explain

Those in glass houses ...

probably just what they needed as a reality check on the eve of the finals

People who live in glass houses have to answer the door.

This was probably the game Sturt need to loose to have a reality check.

It is highly unlikely that Sturt will loose from now on and will probably end up winning the grandfinal.
There was an extrordinary amount of aggression on court last night and some very unfortunate behind the play interferance ie deliberate tripping, pushing, shoving, elbowing and poor language. The umpires missed a lot of this behaviour making the situation worse.
South played well last night and farewelled two of the club stalwarts.
Marcus Wong was sorely missed by Sturt who needed to settle and play their own game. They lost it!!!

what was wong with marcus ??

Angry...did you fail to notice that the South team were given both a technical foul and an unsportsmanlike foul before these such calls were made on the Sturt players late in the game? Perhaps South dictated this so called 'agression'. I think you should consider this before you label Sturt the "worst behaved team".

l think south plays dirty they hack all the time just like last night.

I was at the game last night. Quite simply the Sturt girls had a shocker, no one could finish, their defence was not there and they just had a bad game. I am sure they will take full responsibility for this and acknowledge that South was the better team on the night. It was one of the roughest womens games i have seen, and it is no coincidence that the South women are always the other half to a dirty/rough/unskilled game. The Sturt girls gave as good as they got, both teams got tech fouls and unsportsmanlike fouls also. The foul mouths on the South girls is something that did disapoint me as i had a young child at the game, we were exposed to some useless name calling that has no part in the game!!!

Who coached Sturt?

You would be surprised that in fact the south girls actually got both the unsportsmanlike and the Tech before the sturt girls did. Sturt shotting was very ordinary at best hitting only 2 3pters for the game and when they did get it inside they got no rewards to go to the foul line, unlike south who had 28 free throws to Sturts 11 (seems similar to what happened when South played North to get the win). South were huge from the midrange and beyond especially in the second half. And for this game to have huge significance for south to make the finals was a huge booster for them, and little for the sturt girls.

I would say the sturt team are far from agressive. If they were they may have won the game. None of their Tech or U/S were for agressive play unlike one of the south girls who hip & sholdered one of the sturt girls as they ran down the court. Yes they may have mouthed off from frustration of the lack of calls going their way. Not that I heard what was said, but I did hear a south girl bad mouthing a sturt players. Just what I want my kids to hear! Especially from a so called coach! But in saying that I though Vicky Kelson was amasing in the way she really stepped up in the second half. South will definately miss her!

The hip and shoulder was a result of an elbow in the mouth from a Sturt palyer down the other end of the court. Tell the whole story 141303.
At the end of the game when two of the south girls were being recognised for their efforts over many years of basketball all sturt could do was stay in their huddle and sulk.
Classic display of poor sportsmanship to me.

please replace palyer with player (poor speller)

GB so it that the way you would react to an incidental knock to the mouth?? (If it did even happen - Im sure your going to tell me that she did it deliberately) Just shows then doesn't it! Unfortunately sometimes these things happen - even at trainings! Why be any different? I think it is great that both these teams played tough physical basketball, as long as it is managed well and teams are rewarded for their effort. I think you may be seeing it though some very foggy glasses! I certainly don't think the Sturt girls were sulking but that may be you perception. Like I said before it was a big game that South certainly wanted and needed to win, and did what they needed to do to get the win (which could mean Southern now miss out on making finals).

Whatever happened on court, should have stayed on court.
Sturt girls remained in a huddled as South farewelled two of their long term serving team mates who were clearly respected and will be missed.
Sturt girls should have had more respect for this moment...just happens I was at Pasadena a few weeks ago when Sturt girls played Woodville ( and beat them) but the Sturt girls failed to join the Woodville girls in the after game eats ands drinks. What has happened to sportsmanship? Girls, please do not forget, that whilst you are wonderful players, there are juniors who watch your every move move, and hear every word!!!!

Angry - so it is ok that your team does it but any other team players must be reprimanded! Double standards!! Why doesn't your club lead by example and discipline those players that got Tech or the unsportsmanlike and maybe other teams may follow. But I doubt your club would think they have done anything wrong!

I was also at the south v sturt game. Try to remember it is finals time, things are bound to get heated, especially when its a last chance game. Noone was overly aggressive, and having heard both sides of the story (from players, not misinformed spectators), the US foul was not unprovoked. There is a lot of talk you don't hear from the sidelines, and at least her retaliation was there for all to see, not a dirty foul hidden by the play. We all do it at one time or another, and these players might be role models for your kids, but don't forget they are human too. She got a foul for it, so let your kids learn from that.
I have a lot of respect for the Sturt girls, but I have to say, they weren't taking the loss too well, and their sportsmanship was less that satisfactory. However, everyone takes an unexpected loss hard...The game was not without a bit of whingeing from both sides, and the techs were deserved. South has some tempers to control, as does Sturt. All in all it was not half as bad as some posts like to believe, and its the nature of the game, you have good nights and bad. Be happy for South, its an achievement for those girls, and its not going to hurt Sturt for finals anyway.

Very good point shoota7. We can not always sanitise our juniors, and unfortunately the play on the Marion court is so close to spectators it is hard to avoid the less than impressive audibles.
It is a terrible venue ( especially on a cold winters night) for both players and spectators. Unfriendly court, unfriendly play. Even the games commissionewr would not let the juniors throw hoops on the court next door in case it caused distraction to experienced players. Why would any one go to Marion again..except for the diehards. The players have no choice. It's the last time we go!!

They have even allowed kids onto AAMI stadium after certain games to have a kick and a catch, yet Marion cant let a few kids shoot around on a court not in use? I also notice this at the Dome for Woodville home matches; they put boxes or chairs covering the nets. God forbid that we actually encoraged kids to come out, watch the senior grades, then have a few shots!

Very poor indeed.

Isn't one of the highlights of South ABL games that little kid that can hit shots from anywhere at half-time and after the game? Speedy, Shorty, something like that. He is the next Muggsy.

If you notice the reason they wont let kids shoot around is that the area where they have the after game presentation is right near one of the rings. So I would think that safety would be the first point of call on that one....

So, that explains one ring, right?

Restricting use of the rings is a good idea. It keeps stray balls away from the presentation area as well as the players bench and the main court (prevents possible injuries and game interruptions). It also makes it a safer area for spectators to walk through and stand in, reduces the noise levels, and encourages the junior players to actually watch their ABL teams, rather than stuffing around on the other court (which is what they are there for anyway).

(#141456)(#141468)& (#141520) yeah, God forbid we actually encouraged kids to the game.

A saftey issue? In my 18 years involved in the sport I have not seen any horrific injuries in relation to loose Bballs! If you are entering a stadium and walking past a ring that is having multiple shots put up on it, it would be resonable to assume that you had better watch out!

"encourages the junior players to actually watch their ABL teams, rather than stuffing around on the other court (which is what they are there for anyway)" I would say most young kids are at the game because they get dragged along by their parents!

Sit down, shut up and dont have fun; yep, great way to encourage more kids to our great game. Most of the younger kids would be there because their parents have dragged them along. Not allowing them to have a bit of fun when they are younger could lead them to think that a Bball stadium is a drag, rather than an exciting place to be.

If a big brand like the AFL can see the value in letting kids have shots on their hero's turf, then why cant we adopt the same idea in relation to spare courts during senior matches?

Beat me to it Jack - going to an ABA game at, say, Pasadena and Wayville, and seeing kids playing on the other courts (even during the games) shows that basketball still has a beating heart. The last thing you want is kids associating basketball with being a chore.

I think it's mainly due to balls flying onto the court during a game and causing stoppages in play. Obviously we don't see other footballs flying onto AAMI stadium during a game do we?
I know in some instances it was due to noise. When a coach is addressing his team in a time out, the bouncing of balls and clanging of rings can cause a fair bit of noise. Obviously this is so much of a problem these days with most stadiums blaring music during the breaks.

Half-time and after games?

Panther, I am trying not to be to critical; however if a head coach is annoyed by children laughing and having fun on the dissused court next to him, then we also need to send out a person onto the middle of the court with a big sign saying "silence" between quarters.

Let the children play and have fun. If there is a clear barrier between courts, as there is at Marion & Hillcrest with the seating, then Bballs coming onto the game court should not be an issue.

Jack it has been and will continue to be an issue. Many games have had this problem at many stadiums.

We need to make ABL or ABA (what ever it's called these days) as family freindly as possible, Im sure you would agree?