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Season 4 Episode 14: The horse that killed the Hornets nest
33 Plays4 days ago
NBL1 East discussion points:
Men’s Teams Stumbling To Finals
Women: Hills all but slam the door shut on the chasing pack
Players Qualifying For Finals With DNPs
MEGABOWL. Norths v Manly this Friday night.
EGG GOTW - Hills Hornets v Maitland Mustangs Women
Recommended
Transcript
Welcome and Social Media Promos
00:00:59
Speaker
Welcome back, everyone, to East Got Game, where we give you the X's, the O's, and the insights of MBL One East. Thanks for joining us tonight live on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.
00:01:12
Speaker
And remember, you can follow us on those platforms at East Got Game, or you can continue to find out episodes on your preferred streaming platforms later.
Podcast Mentions and Season Update
00:01:22
Speaker
While you're there, check out Cut to the Jace, a podcast featuring the Bankstown Bruin himself, but is temporarily sidelined with injury and looks like he's busy doing some other roles, which is very cool. Jason Caddy, of course.
00:01:37
Speaker
And It's a Cole World, a podcast by WNBL champion Bec Cole, both brought to you by basketball.com.au. Lockie, here we are again. Can you believe that the season is really getting into the crunch time? There's only two rounds left, Squin. It's really coming down to it. I mean, well, it'd be nice if some teams actually acted like they wanted to make finals because it seems like everybody's saying, no, you, please take take the final spot.
East Conference Excitement
00:02:10
Speaker
Yeah, we're just way too nice down here sometimes. ah Just ah letting everyone have a turn of making this competition a little bit more tense and and exciting.
00:02:21
Speaker
Everyone sharing around the wins. But ah yeah, I beg to differ. I mean, find another conference that's more exciting than the East. Can't do it.
00:02:32
Speaker
Can't do it. Absolutely can't do it. But, yeah, two rounds to go is unbelievable. um i don't
Apologies and Commentating Duties
00:02:39
Speaker
know. I just feel like the competition every year, the league every year just goes faster and faster.
00:02:47
Speaker
Yeah. it it feels really It feels really quick this year. I don't know what it is. It's funny because, like, and nothing's changed. i You know, I commentated every round of last season. I commentated every round of this season. it Nothing's changed. It just feels, yeah.
00:03:05
Speaker
Feels like gone by really quickly. Maybe we're just getting too used to it. Also, think speaking of commentating, we do have to apologise that we didn't have an episode last week.
00:03:16
Speaker
We did plan to have an episode, but a couple of emergencies came up, so we weren't able to have an episode. And I was also on other commentating duties last week and will be next week. So um we will have another special guest co-host next week. But apologies, there wasn't an episode last week.
00:03:33
Speaker
I mean, ball is life and sometimes we've just got a ball elsewhere. Fair. And I Cup,
00:03:46
Speaker
that's ah that's pretty impressive squid Yeah, thank
FIBA World Cup Commentary
00:03:50
Speaker
you Thank you. I was very lucky to commentate the FIBA Basketball World Cup that was in Turkey a and very easy. I wasn't in Turkey I was just doing it from my bedroom, thankfully. I mean, I would have loved the paid trip to Turkey. Not that that would probably happen, but that's also okay.
00:04:11
Speaker
There were some great games, though. There's some, I mean, thinking that there are only 15-, 16-year-old kids, 17-year-old kids, there are some really outstanding athletes. And these tournaments, whether it's the or U19 tournaments,
00:04:28
Speaker
FIBA Basketball World Cups are the perfect way to identify the next great talents. There was a guy from Serbia whose last name was, now it's test me, Karistika. No, I stuffed that up.
00:04:42
Speaker
But he he was Defensive Player of the Year. He was in the All-Star Five. He's going to be, he's really special. He's been training with Barcelona since he was like 14.
00:04:54
Speaker
Then there's another guy from Turkey whose last name is Korthalai. um His dad was a professional player back in the day. He's also really special and made the all-star five. So it was it was really cool just to see talent from around the world um before they become mega famous.
00:05:12
Speaker
Yeah, good.
Upcoming U17 Women's World Cup
00:05:14
Speaker
Yep. Then we got the year 17 women's basketball world cup starting this Saturday and the Aussies are looking pretty good. So keep an eye out for them. Lots of COE women in that team. Yeah, I think seven, think was my last count.
00:05:30
Speaker
Yeah. Again, good times, very good times ahead. But we are here to talk about NBO on East.
Men's East Conference Review
00:05:37
Speaker
Like we said, the drama just keeps drumming.
00:05:40
Speaker
The excitement just keeps exciting. It's never predictable in this league. But let's talk about our discussion points that you very kindly prepared for us. um Let's talk about some of the men's teams stumbling into the finals, if you've put it. men Manly and losing to Sutherland is the first cab off the rank.
00:06:02
Speaker
Well, Manly have qualified for finals, but in losing to Sutherland, they've now only one guy one fewer loss than Sutherland. um by Sutherland and Manly both have a pretty tough run home, but still they've just let themselves come back to the pack a little bit. And I was up there calling that Manly-Sutherland game, and Sutherland...
00:06:25
Speaker
They put the clamps on Manly Warringah from the start. So perhaps a little something for future opponents to watch is how Sutherland, especially how Ryan Abbott got Quinn Slosinski.
00:06:38
Speaker
He was really physical, really aggressive, right up on him at all times. And if the refs, you know, are letting them play,
00:06:49
Speaker
just keep going and that's what he did. know, he didn't get called from any fouls, so he just kept if defending really, ah really tightly and, yeah, did a really good job on him. So maybe something for our other teams to keep an eye A little bit Detroit Pistons inspired?
00:07:08
Speaker
Oh, maybe a little, but no, all above board, all above board, very clean, just, you know, not giving him any space whatsoever. But, yeah, that's there I mean, not not we're not going out there being violent, but certainly challenging Quinn a lot more with that physicality like you described because sometimes it can just be mentally disruptive enough to try and get someone off their their best game. um But, yeah, that was a really big result as well.
00:07:39
Speaker
And what we've also got Maitland losing to Hills. Yeah, real um interesting one. um 82-72, the Hornets got up in that one. I think I remember correctly.
00:07:55
Speaker
Yes, Saxon El-Ossini, our boy, Saxon. Went off to 21. 21, getting the win, taking advantage of Rain Smith's absence. Of course, Rain getting the ah late call-up to the Boomer squad when Elijah Pepper had to pull out. So he's been over there taking on Guam in the Philippines. So...
00:08:14
Speaker
um Yeah, Hills hill saw their opportunity and got it and kept themselves in, you know, not just, you know, making things tougher for Maitland, but keeping themselves just barely in the finals race as well. It's going to be it's go me a tough old slog for a team like Hills to make it but the win keeps in it because they they'd be gone if they didn't win that one.
00:08:36
Speaker
Yeah, they had also Edward Carr on 11 and 6 and 4 two steals and three blocks, so just doing everything. And Meekness Payne had a big game, 26 points and 11 rebounds. And for Maitland, they still had four players in double digits. Myles Cherry really came alive, which I love to see, 20 points and 16 rebounds in 29 minutes. Lowne on 26 and 8.
00:09:02
Speaker
crantlo on twenty six and eight Billy Parsons are quite 11 and 10. Matt Gray, though, only having less than 15 minutes in that game, which was probably surprising.
00:09:13
Speaker
a little bit, yeah. But, you know, Maitland, they're 10 and 7, so they're still on the on the right side of the ledger, but yeah didn't do themselves any any real favours.
00:09:27
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, definitely. um So, yeah, that was ah another shake-up. And then Central Coast losing to Hornsby, a Hornsby side without Dave O'Hickey.
00:09:39
Speaker
ah Without Dave O'Hickey and without Will Johnston. And without Will Johnston, yeah, yeah. Because Jackson Smythe, Daniel Titus and Martez Brown all put up 20-plus points. Martez Brown finished with a double-double.
00:09:53
Speaker
And, yeah, Central Coast, um young and maker, I mean, maternal maker, 21 points, 24 rebounds. And Tommy Ekamamo, 15. But, yeah, just not enough not enough help from everyone else, unfortunately, for the r but the Crusaders who, yeah, they are they're sitting 9-9. And, you know, probably if they look at the rest of the games that happened this weekend, they probably are breathing a sigh of relief that a few other teams lost.
00:10:25
Speaker
Yeah, that's true. That's true. Maybe the odds fell in their favour a little bit there. um Interesting that Sharif was a DNP, so I'm not sure if he's injured or just was unavailable for the day.
00:10:38
Speaker
yeah that is that is interesting, yeah. And, yeah, Crew just struggling from the three-point line that game, four from 20, 20% overall from the field, which is kind of unlike them. Luke Cassidy only had four attempts as well.
00:10:54
Speaker
Yeah, 0 of 4 and Tommy 1 of 6. So, I mean, yeah, apart from Hayden Gunderson hitting 2 of 3, it was not a really good night for anybody. Gundot, underrated.
00:11:06
Speaker
Big time. ah But Tommy's been having a really good season, a lot more consistent scoring from him. um and look, in the nicest way possible, three-point shooting hasn't always been his strength anyway. So maybe shooting six threes. Yeah.
00:11:23
Speaker
is is not ideal, but, you know, I don't know what Coach Miko has instructed him to do. But, yeah, he's he's been he's been coming up. He's been really handy for crew this season. Yeah, he was really big for them in the game down here at Sutherland where they are got the win over the Sharkies. He was massive on me in that one. So, yeah.
00:11:43
Speaker
And then we've got Inner West losing to Newcastle and Sutherland. um I feel like Inner West losing to Sutherland wasn't as surprising maybe as... I mean, it's it's not it's not surprising, but after losing to Newcastle the previous day, it just kind of...
00:12:03
Speaker
compounded things to go 0 of 2, having the chance after Central Coast lost to Hornsby to, you know, tie things up and then losing to, our yeah, I guess losing to Sutherland makes the upset loss to Newcastle a whole lot worse kind of thing.
00:12:23
Speaker
Yeah, certainly. Like Sutherland Sharks, you know, it was a comfortable win against Inner West Bulls. and that Newcastle game, I think some of the clips that I saw looked a little bit, um a lot of back and forth, a lot of kind of, i i don't know if it was just a coincidence that some of the clips I saw from this game online where lots of people were falling over.
00:12:48
Speaker
but um I did, yeah, didn't, or was that one on the Sunday? no it was on the Saturday that the ah game was delayed due to the court being Damp?
00:13:02
Speaker
Sure, I saw James O'Donoghue. I'm pretty sure James O'Donoghue posted that. He was there shooting and said that the Sydney Uni Court, yeah, the men's game was delayed because of moisture. This sounds familiar, doesn't it, Lockheed?
00:13:16
Speaker
Just a little bit. Yeah, perhaps next time we might need to send a trigger warning when we speak about the slippery court at Sydney Uni for some listeners who have experienced the wrath of that. um Yeah, so that's that's disappointing. They've got to try and get ah get a handle on that before. so i mean, it's just like our version of the MBL decal fiasco. Yeah.
00:13:42
Speaker
Yeah, 100%. Yeah. a hundred percent yeah I mean, I don't remember it happening in the summer during WNBL games at Sydney Uni very much. So maybe just the cold weather you know, cold weather, humidity has been rain around, exacerbate everything down in that concrete box that is New Balance Stadium or whatever they call it at the moment.
00:14:07
Speaker
Yeah, that's a good point, actually. You're right. I don't remember it being an issue in summer either. um Yeah. And they have umed scrimmages there of a son of a morning as well at um at that at that venue.
00:14:23
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And then we've got to talk about as well the Gunners losing to Norse. Now, it was going to be a pretty tall order for the Gunners to get on top of Norse. It's and obviously not impossible, um but especially coming at this time of the season for the men's team, it's a pretty tough game to lose at home with two rounds to go.
00:14:48
Speaker
Yeah, just really like – really suffering without Glenn Morrison, I think. You know, they've lost i've lost their last five. They're 10-8 now.
00:15:00
Speaker
But you'd still back them to make playoffs, especially they play Aubrey Wodonga this weekend. You'd expect them to win that game, although it's not going to be easy. Aubrey Wodonga have played a lot of teams tough, even though they've only won a couple of games all season. But, um yeah, he's just not panning out for the Gunners this year, unfortunately.
00:15:21
Speaker
Yeah, but looking at the quarter-by-quarter score, though, Gunners won the first quarter twenty six to twenty Second quarter was 20-21. Third quarter was 19-20. So it was really even for the first three quarters.
00:15:38
Speaker
But then uncharacteristically, the Gunners couldn't close it out. They lost the fourth quarter of five points to 20, just completely dried up. That is the most un-Gunners fourth quarter.
00:15:52
Speaker
I can imagine. Five points for the Gunners in a fourth quarter. But then the last game ah that we reviewed, that was one of their games. I think there was also a big stretch perhaps in the, I can't remember in the third or fourth quarter where they just completely dried up their scoring options. I think they went for ages without a score.
00:16:11
Speaker
Yeah, remember that. Yeah. It's, you know, the one thing they've, well, they many things to hang their hat on, but one thing they hang their hat on has been that, late game late game performance where they don't drop off and yeah it's one thing that's kind of deserted them of late
00:16:30
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, it's really interesting. um And, well, ah Darnell Hoskins Jr. had a big game, this one, 25 points. And I'm just trying to look at who was next in line with shooting the most baskets. So Mayfield had 16 attempts. He was four from 16.
00:16:47
Speaker
Will Rice then was had 10 attempts and Tui only had seven. So I wonder if there needs to be a little bit of tweaking around who's taken what
00:17:00
Speaker
Because when you look at the North kind of list, you've got Iggy Mitchell taking 14 points, Chris Leavich taking, sorry, 14 attempts, Chris Leavich on 13 attempts, Boffinger 12, Bailey Hansen 17. Goodrick only played, they took just shy 22 minutes and had 10 and 13 and he only had seven attempts. So, yeah, maybe the the distribution needs to be kind of, yeah.
00:17:28
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. too Too unselfish, maybe. Maybe, maybe, yeah. So I'm just going to have a quick look now at the ladder because, yeah, like we said, two rounds to go.
00:17:42
Speaker
Garner's now in sevenths. Mm-hmm. And Maitland, despite the loss to Hills, are in six, but they have only played 17 games and Gunners have played 18. But it's still Hawks, Bears, Sea Eagles, COE, and now Sharks, Maitland, Gunners, and Crew.
00:18:04
Speaker
Pretty solid. I think i think is it isn't likely that it would stay like that for the next two rounds, but perhaps the positions would just change. I think, yeah, i'm but I'm feeling that. I think you're pretty much counting on Inner West to get over North if they want to ah you know if they want to give it a shake. They've got North and Manly in their last two games to Inner West. It'd be tough for them to win both of those.
00:18:34
Speaker
And I think i think you're going to need at least 10 wins. i can I think Central Coast are going to to we get at least one win. And then well there's a lot of things there on 7 and 10 that will say, yeah, we can win our final three games and, you know, make a run at it. But don't know. I think it will be these eight teams and, yeah, the order might just change.
00:18:54
Speaker
Yeah, sounds good. Yeah. I mean, like we said, anything can happen in the final two rounds of the East. Yeah. ah But to the women's competition now, Hills all but slammed the door shut on chasing the pack.
00:19:08
Speaker
o Yeah, well, they got the win over Maitland, which also gave them the split over Maitland. So they're 9-8, and they play Penrith this Friday night, which, yeah you you'd have to expect them to win that and go to ten and eight at least.
00:19:27
Speaker
And they own the split on just about everyone. They own it on Maitland. They own it on Canberra. They own it on Sutherland. So unless there's a, you know, unless Hornsby lose out and finish 10 and 10 and someone, you know, has a funky three-way split that they win, it's going to be really tough.
00:19:48
Speaker
And yeah, More to the point, Maitland still have to play Newcastle and Bankstown. Canberra still have to play Aubrey-Wodonga. Sutherland still have to play North. is' ah There's a lot that has to go right for other teams that's not expected to happen if they want to get overhills.
00:20:08
Speaker
Overhills, love that. yeah ah
00:20:14
Speaker
You walked right into that one. I did. I didn't even notice it. Oh, dear me. Walked into it like a hornet's nest. ah Thanks. Too far, too far.
00:20:26
Speaker
Trying to fix my hair here. My hair's all over the place. But we'll talk a little bit more about hills in Maitland in a second as it's going to be our Eastcott game, game of the week.
00:20:36
Speaker
ah but also in the women's competition. um oh wait, players qualifying for finals with DNPs. Yes, I'm glad you brought this up because we did chat briefly about it over text leading up to the show.
00:20:52
Speaker
So tell us a little bit more, give us a bit more context about what inspired this discussion point. ah Someone was talking to me about Saffron Shields on the weekend about, you how and you you know, she got announced and then just sits there and DMPs every week.
00:21:07
Speaker
And I think she got on court once. And
00:21:12
Speaker
look, as far as we can tell, because we've seen clubs do it before, you know, it's a way to qualify a player for finals is to make sure they're on the list every week, regardless of whether they're really match fit or not. I mean,
00:21:25
Speaker
Happy to admit that Sutherland have done it, so don't call me out. um And, you know, fair play to the clubs. The rule is there. If you're on the team sheet and you get a DMP, it counts as one of your games to qualify for finals. And even if you need a waiver and you have to have a minimum of four games to even get a waiver, DMP still count for that as well. um And that's actually, I think that's actually now written in the bylaws because originally it was it wasn't explicitly stated.
00:21:54
Speaker
um So fair play to clubs that do it because yeah the rule exists as written and you can do it, but we got to do something about it.
00:22:05
Speaker
um Because i don't think, you know, I just don't, know, it's not the way the rule is intended to work.
00:22:17
Speaker
um And I know that like, it's not fair for a DMP to not count to your eight games because if you're some end of the bench player and your team's in close games all season, you're just not going to get on court. But that's not because you're not available. It's just coach's decision.
00:22:34
Speaker
um
00:22:37
Speaker
So, I mean, what a what do you have any ideas, Quinn? I think as well, the only other thing I wanted to clarify with DNPs is does the player need to be present and on the bench to DNP? Yeah, you have to sign. You actually have to sign on.
00:22:54
Speaker
It says the bylaws suited up and signed on. It explicitly says both of those things. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. No, I think it's it's a tough one. It's a tough one because...
00:23:09
Speaker
I definitely see the idea of it and the point of it, but I think you're right. I think it's also fair to those that are the 10th, 11th, 12th player on the bench who are unlikely to see court times, especially in tough games. But, you know, the bench do make the team. So when your main players are out playing for the Gangaroos, injured, playing for Serie A in a FIBA qualifier, and those players are now promoted,
00:23:37
Speaker
um then I think all of those DMPs and they were there suited up, ready to all should count. But, yeah, it is that hard kind of – so, yeah, people like your saffron shields. That was me that texted you on the weekend too because I was doing – Oh, no, you're not the only person who's talked to me about it. Oh, okay, okay. I was doing my WNBL depth charts and I'm like, hey, didn't she sign – anyway. um Yeah, it's it's it's tough. It's kind of – it's still by the rules but it's just –
00:24:09
Speaker
It's just, it's not bending the rule. It's still by the rule, but it's not what, I don't think it's not what the rule was intended for. And you can't do anything about that. No.
00:24:21
Speaker
i i mean, i've considered I've considered like four or five, like, you know, is there something to say, like for mid-season signings, you know, DMPs only count once you've actually started playing a game kind of thing.
00:24:39
Speaker
You know, once you've touched the court or once you've played X amount of games or played X amount of minutes, um should DMPs only count for your youth league, dual registered players? Like if you play youth league properly, but you DMP a bunch of games in NBL1, that's okay. But if you're only playing NBL1, then your DMPs don't count. Yeah.
00:25:06
Speaker
some kind of point system where a DNP only counts, you know, half or three quarters or X amount of a game in terms of qualifying kind of thing. But um again, it always falls, every time I think of a way to make it work, it always falls back to these end of the bench players that we talk about that suit up, travel Albury or Newcastle or Canberra or wherever every week just to sit on the bench and get a DNP.
00:25:32
Speaker
you can't rule those players out of finals because that's just unfair to players who, you know, travel around. They're properly part of the squad. They just don't get to play every week. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So, yeah, it's a tricky one. It's a very tricky one.
00:25:49
Speaker
Yeah. And we also need to talk about that this round of the NBL one across all conferences was Indigenous round. Indigenous round. yeah I'm pointing to my Eora jersey.
00:26:02
Speaker
Yeah, tell me more about that Eora jersey that you are proudly hanging in the background. Cool, let's finally start selling the Eora jersey. So...
00:26:13
Speaker
Comets have played in the black Eora jersey for the last few seasons and not just on First Nations round. I know last day, I think Ant Mundine said it on um when he was chatting with Caleb, that last season the boys were trying to make the Eora jersey like the standard Comets jersey.
00:26:35
Speaker
um And why not? I mean, look at this thing. It's absolutely gorgeous. And... for a club with such a deep connection to its Indigenous community. ah Why not? I know it's not exactly club colours, but it's hot.
00:26:50
Speaker
It's such a good jersey. I mean, I think everyone loves the Comets Eora jersey, especially the black one. um Yeah, so i think it was i think the design was done by, for the last few years, been done by Talena Simon, whose local Indigenous woman has also played NRLW.
00:27:10
Speaker
So talented local sportswoman as well. um And yeah, finally got my hands on one. If I knew they were selling that one, I probably wouldn't have bought two city jerseys because my bank account is feeling it right now.
00:27:26
Speaker
Oh, jeez, if you get really desperate, I might have to buy one of those city jerseys off you. ah I mean, i talk about my bank account and then I've got the game-worn Rebecca Donnelly sitting next to it, which... ah
00:27:41
Speaker
$250 that cost me. Oh, no, you don't need a you don't need to detail the the amount. You can leave the mystery up to the listeners, Lockie. No, because i think anyone who was in the auction knows what the buy now price of all those jerseys were because about two-thirds of them were done in buy now rather than auction.
00:28:00
Speaker
And also, for Pink Runner, shout out to everyone who did just go out and, like, shell out the $250 for a jersey rather than trying to bid and, like, um you know bid 150 and see if that's enough. So yeah, good on everybody who went you know went all out for because bumped up the final tally a little bit Yeah, so just on Pink Round, actually, as we know, North hosted a Pink Round a couple rounds ago um and they partnered with the Tough for Tea Foundation, which is the foundation named and founded by Tiana Mangakahia, who unfortunately passed away from breast cancer. And I have it on good authority that North were able to raise $13,000 that team.
00:28:47
Speaker
bo and on that of Pink Round for the Tough for Tea Foundation. So that's outstanding. All of the promotion looked excellent. It looked like everyone at the club was really buying in and very committed to the day. So congratulations to North and everyone that supported it for raising thirteen k That's so good. I know one of their sponsors was doing x amount of money per three-pointer made as well. So, ah yeah. that's that That's very generous given how well they can shoot from the Ark. yeah
00:29:21
Speaker
Damn. Yeah, I wonder how much that would have been. That's half the 13K alone. Yeah. Reminds me of... all One year I donated to Maddie Wheatley from ah Canberra Nationals when she was over at college to her free throws and she got she made 99 out of 100. I was like, I'm glad I went for a flat rate and not a dollar per main free throw.
00:29:48
Speaker
yeah Smart, very smart investment. And then just speaking on Norse as well, we got Mega Bowl this Friday. It's Norse versus Manly this Friday night at the Bear Cave.
00:30:01
Speaker
Now, are you going to be at Mega Bowl, Lockie? I will actually be commentating on Comets versus Hornsby while that is going on. I would love to be at the Mega Bowl, but I ah have other commitments.
00:30:16
Speaker
What a shame. What a shame. ah Yeah, Mega Bowl is going to be awesome. Great way to spend a Friday night. We've often spoken about on this podcast as well, you know, the the need or the want to have more Friday night games and Such a high-caliber game is going to be very exciting. What a way to start the weekend. Oh, it's going to be amazing. the great part is that, you know, it's for it's basically a minor premiership decider for the women. And on the men's side, it's first versus third.
00:30:46
Speaker
So, and I think, you know, Manly can get up, then they still would retain a slim chance of, ah still be out of their hands, but they might retain a slim chance of ah getting over North on the table as well.
00:31:01
Speaker
Yes, yes, that would be really interesting. So, yeah, two guaranteed high-caliber games at Mega Bowl this Friday. um yeah the the it's it's kind of exciting having those types of games as well towards the end of the season.
00:31:17
Speaker
Oh, so good, so good. Going to definitely be watching that back. watching that back Do you think that the Manly Warringah Seagulls fans are going to take a coach load over to the Bear Cave on a Friday night? They better.
00:31:36
Speaker
You'd hope so. It's Norse. it's like you yeah It's a quick trip for you guys. you't Get down there. Nothing seems like a quick trip out of out of Manly.
00:31:48
Speaker
Tell me about it after being up there on the weekend. Although I did get a lift home. I did get a lift home. You were there on the weekend. Did you want to share any a little bit more about that or do you want to keep that offline?
00:32:03
Speaker
No, I want to share it. oh Yeah, go on, please. So during the week um got a message from Alex Delaney saying, do you want to commentate? lucas Lucas can't make it. was like, no.
00:32:20
Speaker
It's 3pm, 5pm tip. I'll still be home nice and early. Sure, I'll head up to Manly to ah get up on the scaffolding and commentate a couple of games. and I was lucky enough to do that. and Maybe half an hour, maybe half an hour before the game, Dwayne Jordan comes over and is talking to the other commentator, Lockie Creeley, who was great. He's saying, Lockie, when you do, say to Creeley, do your court team announcements. Leave Alex till last.
00:32:49
Speaker
And when you introduce Alex, pass the mic, and Lockie, can you give a little speech about Alex for her 100th game? And I was like, he's like, just 15 seconds, that's all we need. And was like, okay, i can I can put something together for 15 seconds.
00:33:03
Speaker
reckon I made it to about or nine seconds before the tears started flowing.
00:33:10
Speaker
oh that's so sweet that's so wholesome a that you got to commentate the hundredth game b that you were there for alex's a hundredth game but the cherry on top being asked to give a speech at a hundredth game that is really special you got to notch that up on the milestone list of all of your basketball achievements that's up there if not higher than commentating a game at davidson Okay, but I'm not getting a tattoo for this.
00:33:39
Speaker
Okay. That's fair. That's fair. I can't find a manly jersey, alone getting a manly tattoo. Yeah, I don't think that would allow you back at the Shark Tank if you were to get a manly tattoo, regardless of where it is on your body. No.
00:33:57
Speaker
But, yeah, it was, yeah, that's all that that was something special. So, yeah. Yeah, thanks. Thanks, Dwayne. Thanks, Manly. Thanks, to Alex, for messaging me and asking me in the first place. um Yeah, I do love going up to Manly. so Being on the scaffolding, not not always the greatest, but being up there is always fun.
00:34:18
Speaker
Yeah, that's excellent. I love that. I'm so happy that you got to do that. That's really a very special moment and once-in-a-lifetime thing. Yeah. Good for you, bud. I love that.
00:34:30
Speaker
I'm glad that people out there are still looking after you. Thanks, Swin. um So should we get stuck into this ESCOT game, game of the week?
00:34:41
Speaker
Yes, we very much should because I had so much fun watching it. As did i as did I. So, yeah, the East Coast game game of the week this week is the Hills Hornets versus the Maitland Mustangs women's game. This is a game that we earmarked a few rounds back as something that's going to be very important to help determine where these two teams are.
00:35:04
Speaker
will place on the ladder come the end of the season as both are really toying at that end of the ladder or that, I shouldn't say end, but that position on the ladder to make sure that they make finals. So this was a super exciting game.
00:35:20
Speaker
um Straight off the bat, I have to say that we got some lovely compliments in our ESCOT game Instagram DMs about the commentary for this game.
00:35:33
Speaker
um So shout out to anne Andre Miles and Robbie Clayton, who are the play-by-play and colour commentators respectfully for the Hills Hornets. Robbie does an exceptional job in his research.
00:35:47
Speaker
um He even pulled out the whole... Maitland haven't played at Hill since 2024 kind of stat which I was like damn that's you've really gone down the rabbit hole there Robbie i I really applaud you for that so shout out to them first of all and thanks to those that contacted us on the East Scott game Instagram to give them compliments that's What makes the league great when we have each other's backs like that?
00:36:13
Speaker
But I will also say I really enjoyed this game. Within the first five minutes, I was reminded of how much I enjoy watching these two teams as players and how much I enjoy these two teams and their athletes as people. And I was kind of a little bit disappointed in myself that hadn't watched more of these two teams throughout the rest of the season. Yeah.
00:36:39
Speaker
No, that's, yeah, I the i mean, we we know of plenty of these players personally, but I mean, they're just teams that play, they play a brand of basketball that's so, so watchable, both of them. It's, you know, you think, especially like semi-pro basketball, you know, state league,
00:37:00
Speaker
you think getting down to like eighth or ninth on the table do they seem these seems actually going to be good to watch it's like no these teams are bloody good and bloody good to watch yeah you you're right there it was a really good brand of basketball and they were very similar brands of basketball as well so much space created by both teams You know, Maitland nearly every offensive possession were consciously making taking at least two steps off the three-point line. They were playing with so much space.
00:37:33
Speaker
and And Hills equally were playing with that much space because that allows players like Sezzy Matthews from Maitland, like Shez from Hills to penetrate and make those dishes that they're kind of so well known for. Yeah.
00:37:49
Speaker
And what did you see? What was your first impressions? Take me through the first quarter. I mean, first up, first possession each way. um I was like, this is going great team ball all day. And it was.
00:38:04
Speaker
Just the first possession from Cherie, just that skip pass that got everybody from Maitland moving the wrong way as the ball came back. But Sheree to get it back and fire away from deep. Missed.
00:38:17
Speaker
And then Maitland come up the other way and ah Jess Finney just finds Shaq for an open three. And i was like, all right, both teams are already like, we're move the ball. We're going get through hands quickly. It's going to be really good to watch. um
00:38:33
Speaker
One player... I was really um interested to watch in this game, partly because of the stats that she produced, but um more of has like just throughout the season, it was Brooke Bielko from Hills. The Hills send import import big.
00:38:51
Speaker
Because when you think of bigs, especially import bigs in this league, it's you know it's got to be like, you've got to rack up a whole lot of points to be um to be considered, you know,
00:39:03
Speaker
Impactful. And generally generally that is the role of an important amount of position. You've got to put up big numbers. That's why they get paid the medium bucks. Yeah, that's a really good point. I also enjoyed watching her play. You know how I like a traditional centre, back to basket, good rim protector kind of player. And she was just that, her rim protection and her size, being able to make life very difficult for Casey Newbert.
00:39:30
Speaker
where Casey Newbert loves to to live, you know, with all of her O boards and put backs and post moves. That was a really great matchup that I wasn't expecting. Yeah, it really was. um ah As you mentioned earlier, the ability for Cherie to get, you know, into the paint. I mean, both teams looking to attack the paint because they can drive and kick to shooters.
00:39:53
Speaker
You know, Shaq's a good shooter. Jess Finney is known as a shooter. um Piper Anderson, if you give her enough space, she'll shoot. I mean, it's not always her first go, but at Comets, I've watched her knock down threes for fun if she has given enough space. Yeah.
00:40:12
Speaker
hills though it was a trend throughout the game but it started early it's not whether you've got more urgency than hills on the break it's just they've got so many quick players in transition like we always talk about oh no one gets given fast break points in you know nbl1 on the stats think hills had six fast break points in the first first quarter was something i'm sure i saw that they had yeah they did you're right they had six in the first quarter yeah Yeah, they had 14 for the whole game.
00:40:44
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. yeah mean Teams just don't get given fast break points, but they get out and they run. And that's what I was level was like, is Maitland's transition defense that bad? And then I kept watching it. I'm like, no, it's not.
00:40:57
Speaker
Hill's just... I thought I was watching a replay of the Diamond League Athletics. Just stream of what and people running really fast in a straight line. Yeah.
00:41:08
Speaker
um But also the difference was in transition that Hills were able to then go to the rack, whereas Maitland would be settling for threes more in transition because Hills are able to get back a bit quicker.
00:41:20
Speaker
So I thought that was something that really helped Hills in the first quarter to just keep the scoreboard ticking over a bit bit better than Maitland were able to at times. I think you're right. That's a really sound observation. He'll definitely quick.
00:41:35
Speaker
Jade Kurosami, she looks good at the moment. Like, she looks... She's gone to another level, I think, in terms of her conditioning, but also she just...
00:41:47
Speaker
Seems strong, not in like just a physical, you know, up top muscly kind of strong. Her base is really strong. She's gotten quicker. She's moving smoother. um she's not It doesn't seem like she's fatiguing.
00:42:01
Speaker
When she's shooting those three clutch threes at the end, she almost had four in a row in the fourth quarter. She looks good. I do think, though, both can exist, that Hills can be quick and get and finish at the rim on transition. i also do think that Maitland's defensive transition wasn't that good.
00:42:19
Speaker
I think they are they can be as equally as quick, and there were so many times they were just caught standing and not communicating, and that Hills was just able to carry on and cut through them like a knife because Maitland were too busy looking around, pointing the finger at each other like the Spider-Man meme. And just like that, Hills have scored two points.
00:42:41
Speaker
So I think there were definitely times, and we saw it more throughout the rest of the game, that Maitland's D-trans was not in the building sometimes. Yeah, that that's definitely true. I think it was ah was probably something they talked about in that early timeout, if I'm being honest, because I did notice, especially the first couple of plays out of the timeout, they were barreling right back.
00:43:05
Speaker
um But I don't think it it lasted throughout the game. um Also, what I noticed in the first quarter is if things aren't happening, Cherie will make something happen.
00:43:17
Speaker
Mm-hmm. go to Cherie, she'll call the pick and roll or she'll drive into the paint, she'll just make something happen. And it's, you know,
00:43:28
Speaker
it's just such a steady influence ah to have a player a player like that who can make the right call in a you know in a broken situation. um There was one especially where The play was just nothing was going on and Sheree gets the ball and says, Kennedy Johnson, you stand here. We're going to run a pick and roll. And it was just Kennedy had no one around. She rolled to the basket and was as open as you'd want to be. And it just for it to happen off something when nothing was happening was just loved it.
00:44:02
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's definitely one of Shez's assets. I don't know how she does it sometimes of being able to create something from nothing. That is can be the downside to both teams playing with so much space is that, sure, you're playing with space, you're dragging the defence out, there's going to be a lot more opportunities maybe for your drive and dish and your weak side cutters, but you still have to cut.
00:44:25
Speaker
You still have to do those things. Just because you're taking space doesn't mean... those things are going to happen automatically. i think sometimes both teams got a little bit too caught up in the mo just motion of passing, good ball movement. But I did like, though, when both teams had sound ball movement, everyone was ready to shoot.
00:44:46
Speaker
Like everyone played like they were a scorer. It wasn't necessarily, hey, we have to get Jade a shot, we have to get Sezi a shot, we have to get Shaq a shot. Everyone was ready to shoot and be a scorer from both teams, which I think was a tremendous asset.
00:45:00
Speaker
Do you think... I think these two teams, they've got bigs in Casey, in Newbert and Brooke Bielko, that are probably the majority of the time able to, if not dominate, at least win the contest inside, whereas in this game it was a real battle.
00:45:19
Speaker
think that maybe has an effect on... you know, the general, generally, you know, playing with that spacing that they have?
00:45:31
Speaker
Maybe. I think the downside of playing with that space is then people are least likely to go and contest rebounds and leave it up to the Belkos and the Newbits of the world.
00:45:44
Speaker
But when they're taking each other out, the ball's going to go elsewhere. They're expending their energy taking each other out. They're not always going to be able to get the rebounds. Other people are going to have to come in and um saddle up and get some boards. Yeah.
00:45:59
Speaker
So, yeah, but I think also playing with space, having those two inside the basket gives them more space to move. If we're able to get a good post catch, just let them go one-on-one because oftentimes you get a post catch and someone is is crowding you or someone comes to cut near you and brings the defence towards the post player and things like that. I don't know if that actually answered your question, but that's kind of what I'm... It was still a very good observation, yes.
00:46:25
Speaker
Yeah. Okay, that's good. we we We got there in a roundabout way. It's funny you talk about um other players having to go for rebounds because there was one where Kurosome missed the layup and Ella Gale got the O board and was standing like right under the basket and Finny and Newbert just assumed, it looked like they assumed she was going to put it home.
00:46:50
Speaker
And she didn't. And then Kurosome was like, okay, well, I'll put it back in then. Yeah, yeah, I'll do it then if you want to do it. Yeah. Yeah, but where everyone on Maitland was like, oh, yeah, Ella Gale's finishing that. yeah um I did like, ah yeah, first quarter, I think I have to double check the shock ah shot. I did feel like Hills were doing a good job of getting some consistent scores across the board and Maitland, I think, a couple of times, again, just conferring to the shot chart. Mm-hmm. yeah jack had three threes in the first quarter think she had all of maitland's threes
00:47:34
Speaker
Yeah, so really having to rely on Shaq's threes in that first quarter to keep them in touch because there was early signs that Hills were ready to run away with it to get such a ah big lead. But even though the end result was 101 to 80, it really wasn't, the the score doesn't really reflect how close this game was for the majority of the time.
00:47:58
Speaker
do you know what the scoreline reflects? It reflects the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. Yeah. Oh, do you think the first four minutes? ah Maybe actually, maybe just like a little brief period.
00:48:11
Speaker
Maybe not even the first. Yeah. Just maybe just that stint where Jay Kurosame caught fire. oh my gosh. That was so good. Yeah. But yeah, we'll get to the fourth quarter. Did you, so did you have any other real notes for the first quarter for either team?
00:48:29
Speaker
Um, Mostly Hills being 72% from two point range, but one of seven from three point land. um The fact that Maitland were only trailing by one at that stage with Hills shooting that kind of percentage from from three point range. And yeah on occasion, they they dared a couple of players to shoot. um On occasion, they didn't and got burned. um Shannon Burton on Piper Anderson. Yeah.
00:48:57
Speaker
who just went straight past her like she wasn't there. um But yeah to yeah, I thought that that felt a little dangerous. Yeah, and what to have hills one of seven from three point land and ah only lead by one. It felt like there was a there was more to come, which we are did see in the second quarter.
00:49:18
Speaker
Yeah, let's get stuck into the second quarter. you ah yeah I mean, the first thing We've got to talk in the second quarter is Ella Gale going down.
00:49:31
Speaker
that looked She looked quite distressed. That didn't look good at all, no. No, and I didn't quite see what happened on the replay either, but her injury and during a live broadcast kind of brought up another point for me actually. And I think we've talked about this before. I can't remember it was online or offline, but when a player is injured,
00:49:55
Speaker
and there's a live broadcast, don't put the camera on them the whole time. Turn, yeah. Please, please. When I was commentating, um I was commentating and basically producing the stream for Handball National Championships last year, and a player got injured and our cameraman, like, if you're just getting, like, players doing camera.
00:50:17
Speaker
And, um... camera person you know by you know almost instinct it's like oh there's a ninja player and i'm like no move the camera away switch to the camera two do yeah just no we don't need anything just i think the um the replay actually does cut after a while and just skips it does life fortunately yeah It does. The replay, they show Ella on the ground for a little bit. They show a replay and then there's the old the old swipe edit yeah where they just kind of continue, which was good. I'm glad that they cut that out because one of the games I commentated this week last week for the FIBA U17 World Cup, a guy went down and he stayed down and then his coach came out
00:51:07
Speaker
and then the managers and physio came out and then the ambulance came out and they took him off in a wheelchair and i'm texting the broadcast people like please go to commercials please don't show this guy going off a wheelchair like yeah let's have a little bit of taste here guys like don't don't think that don't show that and we don't need to see that out of respect for the player don't need to see that but yeah she did go down so i was worried about that and her impact and who was going to step up.
00:51:38
Speaker
But then I remembered i already knew the results, so i didn't need to be too worried. ah like that But this was a great opportunity for one of for one of my new players who haven't watched before until now who just stepped up and was an absolute baller, Angela Tarko.
00:52:00
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Oh, my God. an absolute potential of a player as she is. She was fearless on defense. She was confident taking her shot when they came to her. She played only 13 minutes and 17 seconds, but she had eight points, three from seven, two from to five from the three-point line.
00:52:23
Speaker
I was really impressed with her. And she was just would come on in spurts. Yeah. would kind of rattle some of the Maitland ah veterans and off she goes again, come on again. but ah That was great. I mean, she really made the most of the opportunity for perhaps, I don't know how many minutes she averages, but I just thought that was a really great opportunity for her to step in and make an impact. And she did.
00:52:49
Speaker
She really did. Yeah. I mean, I noticed, yeah I noticed her too. i am um I especially noticed that there were even times where um Angela and Elale Asuasu were on court together, which I mean, is probably an effect of rotations changing, but it's still not something ah would have expected. But, um you know, Coach Rob Merrick put his trust in his young charges and they were they both repaid him.
00:53:15
Speaker
Yeah, I think it was obviously but they've both been doing lots of work. i mean, Ella's been part of the program for a while now. She had her two points, one rebound, one block um in the six minutes of play. And again, it doesn't look like much on the stat sheet, but just coming in and doing your job and making the impact can go a long way. And that's when you really know your starters can rely on the bench when they can do stuff like that.
00:53:43
Speaker
Yeah. um But, yeah, second quarter as well, Hills definitely started to find their range in the second quarter. They were ah two, three, four, five from seven from the three-point line this quarter. Still getting plenty of points in the paint, but five from seven is pretty impressive from the arc for the second quarter. They improved their three-point percentage from 14.29 71.43.
00:54:18
Speaker
What other notes did you have? and I mean, yeah apart from that, they, um I mean, i I did make some more specific notes a little bit about Maitland's transition defense and also some of the decisions they they made um on which player they would take or if they let someone go to the rack overshooting. Like there was one possession where Kurosame came up, caught Piper Anderson's in the corner and Finney, you know, turns her attention to Anderson. I'm like,
00:54:50
Speaker
Kiper Anderson, very serviceable shooter, but I'm letting her have that three over Kira Sommé going to the rack every day the week. um So something like that. um And I really thought this is where um Brooke Belko's, especially her passing out of both the low post and the high post, really started to come to the fore. She started getting some more opportunities, um There's one she found Sheree Kalaya.
00:55:20
Speaker
um So she was at the high post and Sheree was almost under the basket and she got to get the po pass in there and finish. So that was where that really started coming to the point. She did finish with eight assists. So I guess it's a fair, fair thing to say that her passing was, was a real asset, a real asset for, for Hills.
00:55:42
Speaker
um Maitland. Look, They were creating open looks of their own, but they're, I mean, everything pales in comparison to a five of seven three-point shooting quarter, but um their two-point shooting and their three-point shooting percentages down on Hills, particularly their three-point shooting percentage. and I thought they had some some pretty open looks that on another day might have might have knocked down.
00:56:09
Speaker
For Maitland? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, Maitland's decision making was interesting in this game for me. um I think in the game as a whole, I think it came down to offensive decision making.
00:56:24
Speaker
um Certainly three point percentage would have impacted given that Kurosame had eight threes. ah But yeah, decision-making and then there was that patch in the fourth quarter, which we'll obviously talk to about at the end. Sometimes Maitland would that would take really good shots. They'd get through what they needed to get through. They'd run the set.
00:56:45
Speaker
They'd play a good motion. They'd get a really good shot. Other times it was just like someone was just shooting because it was their turn or... Someone was just shooting because they were panicked and like, oh, we need to get a shot up or we need to. I think the decision making across the game wasn't their best.
00:57:03
Speaker
And sometimes they did rely on a on a Shaq three, on a Rachel Williams step through. Sezi still does her signature moves, which definitely helps in those dire situations when you need a quick score. But I think Maitland really have the the capacity in them to be a bit more creative with their scoring options, especially having such a great versatile big in Casey. Yeah.
00:57:30
Speaker
that she could like because she can play high post low post and pass so obviously using her pick and roll great but doing something like uh using in the high post trying to get a backdoor action trying to get uh someone cutting off her for a hand off just something like like someone like sezzy and shaq would be really good at something like that and you've still got williams and finney and on the weak side ready to stop and shoot But Finny for me, I can see how good she can play. Yes.
00:58:06
Speaker
But I still just haven't, the games I've watched of her, I just haven't seen it. I think sometimes as well she has all the skill set to be an outstanding scorer, but it comes down to her decision making.
00:58:17
Speaker
No, I think that's fair. think one game where, um ah the game ironically enough was against... Sutherland, yes, that is, yeah. Even though Sutherland got the win up early in the season, like she really impressed me in that one. And yeah, she's obviously she's got, she's, you know, comes with real shooting pedigree. She's played at good colleges, like recruited by Washington originally, I'm pretty sure. so you know, she's definitely got pedigree. um And like this Maitland game in general,
00:58:53
Speaker
putting it together consistently for 40 minutes throughout because like you said there were some times they were just like it it felt like they didn't need to get behind by very much before they thought they needed to you know go all guns blazing to get back into it like six or seven and they were like we've got to go on a run it's like just let's get it back one basket at a time it's only a three possession game or a two possession game Yeah, they it's it it came across as if they were panicking a bit.
00:59:23
Speaker
Yeah. But having said that, Maitland had 14 points in the paint, though, in the second quarter. um Still didn't win the second quarter, though. So they had the first quarter was twenty four twenty three and then thirty to twenty three So still still, you know, 14 of their 23 points coming inside the paint. So at least they were maybe penetrating a bit more and not relying on that three ball as much as we saw in the first quarter.
00:59:54
Speaker
um But, yeah, just... I think being the defense just let them down again a lot. they they Letting Hill score 30 points in ah in a quarter is a lot.
01:00:06
Speaker
That really, yeah, that that is a lot. And, um yeah it's it's yeah, it's mostly a defense yeah defense and maybe defensive decisions. Just little things on defense. Like not even a whole miscommunication or complete loss of rotation or anything like that. Just little things. Just...
01:00:26
Speaker
one player going the wrong way or, you know, and it just every, it only takes one player to be in the wrong spot for everything breaks down. Yeah, absolutely. Especially when you're playing with such space and obviously with such purpose in where your floor spots and where to be when.
01:00:43
Speaker
um Yeah. It's really important that everyone is at that chemistry and that understanding of, of moving off each other to maintain those floor spots as well. Yeah.
01:00:55
Speaker
yeah To be fair, either team didn't really kind of mess that up too much. No. But I think it was just just the shot selection for me.
01:01:06
Speaker
um But, yeah, second quarter, Maitland had the two from six threes. Yeah, lots more inside the paint as well. Yeah.
01:01:19
Speaker
Like Rach Williams had a couple, Newbert, Sezi. So all the regulars were getting in there. Yeah, I think Rachael Williams' two baskets in the paint came on, if not consecutive possessions, very close to consecutive possessions, just twice in a row, get just getting downhill, getting to the rack.
01:01:40
Speaker
And I'm pretty sure one was on a step through. Oh, classic. That's the Rachael Williams classic, the step through. ah But also Jade Kurosami, classic as well. Her textbook steps through in that first quarter.
01:01:57
Speaker
Just that touch as well, how she laid it in. Oh, my gosh. I've got to go home and practice that. yeah Social comment won't know what hit it. I did do a really great step through last night, but it missed. So obviously got a lot of work to do. I'll be modelling from Jade from now on.
01:02:18
Speaker
yeah anymore Yeah, I actually want to talk about... um like Jade, just as the quarter went on, just started drawing more and more of the defence's attention. I think that probably also contributed to some of the decisions that weren't quite 100% from Maitland. they were all yeah Everyone was always trying to stop Jade kind of thing. yeah Player had fired over the screen and stayed with her and the second defender had still come. Or...
01:02:45
Speaker
um and it'll leave someone open or, you just times where they didn't have to, you know chase after her. They did. And it just opened things up a little bit.
01:03:00
Speaker
So, and I mean, Jade is a good enough passer that if she's got a double on her, she's probably going to find the the one player that's open. Yeah. And I want to get, go back to that point, actually, when we cover the fourth quarter, Similarly for another heels player. um But, yeah, again, just a sense of panic from Maitland, miscommunication. you know, whose defensive assignment is Jade?
01:03:25
Speaker
If she's already on a tear in the first quarter, whose defensive assignment is it? And going back to our point before where we talked about Maitland's defensive transition wasn't at its best throughout the game, certainly had some lapses in patches.
01:03:43
Speaker
um it's one thing to get back on defensive transition transition, but it's also as soon as the ball's turned over, someone locking down the ball first. And think Hills, that's really what Hills got away with a lot.
01:03:57
Speaker
Someone like Jade or Shez couldn't be able to, on a turnover, just dribble all the way down to the three-point line being unguarded. Yeah, 100%. funny. We...
01:04:10
Speaker
watching Watching the World Cup and watching teams and they've stacked like seven players in the box, but no one's marking it. It's just like, oh, we've got seven players in the box. Someone will kick the ball away. It's the same here. Oh, we've got we got four players getting back. Someone will pick up the ball. and Someone will pick up the ball. No one did. So Jade essentially could have gone coast to coast on a couple of occasions. Yeah.
01:04:31
Speaker
um Anyway, but yeah, third quarter. Let's talk about third quarter. i i didn't see too many changes in the third quarter. i think each team was still sticking to their game plans. We started to see a lot of bench players stepping up from each team, mostly from Hills, though, because they had 26 of their overall 101 points from the bench.
01:04:56
Speaker
so So consistently throughout the game the bench was stepping up. And obviously I think that is a big contributor to Kennedy Johnson because didn't start this game. She was six man up. She still played 35 minutes and then had 16 and six. So she's obviously a big, you know, 16 of her, of the 26 points from the bench are hers. um I still feel like same good things were working.
01:05:24
Speaker
um Same issues for each team were kind of still happening. The one thing I did like, though, Maitland switched for a little while to a 1-3-1 zone, like a match-up zone, and that really started to stall Hill's scoring. This quarter, actually, Maitland won and there was a really great patch for Maitland in that match-up zone where they got so heaps of stops in a row and Hill's scoring options just dried up.
01:05:56
Speaker
Yeah, and I ah feel like Maitland also taking advantage of that, um they showed, ah yeah you were talking about, creative maybe they weren't more creative, but they definitely scored in different ways more often.
01:06:11
Speaker
um ter so Especially, I think, through as as the quarter wore on, um because think in the latter stage of the quarter, the three ball really started started to dry up for both teams. The... ah The percentages weren weren't too bad, but I guess it um it pales in comparison to five of seven for Hills. And, know, if you're not hitting your shots at that clip, it's it's hard to bust a zone as well. So um I thought i saw my Maitland were better, um although, again, decision-making not always at its best, as you mentioned. Like, some of these problems remain prevalent throughout the entire game. Yeah.
01:06:55
Speaker
you throwing a long outlet while Piper Anderson's getting back, that's just, like, that's a straight-up KYP. If Piper Anderson is the one barreling back, she's going to outrun the ball.
01:07:07
Speaker
So, um you know, that kind of thing. Just... um
01:07:14
Speaker
Just decisions that are never likely to result in something going your way. um yeah I really thought ma Maitland's ball movement at times was a lot better. I mean, it started um with the opening possession.
01:07:31
Speaker
Shaq just penetrating um um and forcing Jade to go away from the shooter in the corner who knocked down the three. um
01:07:41
Speaker
They did it later on um in transition with Finney finding Shaq in the corner. So a couple of corner threes and just finding the right player at the right time, but it's just not consistent enough from Maitland throughout. And then I've got it written down again, Hills transition basket, Kurosame.
01:08:01
Speaker
um Right when it looked like Maitland were getting really close. I think they got it back within, it it was within four points. Kurosame got out in transition again. um
01:08:13
Speaker
But, yeah, I i wanted to see more, more changes, better execution, better decision-making. um And it wasn't quite there, but it still remained a very close game throughout the third quarter.
01:08:31
Speaker
Yeah, it really did. ah there The two points of difference between each team. So in that 1-3-1 match-up zone that Maitland had,
01:08:41
Speaker
And I noticed that was a really strong patch of them getting lots of stops. They, Hills took 15 three-pointers in this quarter and only made four. And I think the advantage of that zone was that, sure, they were giving up a lot more threes, but then it was that a lot of their non, their atypical three-point shooters from Hills shooting them.
01:09:04
Speaker
o And so that's fine. You can live by that. If they're going to be four from 15, from a three-point line in a quarter and you're in a match-up zone where nearly every player is a better prime to um be in a rebounding position,
01:09:22
Speaker
yeah then I think, great. But then you need to convert that into layups. That's when you need to get, you need to, you've done a great job. you've You've forced a bad shot.
01:09:34
Speaker
You've gotten a stop. You need to get off to the races like the Mustangs that you are and run as a pack to get a layup. Put them under pressure. If you're not going to get layup, You'll get a trans three. You're not going to get either of them. Go to the rack, get two feet in the paint, draw a foul, put the heels back under pressure to make them guard you on the way back.
01:09:56
Speaker
So I think that's where something could have tweaked because otherwise that that matchup zone looked really, really good. I was like, okay, the tide is changing here. And but then still after three quarter time, I was still close. And I'm like, what actually happens here in the fourth? yeah Yeah. Yeah.
01:10:14
Speaker
yeah i mean yeah four or 15 from three you force the opponents you know four or 15 from three and you don't really put a dent in things yeah that's that's a straight up wasted opportunity uh
01:10:29
Speaker
yeah i i totally agree yeah well i mean It was funny, you're like, what happened in the fourth quarter? Because the score one of the last score bugs that came up in the third quarter was that Jay Kurosame had 22 points.
01:10:46
Speaker
And that was with like a minute left in the third. i was like, well, I know what she finishes with, but things are about to get fun. Yeah. So did she actually have 22 the fourth?
01:10:59
Speaker
She might have got another basket after that to get up to 24 or 25, but it was definitely with a minute left in the third. She still only had 22. She four threes in the third fourth quarter, but that's 12. She had another field go up. She had another layup, so that's 14. And then I can't determine how if she had how many free throws she had. She did have – she only had two free throws for the game. Oh.
01:11:26
Speaker
um But it was either a 14 or 16 point fourth quarter from Jake or so many. But she, you know, she had two, four, five, six, seven.
01:11:38
Speaker
She was five from seven from the field though in the fourth quarter. Four from five from the three point line, one from two from the two point range.
01:11:50
Speaker
Pretty impressive. it was It was beautiful to watch. the The thing, though, for me, a very textbook thing for me that it started to dawn on me maybe three quarters of the way, sorry, a quarter of the way through the fourth quarter, it started to dawn on me. I was like, oh, this is this is how it ends up being 20. And it wasn't just like a quick blowout.
01:12:13
Speaker
It was just this progression of, Hills coming down, getting a score. Maitland going back, rushing a shot. Hills coming down, getting a score. Maitland going back, rushing a shot. Hills, I would like to see. I'm not sure if it's available on the NBL1 website in stats in terms of percentage of possession for that fourth quarter. It just felt like Maitland...
01:12:37
Speaker
kind of had the majority of possession that quarter because every ah sorry, heels had the majority of possession. So every time Maitland went down, it was one pass shot, one pass shot. And I was like, oh, I understand that they want to get scores.
01:12:50
Speaker
But part me is also like, like get to the rack, get fouled, secondary action, something other than just the traditional, you know, someone's going to take a contested three or someone's going to take an early three, especially when they're not getting back and getting stops.
01:13:05
Speaker
I mean, that's it. I mean, I wrote when Shannon Burton dropped but shanzho dropped one into Casey Newbert and Casey just battled away in the paint and finished. And I wrote it down, I think they were on 72 with that basket. wrote, how did Maitland only score eight more points all game after this? So this was with like seven minutes left in the fourth.
01:13:25
Speaker
And two points later is Maitland had just won and done too much. That was literally two two notes later. It was like... yeah They had seven three-point attempts in the fourth quarter. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. So they had 15 shot attempts in the fourth quarter.
01:13:45
Speaker
Seven were from three. Eight were from the two-point range compared to one, two, three, four, five, six, seven threes as well from Maitland, are Hills. But Hills had a lot more shots in the two-point range as well. So, again, just breaking down the defense, um yeah just Yeah, Maitland just not getting stops and then not converting. It was just, yeah, I don't know. And I think as well, like as much as I like that match-up zone for Maitland in the third, Hills did actually do a really good job after a while to find a way of busting that at the seams.
01:14:24
Speaker
So then finding open shooters and getting people under the basket and sheds was being very creative. But and I don't know, think it still would have been... Maybe worth the risk of coming out into that again for Maitland for the fourth. But, yeah, it was just that traditional kind of game where it's like one team just keeps scoring, the other keeps taking fast shots, and then that's how it runs the game runs away.
01:14:46
Speaker
And when Jade hit those three threes in really quick succession, yeah two out of Belko getting the ball in the high post and passing out, and then the third one, Belko again, this time out of the low post.
01:15:01
Speaker
passing out so of her eight assists three of them pretty sure they those were three assists all from their from their import big who finished with three points for the night but was very very uh noticeable throughout for everything she did and she just yeah he just drive it's funny because i thought casey was doing a pretty good job on her one-on-one huh perhaps Maven didn't need to really send much help in that battle. You know, if she gets the ball in the low post, you know, just let Casey battle with her because there are a few times where Casey was just fine, you know, prevent her from getting a score. Oh yeah. Casey did a lot of heavy lifting this game.
01:15:51
Speaker
She was already, yeah, battling down low with Belko and yeah, keeping her to three points. also keeping her to eight rebounds.
01:16:02
Speaker
um But Casey then was, like Belka was really challenging Casey defensively. Like nothing came easy for Casey, but she still ended up with 17 points, six rebounds, four of those, sorry, 16 rebounds. Four of those 16 rebounds were offensive rebounds. And then she still had five assists and shot at 43%. Yeah.
01:16:25
Speaker
yeah Like outstanding statistics for someone who was being, matched for size and skill set and being consistently challenged in her position or game yeah 100 yeah i mean she is literally and metaphorically a massive part of that's of that maitland team um i mean we're all cheering when she came back in the first place and she's just you taken on even more of a leadership role with no sid hunter this year um
01:16:57
Speaker
Yeah, it was it was a very fun matchup to watch. But ah don't worry about baking with Brookie. We're just going to cook with Brook.
01:17:08
Speaker
Look, i'll be I've lived in Brisbane long enough as well to say that Brookie is overrated. oh, oh. Hot take, hot take. That is a hot take.
01:17:23
Speaker
ah But, yeah, so I just lost my train of thought. But, yeah, essentially that was my summary of the fourth quarter. and that' as It just slowly got away from the Stangers in that formula.
01:17:38
Speaker
And to me there was nothing really else to it than that. No. It did help that Hills increased their three-point shooting once again in the fourth to 57.14% Maitland-only shootings.
01:17:52
Speaker
maitland only shooting 14.29 in the fourth quarter. um Maitland had 10 points in the paint, though, so that's up definitely... Oh, sorry, that was Hills at 10 points in the paint. Maitland dropped back to six points in the paint, so maybe...
01:18:09
Speaker
shooting too much from the outside, not trying to get it back into Casey. Casey's a great free throw shooter as well, um but also just a great passer with the five assists. So I think maybe just going away for what was working with them and what their strengths are.
01:18:27
Speaker
Also, um I just know help is there a combination on this Hills team that can't run a pick and roll together? Just feels like no matter who, don't like play with anyone.
01:18:40
Speaker
I thought Piper Anderson run one with Kennedy Johnson late in the game. Ella Gale will run one. Belko will run one with you. It's like whoever's there.
01:18:52
Speaker
I will say, though, I think i got a sense that Belko was a bit tentative to set a really good pick m because she is, ah you know, a centre with size and strength.
01:19:05
Speaker
So sometimes those types of players in our league are targeted. with an illegal screen when it's just a hard screen. Yeah, yeah. But then part of me is also like, girl, I just want you to smack someone.
01:19:18
Speaker
Yeah. It's like, it felt like, yeah, she's, it's like coming out, being in exactly the right spot, but just like not really like... Yeah, it's like, ugh, it's like just...
01:19:33
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, yeah, we've we've seen some absolutely brilliant screens that players get laid out on just get called and it's like, come on, fam. Come on. You just, you know, she didn't move.
01:19:47
Speaker
Yeah. No, no. So, yeah, so Hills won the fourth quarter 27 to 12. So the scoring really did dry up, unfortunately, for the Stangers.
01:19:59
Speaker
Kurosame having at least 14 of that 27 in the fourth quarter. um But also, cha with the sneaky near triple-double.
01:20:11
Speaker
24, 16 and 9. Yeah. Yeah, and then three steals as well. shot at 82% overall. 100% from the two-point range, two from four from the three-point range. And, like, i didn didn't even realize until I looked at the stats after that she had that stat line. She just made it look so effortless.
01:20:36
Speaker
And I think, like, getting – you think about, like, them getting out and running. Well, when your point guard gets 16 defensive rebounds, that means have to wait for an outlet 16 times. Yeah, that's a really good point.
01:20:48
Speaker
She just grabs the ball and goes. See you later. Off you go. Yeah. um Yeah, 16 rebounds is – Yeah, outstanding.
01:20:59
Speaker
um But also Mayland, they managed to have multiple players in double figures, which, again, is surprising given, you know, the the final score. They had Sezi had 14, 3 and 2. Shaq had 16 and 2.
01:21:13
Speaker
Rachel had 16 and 2. rachel had sixteen and two Finney had 14, 3, 4 and 3. Yeah, Newbert that we said before, 17, 16 and 5. And it was certainly a game, the commentator said at the start, was certainly at two of an important game to not, like they were just going to stick to their seven in rotation, um which I think is fair enough.
01:21:40
Speaker
given yeah how important the game was for both teams. um So, yeah, it was it was really one of those games that was very, two teams with a similar playing style, similar skill sets in their main players, in their main, say, three, five, seven players, very similar um very similar level of experience as well, you know, watching Jade and Shaq go up against each other or Belko and Newbert go up against each other and even Shez and Shaq and Shez and Sezi, like they've all got very similar playing experience too, so the match-ups were really fun to watch. It was really just for me that fourth quarter of Hills making shots and
01:22:25
Speaker
Maitland not stopping them and then making poor decisions on O. Yeah, I mean, hell i would say Hill's put them under pressure with those baskets and, yeah, Maitland, yeah, just under that pressure, panicked a little bit, tried to get it all back at once.
01:22:44
Speaker
Doesn't always work out. In fact, rarely works out that way. That's right, yeah. And so I know we've talked about this before, but let's quickly look ahead. at the fixtures for both of these teams. Now, who does Maitland have coming up?
01:23:00
Speaker
Newcastle and Bankstown. Okay, that's the top that's a tough order. I think they've got someone else before that. Comets. Oh, yes, they've got Comets, then Newcastle and Bankstown.
01:23:14
Speaker
Comets, Newcastle, Bankstown. And Comets have Chantel back. Yes, they do. Back with a vengeance as well. She's already putting up big numbers. Got the win over Illawarra on the weekend, did the old comments?
01:23:28
Speaker
They did. They did. Just to shake it up a little bit more. We love that. And, of course, who do Hills have coming up? a ah i should I know they've got Penrith, and I think they finished with Illawarra and Bankstown.
01:23:43
Speaker
So a slightly easier draw. Yeah. Interesting. That's right. They both have Bankstown. Yeah. in their final three games, I think that is also going to determine where both Maitland and Hills women fall on the ladder, that they both play Bankstown.
01:24:03
Speaker
And I think it's definitely, it will definitely have to come down to, you know, if they both lose obviously for and against points, And I'm sure that Coach Grange is going to be able to do the math of, okay, if we lost by 21 and we both happen to lose by Bankstown, we have to lose by, like, however much. That kind of thing. It just reminds me of, like, the Opals at the Paris Olympics where we're like... Oh, with Puerto Rico? Yeah.
01:24:28
Speaker
Oh, my gosh. We thought, okay, we just have to beat Puerto Rico. Oh, no, wait. Belgium's gone and beaten Japan by 20, which no one was expecting. So now we have to beat Puerto Rico by, like, 400. And we did it like we we're hitting, like, Sparks with three seconds to play just to get a margin.
01:24:47
Speaker
Not a win, just a margin.
Game Strategy and Finals Speculation
01:24:49
Speaker
It's a margin. Like, jeez, we don't need this stress. No. Yeah. So I think that it good that sounds like it's going to be super important.
01:25:00
Speaker
um But otherwise, yeah. to What else have thought? Final thoughts, feelings, observations? ah
01:25:12
Speaker
I mean, just, I mean, on most nights, five play all five starters scoring 14 or more is going to get you a win. Mm-hmm.
01:25:23
Speaker
You just hit like just too many defensive lapses, just little lapses, just, you know, one player not doing the right thing or just, you know, like we mentioned, the transition defense wasn't always quite there.
01:25:35
Speaker
um Hills, they're going to play like if they make finals, which I'm fully expecting them to now with Penrith and Illawarra as their next two games,
01:25:48
Speaker
If they come out and play a game like that, they can give, you know, especially the offensive end, they can give anyone a run for their money. But um the problem is that game is likely to be against Newcastle or Ruodonga on the road.
01:26:04
Speaker
And that's their one shot. It's to be an elimination final against probably either yeah Newcastle or Ruodonga. And look... and look Newcastle, we can only assume we'll have Saffron. Or River Dongle will definitely have LT.
01:26:19
Speaker
So both those teams going to be better than their records suggest. So, I mean, if Hills beat can beat Penrith and Illawarra, they'll be in playoffs. If they play like they did in this game, they'll 100% beat both of those teams.
01:26:30
Speaker
And keep on trucking until it falls into motion.
Humor and Sutherland-Illawarra Anticipation
01:26:36
Speaker
Oh, my gosh. Where is that quote from?
01:26:41
Speaker
that is that' That's a Kid Rock lyric from Cowboy. Oh, no. We're not quoting Kid Rock on It's Got Game, are we? No, it's a Kid Rock lyric quoted by a college football YouTuber.
01:26:59
Speaker
Okay, okay. We'll take that because we don't want to be seen as Margar sympathisers on Scott Gameplay using Kid Rock quotes. If you like college football, watch Matt Mitchell.
01:27:12
Speaker
Okay, pro tip. Pro tip. Now, what are you looking forward to next round? Have you got any games earmarked or are you commentating any games other than your comments game on the Friday night?
01:27:23
Speaker
Yeah, I do. I have Sutherland-Illawarra. So Sutherland-Illawarra men, oh, the freeway cup is up for grabs and Sutherland are the form team of the competition at the moment. and is goingnna be That's going to be a big one. And then and the Sutherland women, that all they can do is win and hope that other results go their way.
01:27:44
Speaker
So, I mean, i think with the split, if results don't go their way on Friday night, they could be done before. even get there on saturday morning but um yeah and don't worry sutherland fans i'm bringing a sutherland jersey to the sutherland game because i'm also bringing my illawarra jersey so i have to bring my sutherland jersey too good it's it's just as commentators we've just got to be neutral and being neutral is sometimes supporting both clubs at the same time
01:28:15
Speaker
Or just supporting one player from one club because you've got the jersey with their name on the back. Oh, of course. Of course. That makes a lot more sense. Yeah, yeah.
Personal Commentary Reflections
01:28:25
Speaker
Well, for me, i was down to commentate the Mega Bowl.
01:28:32
Speaker
Unfortunately, my plans have changed, but I will be at the GYG Stadium in Terrigal on Saturday to commentate Crusaders versus Newcastle women. Yeah, with Hamish?
01:28:45
Speaker
With Hamish and how good I think Hamish and Will as well. So hopefully there'll be three of us. I'm just looking forward to being home. It's actually also going to be life member round at the Crusaders. And as my mum was inducted as a life member last year, it's kind of perfect timing for me personally to go back and commentate a game for crew, which I haven't done in three seasons now.
01:29:10
Speaker
Also for Life Member Round where hopefully, you know, mum will be celebrated again. So I'm getting very spoilt in my quick stint home. Yeah, good. Also, given all the talk around players having their 100th games, I've got to give shout out to my co-commentator, Jake, at Sutherland because Illawarra this weekend will be his 100th NBL One game commentating.
01:29:35
Speaker
So... Shout out to Jake. He's put up with me for 97 of those games. So good on him. That's the real achievement.
01:29:47
Speaker
Oh, 100%. All right. Yeah. Anything before we wrap up, Lockie?
01:29:55
Speaker
Don't sleep on the east.