I got two words for ya Jay...Salary Cap.

Rees was never considered not good enough his contract expired and we had no space to resign him. That is why he went to Brisbane.

Of the players you mentioned Stiff was the only one actively targeted but again we did not have cap space to pay him what he could get at Melbourne.

I assume that Riley is Rillie and he also commands more money than wee have spare as do the other players you have mentioned.

The squad put to together is comparable and better than many other lists this year.

You do not need brand names to ensure success but harmony and chemistry....what colour medal did the US get at the Olympics?

Jay,

The more I read of your crap the more I see how stupid you are. You are not to bright are you? As Kent has mentioned Salary cap is a major issue. Why don't you do everyone a favour and stop posting useless dribble on this site. What do you expect though from a knob from South.

i also have two words for you: sixers admin.

another two: darnell mee.

the salary cap is all too often a very convenient excuse.

when adelaide and melbourne offer stiff the same amount of money, and he chooses the team in the city with a higher cost of living, that's a hint. when he goes away and returns mid-season to play for a different team...

jay posted a question. i think calling him stupid is bullshit.

Curious -- keep it civil please. I think it's fair to consider that there might be reasons besides the cap for players not to play in Adelaide. As mentioned above by wow, it was reported that Stiff was offered equivalent figures by both teams.

Anyone who's heard the Newley story would have serious questions too.

think you will find that Stiff's wife Kara comes from Sydney might mean the difference of chosing Sydney over Melbourne might it not! It might not be a factor but it might have been there is often more behind the scenes that most of us/you know.

why does this site denigrate into name calling and why is that the most empty vessels make the most noise?

sometimes and i include everyone in this should perhaps think before they put fingers to the keyboard - and people who have only been around basketball for 5 seconds maybe perhaps shouldn't shoot their mouths of as 'know alls' i know there are a lot of well credentailed people read this site and shake their heads at the drivel that is being written.

and with the sixers as they say 'isn't hindsight a wonderful asset'

Stiff's parents also live in Melbourne, Stiff is a Melbourne boy, so if $$ amounrs were similair, the home fires always have a stronger calling.

And Jay, the poll that was taken was taken from 88 players, and taken randomly and anonomously, and remember, players had to nominate a coach rather than their own they would like to play for.

I don't think the issue with not being able to get players here is Smyth's respect, but rather an issue with salary cap, and the admin staff.

Yeah Isaac, hit us with the Newley story!! I've been wondering why a local lad, a superstar in the making, wasn't snapped up by us. He seems to have similar hype as when Holmes entered the league, and I know the Sixers went to pretty extreme lengths to ensure Jacob's signature.

I beleive that Stiff was offered double what Adelaide was able to pay him to go to Melbourne.

We offered the same amount to Dereck Moore.

The only person who took the offer was Cooper.

Maybe that is a clue to how much was offered.

As far as I know, there is a maximum salary offer for rookies in their first year which limits competitive bidding from multiple clubs. I have heard from enough sources to consider it credible information that Adelaide's efforts in attracting Newley were not in the same league as those shown by Townsville. If anyone else wants to provide more information, go for it -- there's not much that can be done now that he's signed with the Crocs I guess.

It is also known that Smyth has a very specific style of coaching that has both advantages and disadvantages (obviously enough of the former to make him successful at his job), but from what I have heard regarding Newley, I don't doubt that he would have been very much suited to a Smyth team.

when we think salary cap and admin

which admin would we prefer..
canberra - now defunct
newcastle - now defunct
hobart - now defunct
gold coast - now defunct
geelong - now defunct
st kilda - now defunct
eastside spectres - now defunct
sydney comets - now defunct
north melbourne - now defunct
victoria titans - now defunct

then there are the teams like forestville and west adelaide who were there in the beginning and pulled out of the league because of costs. that is not even looking at the casualties dollar wise in the wnbl there was a time when adelaide had three womens teams in a national competition. plus we had woodville playing in cba/seabl and we had the buffalos and the opals

our composite teams of sixers and lightning have been very successful we have a great venue and we are still in the comp we are not defunct!

i guess with every side of every argument there are two sides and who is to say who is right and who is wrong. maybe there is credence to the fact that locking in cattalini and rogers on big dollars for long contracts caused problems. maybe there is credence to the fact that management is tight on contracts now.

and it is human nature that we will all favour one side over the other but realistically current events have to be put into context. problems don't occur overnight and knee jerk reactions don't help fix them either.

i'd prefer a team on the floor and a admin that is keeping basketball alive in the state rather than see the team mothballed. just look at melbourne who had six national league teams at one time and now are down to the tigers. if a city of that size can't support more than one team ............

Ahem, I agree with what you say, but you know what the problem with Melbourne is?.......FOOTBALL. With any luck, this year will be the first time Melbourne will not have a team in the grand final. Perhaps that will be the time for them to start thinking that there are other sports out there. Wishful thinking perhaps!

EC adelaide would have suffered more over football in my opinion than melbourne. in melbourne they have always had the VFL which took lots of fans away from basketball.

in adelaide the AFL or at least our partipation in has only happen since 1992? or 1991.

Till then the local SANFL played saturday afternoons was not a hinderance to the fans of the 36ers.

back in the 70s when basketball was $ poor basa was restructed along the lines of the sanfl where the clubs owned basa and basa like the sanfl own the crows has ownership of the sixers and lightning.

by the late 80s apollo stadium was far to small and the public was crying out for a larger venue. basa sold apollo and built the 'dome' but delays in building, rising costs and changes in govt legistlation hurt the plan.

remember when the dome was built it was planned to be a multi use stadium. instead of a convention centre or entertainment centre being converted for basketball it was to be used as a basketball stadium converted for entertainment. but the govt then built the entertainment centre and prohibited basa from using the dome as one. hence limiting their money raising ability.

then when the powerhouse opened the crows were formed and people could either go to the crows or the sixers and even if they didn't clash on a night money does become an issue. then the crows won two premierships and the race was really lost we as a sport lost kids back to football.

add into that the salary cap breaches that the club have incurred and you are set with your current set of circumstances a facility that is costly to run, an organisation cash strapped, an admin that has to operate under those conditions.

if basa hadn't built the dome we wouldn't be happy with a small home like apollo and they would be in the wrong.

if smyth had not signed rogers and cat for long contracts he would be in the wrong, he signs them for long contracts rogers leaves and we are left with the fall out he is still in the wrong.

if admin allows the salary cap to blow out and we are fined again they are in the wrong.

if admin holds tightly onto fiscal reins so that the club/basketball in general survives they are still in the wrong.

btw hate port with a passion but power up for the grand final!!

Not sure if it is still happening but basa was getting a yearly payment from the government not to have events at the stadium and therefore subsidise the cost of losing events to the entertainment centre

But in the end, Smyth is the best, so say the players.