third and then going into the fourth um maitland again are a really great team they they move the ball really well. um
01:47:13
Speaker
I've played with Shaq before and I love her game offensively and defensively. So I think she's a great asset to that team. and um But with our team, I think when we...
01:47:24
Speaker
When we kick the ball and play at pace, we look great. Like I said, I think we just came out a little bit flat going into the half, but it's only early days and there's a lot to work on and we'll keep building. But there's definitely a lot of positives to come out of that game. And it was a high scoring game, which is great, um but obviously means for us, we do need to do a better job locking down on defense. um But again, lots to learn and we'll just keep building.
01:47:53
Speaker
And when you say it's high scoring, and that means, you know, Maitland putting the ball in the basket a lot harder to get out in transition, harder to play at pace for you. Yeah. and And team like they run the lanes really well. They get to fit in the paint and they kick. So obviously that's going to be challenging to garden.
01:48:12
Speaker
um But again, that's definitely our style of play. So we are used to defending that. But I think um if we can just tighten up a few things on defense, um, few things with rotations and then always communication. I think we can learn from it and we'll build and we'll just keep growing. But um like i said, Maitland really great team. i think I think they scouted us very well too. I think they did a good job with that. So yeah, I think they're going to have a great season as well.
01:48:44
Speaker
um I think if we're up to the last one, Lachie, that's all you. and so That's all me, is it? Oh, thank you. Thank you for the birthday present. but yes our Our final question, which we we end every every ah interview with, every got every conversation with, and you alluded to it a bit before, but who is Carly McAllister off the court?
Life Beyond Basketball
01:49:11
Speaker
Yeah, good question. um Yeah, like I said, I, a lot of my life I was focusing on basketball and I think it is important to have other areas outside of basketball. So um for me, i I love going to the beach, um but gym, spending my time with Eric, um I love cooking, I love art, drawing, and I love yoga. So they're really me That's probably me. Yeah.
01:49:42
Speaker
yeah how do you find and ah How do you find the the beach situation in Canberra? yeah um Yeah, not great. And the weather's freezing, which has been an adjustment again. but um But I grew up here as a kid, so it's okay. But yeah I am missing the beach a little bit, but that's okay.
01:50:05
Speaker
Canberra is still great. We have mountains and a lake. You have a lake. Yeah. and You talked about um loving art and drawing and you actually studied fine arts.
01:50:21
Speaker
So do you, how seriously do you take the art nowadays or is it just something you dabble in? Yeah. Yeah. I studied fine arts after school and it was everything. So it was sculpture, painting, printmaking, photography, um all of that, which I love doing. And,
01:50:41
Speaker
I wasn't sure really what i wanted to do with that. I had a little thought in mind which was to do like art therapy around um yeah helping people use art as a way of healing. um So that was sort of what I was thinking about. But then I also really loved the nutrition and um how food can help heal the body and how important it is for athletes to fuel and to eat and to recover. so Yeah, i think art's more of a hobby now. um Maybe one day ah I'll pick it back up and do my art therapy, but I'm definitely more interested in the nutrition healing side at the moment.
01:51:21
Speaker
And what's your ah preferred medium to work with when it comes to art? so ah um I love sculpture. I love building things. um I think that's a lot of fun. um Painting with different colours.
01:51:37
Speaker
is is cool It's a cool way to express yourself and it's interesting, like, if you just have a canvas and you start painting what what comes out. So I think that's a cool way to express yourself. But probably sculpture. I like to build things.
01:51:53
Speaker
Yeah, that's really cool. Sculpture isn't always a very common, um like, common preference when people are into fine arts or i have a creative flair. That's really cool.
01:52:08
Speaker
Yeah, thank you. I think, um yeah, like I think I wanted to do more like jewellery and and um I guess that's a form of sculpture. um But, yeah, it is a bit different, I guess.
01:52:23
Speaker
And are you able to give any of your teammates some handy nutritional advice here and there on the road or at training or anyone coming up to you with any self-referrals yet?
01:52:35
Speaker
yeah yeah um Yeah, for sure. And which is awesome. I'm more than happy to help. And I think that's something that we're going to implement with Basway CT, um especially with females. We want to start educating people on how important it is to eat healthy and to fuel your body. So soon you might see with Basway CT, we'll be coming out with a few nutrition things, but I'm not sure yet. We'll see. We'll see what we do with that. But yeah, yeah, it's cool.
01:53:09
Speaker
We'll keep an eye out for it. And I remember also once upon a time, I think you and Eric were going to do a podcast together. Did you end up launching that? Yeah, um we were going to do it through COVID and our main focus, he was going to mainly focus on the male aspect of um athletes and I wanted to really focus on the female around like body image and wellbeing and and food.
01:53:34
Speaker
But um it was through COVID and then I went and played WMBL. And then from there, we kind of um had other things we needed to focus on and with his work with Dallas that really picked up. So he's obviously quite busy scouting. So we just haven't, we haven't finished that, but I'm sure in future we'll definitely love to get back into it and and do a podcast together.
01:54:00
Speaker
Sounds really cool. Between the two of you, you've certainly got a lot of knowledge and experience to offer and to provide to the whole community, really, especially being players with lived experience of doing the things that you're going to talk about. I think it could be really cool.
01:54:20
Speaker
Oh, thank you. Yeah, it's it's cool. It's cool that um we've been able to be athletes together and grow together on and off the court. So, yeah, I think, yeah, that'd be really cool if we could do something for sure.
01:54:35
Speaker
um i think, have you got any more questions, Lockie, before we wrap up? I think we can wrap up. That sounds good. Well, Carly, thanks again so much for your time today, especially on a day off to be our athlete interview for this week.
01:54:51
Speaker
And yeah, we really are wishing you and the Canberra Nationals best of luck for the rest of the season. Like you said, very talented and young local team and lots of things ahead, big things ahead of them for the season. So hopefully you can crack that top eight.
01:55:10
Speaker
Hopefully. Yeah, thank you. I think it's exciting where we're going with the season and I definitely appreciate you guys having me on. So thank you. No worries.
01:55:20
Speaker
All right, we're back. There we have it. That was our lovely interview with Carly McAllister. Lockie, I just noticed that you were wearing the same jumper on the same yesterday and today for both recordings. Was that for continuity?
01:55:41
Speaker
Wait, I'm not sure if I could hear you then. No, you couldn't because I'd used my microphone whilst the thing was on. But, yes, it's not a very conspicuous light, the mute light on my microphone.
01:55:55
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Do you have the same as me where it's just like a flashing light or a solid light? Yeah, pretty much. yeah Yes. It it was 100% for continuity and not because it was hanging over my clothes bastards.
01:56:11
Speaker
Sure, sure, sure. that's what That's the story we'll go with. Yeah. ah But otherwise, ah yeah, thanks again, everyone, for joining us this week on ESCOP Game.
01:56:22
Speaker
ah Remember, you can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and subscribe to our YouTube channel at ESCOP Game, or you can continue to find our episodes on your preferred streaming platforms.
01:56:36
Speaker
But most importantly, Lockie, Don't sleep on the iced.