Definitely interested!

BQ had a season preview recently on social media but it was behind a paywall... seriously?!

Jon Guarna, my favourite commentator posted his predictions for cahmpionship winning teams and MVP yesterday also.

Let the games begin!

Seriously, pre-season reporting has been a disgrace. The NBL1 website still has last years squads listed, so apart from a couple a articles there's very little to go off.

Link to; "Jon Guarna, my favourite commentator posted his predictions for championship winning teams and MVP yesterday also." if possible?

RobT - it is on his FB page.

Damn! Not a fan of FB. Truth is I can't make sense of it. I'll try, Thanks.

Been tryin'. Getting nowhere. Want to share his predictions? (I'll get help with the FB bit!)

RobT, on NBL1 North website:
https://nbl1.com.au/news/2024-nbl1-north-predictions?fbclid=IwAR2SBHJJqHUVfYplRJtGfh7zGkj-oqI9peRWzZaI9vLVrg6On7704vk2o7I_aem_AbyPjfK-Bck_qj9eh5m_olHE1waOCnRM7iV64icjlo0WHNGckbUDrExHYZ2EGwOhtVC2xwHGij1RM6sofxBk4AXc

Well, wasn't that the worst way to start a new season? Men's game to W Logan 112/65 over North GC. Does not deserve details. Scores much more respectable in women's game. NGC winning that one, 78/66.

2 (2x2) games tomorrow (Sat); Northwest V Bri and Mky v T/ville. Both promising (hoping)to be better!

Thank you mball, I had read that much but hoped there would be full review of all teams. If there was, I still have not found it.

The lack of information is disgraceful. The NBL1 website only has a few players named on team lists - but at least they updated from last year's teams the day before the season started. Very disappointing for supporters and sponsors.

"I had read that much but hoped there would be full review of all teams. If there was, I still have not found it."

There is one around but behind a paywall. BQ should have done an independent one.


Totally agree with Damo. Even the first women's game last night was not on the home page game tracker, found it on the game page. Very unprofessional and disappointing but can only improve.

Firstly, let me add to the "broadcast" discussion. I LOVE IT! It's easier than Kayo, by far. For me, it's 2 clicks from watching.

I have the NBL1 app on my desktop set on NBL1 North. Open it to Home page (1st click) and choose the game I want from schedule for my 2nd click. and voila, sit back and enjoy. Just scroll for box scores and stats whenever I want. If I find it easy AND enjoyable (remember that I am the one who does not know how to use facebook, for goodness' sake), surely you must be looking for criticisms for the sake of it.

OK. Secondly. What I thought of night 2.

I watched the Wizards v Capitals men's game. Certainly got my money's worth. 2 games for the price of 1. First game went for roughly 20 mins which the Caps won 55/39. After the half, the second game played out where the home team went on an absolute tear to win the night 95/87.

Caught the last q in the Mackay v Townsville game. Seems that I saw most of that game too as the stats showed an even trend throughout this one. Mackay got the start and kept the lead all game.

What happened in the Capitals game, inexcusable collapse with that roster on paper. Caps could have really used the stable hand of Tueta, Rob do you know how far off he is? (Seeing he is ex USC)
Also Cairns over Darwin last night, obviously a few missing pieces but that was a large upset!

Agreed re Cairns v Dawin. Darwin have a great roster. As for Izzy. Mabe another week???

Thanks Rob.

Watched some of the Gold Coast game yesterday, with Magnay still to come in they look very imposing.
I expected the Pirates to push or even beat them on the back to back and they put them away without much of a threat.

Capitals dropped off in the 3rd lack of bench rotation hurt them, tough bounce back week.
North Gold Coast not the greatest showing for opening night.
Mackay looked good and with some talent that didn't even put on a uniform
Northside women smashed capitals who looked unfit which is scary what they have been up to in the off season

Does round 1 change any of the predictions?

My bold prediction is that one of either Logan or Spartan women will miss the playoffs this year.

Double-header weekend for the Caps. 1st game Brisbane v Mackay who opened the game with a 33/17 quarter, maintained that margin for the next 3/4s. (yuck, from me)

Rocky was better for the Caps, and a better game as it literally went down to the last shot. Sam MacD scored the Cap's last 9 points taking the Caps from 4 points down with 2 mins left to the 2 pt victory, Rocky 91 / Brisbane 93.

Hayden Richardson's half-court, attempted buzzer-beater missed (phew).

The Big Duke, thanks for asking about Izzy, Yeah, played both games and he did well, as did the team. I think a bit more jelling is needed, lots of t/o's, etc.

Any other news?

Been some super close games over the past two rounds, Sam McDaniel vis Rockhampton, LP vs Ipswich and Capitals even the night before required a final shot from Ipswich to end it.

Most teams have now played 4 games - does the ladder change at all for the men or does someone one fo the 1-4 teams have a run in them Spartans, NGC, Caps & Rockhampton.

Is Sunshine & Mackay holding 1-2 for the remainder of the season.

I think Darwin are yet to really get going along with Cairns, I like South West big energy team at home or away, Caps clearly under performing for the roster they have along with Spartans (they play each other this week)

Fair win by Sunny Coast yesterday missing one of the Robertau brothers. How far off is Magnay for GC??

GC, Ipswich, Spartans and Caps will all rise from their current positions.

Caps had a double header, NGC on Sat and SDS on the Sunday.

NGC v Caps 86/83. A good game. Gooderer for NGC.
SDS v Caps 69/74. Another good one. 7 NBL players. Caps just better at the end.

Both games close throughout so both well worth the attendance.

Caps now 2 and 4 while Spartans (SDS) are just 1 and 4 (1 game in hand). I think both teams should have much better records, but they don't. And the season's not nearly long enough to not worry, Gotta pick it up now or too late for both teams, possibly.

On the Women's side it appears barring injuries that Northside and Rocky are miles ahead of the rest of the comp.

Just finished watching the Caps men beat the Pirates in a low scoring encounter, 71 / 76 (at SW). Most of the game seemed to be with the Caps but the Pirates kept within dangerous range and once tied it up before the Caps took control again to the end.

The win last week v SDS and this one today sent Caps from 13th on the North Ladder up to 8th. After SDS (currently 12th), putting Logan away (currently 4th), 106/64, I'm glad we played them (SDS) last week.

Next week it's off to the SCPhoenix who sit at 3rd after a 4-2 start to the season. Mackay at 4-and-0 head the ladder with Darwin next at 4-and-1 from their 5 games. Think that these 2 are the pace setters for at least the 1st half of the season Phoenix to prove they belong up there and everyone else in a dog fight.

My 2 bobs worth!

Hi, Cosmo Spacely and others. Would like to include women's stuff too but shagged doing this little bit.

Anyone help out there?

Caps surely not too happy with that result today, Pirates missing their two leading scorers think that shouldve been a 20+ point drubbing. SDS win reads well after they towelled Logan last night who are no slouches.

Can't argue with that, Big Duke. Think Caps have been fortunate in that they played SDS before they clicked and now SWM missing some key players. Even their 1st win v Rocky. Got to say they needed that to give that 'cos I think (hope) that Caps are just starting to gel a bit better. Roster is very good throughout. See if they can continue with the upward swing. This weekend v Phoenix will show if flash-in-the-pan or genuine improvement?!

ROBT just for you.

Womens Results this week a couple of upsets .....


Logan got their first win of the season over Spartans to keep a glimmer of hope alive of making the top 6 .

The Kayo Game of the week featured the winless Sunshine Coast take on the winless Cairns , Sunny Coast prevailed. 40 combined turnovers all makes for interesting viewing.

South West threw away a lead to let Brisbane in for the win on their home court , amazing to see 2 such well credentialed Coaches going against each other in Chaney from BNE and Newlee from SW . Not sure locals appreciate the level that these guys have coached at ,also not sure why BQ aren't all over these guys and getting them into the Junior State Programs.

Reuf will be Player of the week with a 30 Rebound Triple Double.


Next week the undefeated Rocky take on the undefeated Northside on Sunday , should be a cracker , I have a feeling that Rocky on their Home Court might be too much for the Wizards .

Hey Cosmo Spacely, didn't expect that! Great write up. Expected weekly, from now on. You can do mine too.

Happy again. At Sunshine Coast, Bris Capitals 94 d SC Phoenix and have now won 3 in a row to be 4+4 after a slow start. They now sit 6th on the ladder gaining 2 spots. A fairly even first half but the signs were there as Bris held an 8 pt advantage. In the third q, Phoenix did outscore the Caps 21/20 but the 4th was all Caps for the 94/76 win.

Current Ladder:-
Team W L
Mackay Meteors 1st 5 0
Darwin Salties 2nd 5 1
Logan Thunder 3rd 4 2
Sunshine Coast Phoenix 4 3
Cairns Marlins 4 3
Brisbane Capitals 4 4
North G Coast Seahawks 4 4
Rockhampton Rockets 3 3
Gold Coast Rollers 3 3
S Districts Spartans 3 4
Ipswich Force 3 4
Townsville Heat 2 5
S West Metro Pirates 2 5
Northside Wizards 2 7
(I put these in a column using copy and paste. Don't know how it will appear???)

tabs didn't work. damn!

Just watched the Replay of the Rocky and Northside game and a couple of observations.

Rocky blew a 9 point lead in the 4th Qtr , they had the game under control but could not close the deal . They lack a on Court leader to get them through situations like this. Had a size advantage that they could not use , still have issues getting the ball into the posts. McSpadden needs more than 8 shots per game if they are going to contend again this year.

Reffing was awful , almost got out of Control on a few occasions .

If the comp goes the way it is shaping up Rocky has lost the home court for the Final (if they make it).

AJ Johnson is the key to Northside , still a high quality player 30 points and 16 Rebounds should just about get you the player of the week. Jess White needs to shoot the ball more , she and Johnson kept them in the game and got them over the line in the end.

Zero points from either team off the bench , ouch. Northside had only 4 players that scored, double ouch.

Muffy Loader is the most annoying defender in the league (that's a compliment) .

This week

Brisbane , Townsville and Runaway Bay all have a nice winning streak going , South west have lost their last 3 and have slid down the ladder and are in danger of losing touch with the top 6 .

Spartans vs Northside this weekend would be the game to watch , see how Rocky bounce back against the Salties in Darwin. Logan has to at least split their road trip (TSV and Cairns) , lose both and they are done.

I was at the Bris v SCoast games. Back-to-back for these 2 teams. Last week Bris won both of those and no doubt, SCoast wanted some revenge.

Arrived in time to see the last quarter of the ladies and was shocked at the (big) lead Bris held over the visitors, was around 15 to 20 it seemed and stayed there to the end. Bris 81/SCoast 61. For the home side, Lil Dart was outstanding with 31 pts at 55% and her teammate Hannah Hank returned figures of 12 pts and 20 rebounds. Coast's Hayleee Andrews had 21 pts and Carlie Smith had 19 and 14 boards.

The men's game had Caps in front 11/1 from the tip off until Jamaal Robateau broke the Caps run. Phoenix clawed their way back from there and at term's end Bris were just 1 ahead, 23/22. At the end of the 1st half, the SCoast led 451 to 41. Signs of a good, tough 2nd half coming up.

After the break, Bris were just too dominant as they delivered a 34/16 quarter for a 75/61 scoreline going into the last.

In spite of their efforts, the SCoast were not able to get too close to Bris's score, losing back-to-back to the Caps. Final score
was Bris Capitals 101 / Sunshine Coast Phoenix 92.

I found this result slightly puzzling when I checked out the stats. Stats for both teams were remarkably similar through most categories. SCoast even had 5 players in double figures to Bris just 3. And that was the difference. Brisbane's 3 were lethal, SCoast were all good but no one was able to match Isaih Tueta with 35pts including 7 from 8 beyond the arc, Sam McDaniel's 26 and 12 boards and Matt Johns's 17 points. SCoast had all their starters in double figure scoring (between 13 and 18 pts) and Duom Dawan added 10 boards.

For both of these teams, the ladder position was important. The win elevated Bris to 5th and saw SCoast drop from 4th to 7th.

Next week.
Bris v Cairns
SCoast v Townsville.

Bit late this week but a person has to work sometimes.

Happened to be in Darwin last weekend and caught the Darwin Vs Rockhampton games , was pretty shocked with the ease that Darwin beat Rocky . Darwin made a fairly major change running Woods at the point and it gave them a size advantage of the Rocky Guards that they really struggled with all night , Darwin ran way with it by close to 30 points and clearly Rocky need to make some adjustments . They will have another crack at home with Darwin this weekend and I am expecting them to come out fired up.

Observation. Darwin has the worst scoreboard in the world , its directly behind one of the baskets and for the most part obscured . That's a easy fix and needs to be addressed, especially with the money that they are charging for admission

Reuf had a lazy 36 and 26 , Mackay as team had 28 rebounds , Nth Gold Coast +29 in the rebounds , that is not good .


4 teams scoring over 100 points in the round , tough defence is hard to find in the mid season.

Logan hanging onto the top 6 by a thread , again lose this week and they have to be close to being done for the year , same for SW another loss and its just about curtains.

Game of the round will be Northside Vs Townsville , i think this will be a cracker , Townsville have a legit big in Fowler and i would love to her take on the NS forwards who up till now have had a pretty easy run. Good matchup in the guards as well should make it a close game. If Townsville can get a good start I think they may get over the line .

Brisbane are chugging away quietly and have Cairns at Home this weekend , they are making a case for top 4 at the end of the year.

Just finished watching the ladies' Capitals v Dolphins game, with both teams displaying some outstanding performances from key players.

Cairns' Mia Loyd had 34 pts 12 rebs, 6 asts plus 2 stls and 2 blks and was brilliant on a losing team. Loyd was well supported by Leichen Williams with 14pts at 87% and 8 boards before fouling out in the 4th.Teyahna Bond and Samantha Kelso helped with 13 and 11 pts resp.

However, Brisbane also had its own super stars on the night. Top of that honour goes to Lil Dart and her 33 pts at 52% from the field. Supporting her with 22 pts and 8 boards was Megan Mullings who fouled out late in the game and Goergia Dale contributed 17 pts to the Cap's winning score of 94 / 85. (still want Cosmo Spicely's run down too).

Now I'll go watch the men.

Ipswich the flop of the year, inexcusable being blown out by 20+ with that roster.. Sobey will be able to hop in his caravan during July!

Brisbane Capitals v Cairns Marlins - Men.

Damn, and a whole lot of other words like it! My broadcast jumped, backwards, repeatedly and in spite of countless refreshes, just kept doing it. Get it back to live, say in the 3rd, and jumps back to the 1st. Anyway. Saw enough to know that i will want to watch it again, in full, I hope.

Caps won in OT after blowing a game-long lead of up to 20ish(?). If there is a redeeming aspect it is that Brisbane could bounce back in the OT as Cairns definitely had the momentum at the end of reg. Brisbane opened the OT period with a 10 to 0 run and finished with a 13-point win, 110 / 97.

Both teams shared scoring evenly with 5 Dolphin's starters scoring in double figures. Kody Stattmann led them with 23 pts & 9 rebs, Ky Stattmann and Kian Dennis both had 22 pts, the latter with 9 rebs, Alex Mudronja 17 pts, Josh Kunen 11 pts and Aron Farmer with 2 from the bench.

For Bris, 6 Caps got all their teams' points. Sam McDaniel with 34 pts at 62%, 5 rebs, 5 asts and 5 stls led the field with Gabe Hadley's 27 pts, 5 asts & 4 stls, Gpac's(Geordan Papacosta) 18 pts & 8 rebs, Matthew Johns' 13pts & 11 rebs, and Isaih Tueta's 10 pts. Cameron Thew with 8 pts also had 12 rebs.

The Capitals have climbed another ladder spot to 4th with a 6 and 4 record. In 3rd place is Darwin (113) who are 6 and 2 after putting Mackay (95) to the torch tonight. Mackay is still 1st at 7 and 1. Logan, at 9 and 2 are 2nd.

Next w/end, Caps are at home to the much-improved Spartans so expecting a close game and result.

RobT

Had no problem with the vision, but the commentators could barely be heard. So you turn the volume up and then on comes an ad at half time (or anything else on the PC) and darn near blows your ears off

Men: End of Round 8 of 14 and the ladder shows 8 teams of 14 (coincidence only?) at 50% W/L or better.

The top 3, Mackay at 7/1, and Logan and Darwin at 7/2 are establishing a solid lead over the rest. They have certainly become the 3 to beat and I expect them to be the main contenders at season's end.

Brisbane sit 4th at 6/4, then Southern Districts and Sunshine Coast are on 5/4 with Rockhampton and Gold Coast the final 50%ers on 4/4. Right at this stage of the season Brisbane and Southern Districts look stronger with a couple of impressive Ws of late. However, both have some tough games ahead including 2 more head to heads and both face up to some of the top 3. With 6 games left to finals, all have a good chance of making the finals

Losing touch with the leaders are the remaining 6 teams, South West Metro, Cairns, North Gold Coast, Ipswich, Northside and finally Townsville.

Fair bit to unpack from the Weekend , I thought that Townsville gave the Wizards a great run had the lead in the 3rd but faded in the 4th . Wizards move on to 11-0 and all the talk is the 'undefeated' team , don’t want to see the Logan Curse again.

Darwin played the game of the season against Rocky in Darwin , went to Mackay the next week and played like a pack of 12 year olds . The defence was abysmal and this loss is going to hurt them in the run home . Played Rocky again on the second leg and got whopped , 3 of their top 6 were injured/sick and Rocky stayed out of Foul Trouble and the Rocky Refs seem to allow body checking when hedging off screens.

A quirk of the Draw ???? Darwin have 3 Double game Road Trips in consecutive weekends , it’s a brutal schedule with the amount of Travel involved.

Nth Gold Coast fell to South West in OT , no Goodchild , missing another scorer , Reuf only had 33 Rebounds , both teams scoring in the 60s probably indicates some offensive issues.

Not sure what happened GC vs Ipswich , Ippy had 44 points got beat by 60 after beating SW the week before ---- Deeble 34 Pts probably good enough for the POTW


Brisbane V Spartans this weekend should be a goody and Townsville vs Rocky will be a beauty .

Getting down to the business end of things and a couple of results from last weekend may have a bearing on that .

Going to say that Northside will finish 1st , Townsville Second then either Rocky or Runaway Bay. Its who is going to turn into 5th and 6th that makes it interesting. They probably have little chance of winning against the top 3 .

Rocky struggled again against a team with big guards , they had big problems containing the Townsville back court . Townsville got a good early lead and really were never challenged. Rocky when either Spaddy and Bowman are out are quite small and don't have much depth off the bench.

Logan lost in OT and had a good win against a Mackay team on a 3 game road trip . Mackay looked tanked by the 3rd game but Taylor Mole managed to get her self 49 Pts against Ipswich in Game 1 and that should get anybody a POTW and a brand new pair of Volley OCs .

Northside and the Salties had a old fashioned shootout , 223 points scored , the only worry that Northside may have is that they are willing to concede a lot of points but have such a good offence that they can outscore all comers. AJ Johnson is the go to player , whenever Darwin made a run Wizards went to her and she has a knack of scoring from anywhere . Johnson is my MVP so far this year , but that is usually judged by the number of points scored and not much else.

Spartans rolled over Brisbane in the last quarter . Brisbane turn the ball over way too much and their scoring is patchy .

South West and Logan just hanging on at best they may get a sixth spot , the play each other this weekend and the loser would nearly have to be cooked .

This weekend Salties are back in town vs Spartans and Brisbane , important games for all of them Darwin maybe happy to split but 2 wins will help them in the run home.

Runaway Bay has a stern test with Northside and Spartans , they could easily drop both and bring them back in the pack.

Game of the Round Northside Vs Runaway Bay , expect some real pressure on Goodchild and see if Wizards can stop Ruef getting 40 Rebounds .

Went to match in Bris v SDS which the home-team won, 103/90. An early lead to the Caps had them ahead 50/33 at the main break.

Brisbane had 6 players in double figures led by Sam McDaniel with 22/5/6 and the others shared the rest fairly evenly.

Southern Districts also had an even spread of 5 scorers sharing the double-digit honours. Tyrell Harrison's 25/13/3 was the game's best stat's filler.

Just now watched the SDS v Dar replay. Keen on this result as a Darwin win diminishes SDS's challenge to Bris but a Spartans win makes Darwin look vulnerable for today's game v Capitals.

Last night's game (SDS v Dar) was fab until the main break. Baskets from everywhere, both ends, with a slight show of some D here and there. Spartans led at half time, 53 / 48. After the half it was all Salties with occasional bursts of fight-back from the Spartans. In the end, a comfortable 106 / 92 W for the Salties.

Capitals go 2 and 0 v Salties. Brisbane Girls won by 11 points, 91 / 80. For the Salties, Courtney Woods starred with 39 pts, 10 rbs and 4 ast and Abigail Curtin contributed 14 and 7. Brisbane's Hannah, Hannah and Lil were awesomr for the home side, Capitals. Hannah Young had 21 pts and 7 rbs, Hannah Hank 20, 8 and 3 ast, and Lil Dart scored 24 pts with 2 rbs and a massive 12 asts.

The Men: Brisbane Capitals defeat Darwin Salties . A heart-stopper til around 10 to 12 secs left. 1st q, scores tied at 24. 2nd q Caps gain a 6 pt lead 48/42. 3rd q Caps gain another single point over the Salties who pulled 2 pts back in the 4th for the final 86/81 scoreline. Salties spread their scoring through the starters with all but 1 in double figures. Makuach Maluach with 21pts and 7 boards and Sean Macdonald's 19 and 10 with 8 asts were the Salties best.

Brisbane's best on the afternoon were Gabe Hadley with 30 pts, 10 rbs and 4 asts. Sam McDaniel contributed 20, 7 and 4, Matthew Johns and Izzy Tueta had 10 each, Matty also had 9 boards. Worthy of a mention was Cam Thew's 4 blocks to go with his 9 pts.

Next week's challenge is Logan Thunder

Another week down and fairly safe to say that its for Logan , a loss to SW would put any hope of making top 6 now virtually impossible.


Darwin finished the 6 game road trip with 2 more losses to Spartans and Brisbane , dropped from 5th to 8th and they are just about cooked . Whatever advantage they get at home they completely lose on the road . Woods almost beat Brisbane by herself with 39 pts on Sunday but just doesn't get the support she needs on any sort of consistent basis.

Spartans are looking good , beat Seahawks and Darwin and with the return of Cubillo I think they may give the top 4 a real scare in the run home . They play tough defence and play smart as a group which is rare in this league .

Northside and Seahawks was a bit disappointing , both teams looked a bit flat , Northside went through the motions , held Goodchild to 20 and won quite easily in the end .

Cairns got a win over Gold Coast and now have a winning streak of 1 going , they have SW this weekend and I think they will give them a really good run at home . Since Mia Lloyd has turned up Cairns have been competitive.

Must win game for Darwin this weekend against Seahawks , lose and they are done .

South West on the FNQ road trip lose both and they are done as well.

Player of week probably should be Courtney Woods averaged 33 pts over the weekend , but lost both games , I don’t know how these things work.

Highlight of the week

During the game seeing a giant Rat run from under the Grandstand at Spartans and disappear behind the Player benches. Yikes

Round 11 (of 14 + Finals) Men's games.

I watched Brisbane at home to Logan. Glad I did as it was a Fab game. Went to overtime at 75 all as a result of a Gabe Hadley 3 followed by an Izzy Tueta 3 for the Caps. Had a chance at a 2nd OT but last shot, a half court toss, missed. Final score Bris 83 / Logan 86.

For Logan, Zac Triplett scored 21 and had 9 rbs while veteran Chris Cedar added 20 at 62% (not too shabby for a vet). Callum Dalton, who is shining in the NBL1, gave his Thunder 17 and 14. Shaun Bruce also had a good return with 15 pts, 8 rbs and 5 asts.

Gabe Hadley top scored for the Caps with 23, and 6 rbs. Sam McDaniel added 15 pts, Izzy Tueta 13 and "GPak" (Geordan Papacosta) 11.

Worth mentioning that I noticed another decorated vet in Jeremy Kendall shooting the lights out for the SD Spartans v GC Rollers in another game that went to OT and was ultimately won by the Spartans 114 to GC's 113.

No Sunday games this round. The ladder is settling to what is likely to be the play-off teams. Mackay, Darwin, Logan, Brisbane, Southern Districts and Rockhampton are all on or above 50% win/loss. That's the current top 6. Sunshine Coast and Cairns can certainly challenge, both at just half a game behind in 7th and 8th. The others are little to no chance IMO.

Northside roll on, are 14-0 now have a spot in the finals and their destiny is in their own hands , always think of Logan going undefeated through the season a couple of years ago and then .....

South West split the FNQ road double and probably dodged a bullet with Cairns missing 2 starters and fell over the line , were not even close to Townsville on the second game.

Logan too good for Brisbane on the back of near Triple double for Cann. Brisbane now firmly in the log jam for the 6th spot, Spartans keep rolling on took care of Gold Coast , I would not want be up against them in a one off playoff game in the run home . 2 games in front of 6th spot now and look solid in the run home.

Darwin snatched defeat from the jaws of victory tied at 81-81 with 10 seconds to go , missed two free throws , let Seahawks dribble through them and score a uncontested layup with 0.1 on the clock. They could have made the road home really interesting for Runaway Bay but let them off the hook and slide to 8th place at the bottom of the scramble for sixth.

Player of the week ---- Kate Gaze 34 pts , 14-20 shooting , surely worth a pair of Volley OCs

Good games this weekend

Runaway Bay vs Rocky - 2 good bigs against Ruef and some pesky Guards who hopefully don't foul Goodchild all day should make it interesting.

Mackay have a nightmare road trip . Cairns on Friday and then onto Darwin Saturday night , Darwin's last chance.

Spartans Vs Townsville , should be a good one . Shiels will be away and that will make for some a really close game , Townsville backup against Brisbane in a game Brisbane can’t afford to be dropping

Never such a thing as a good loss but South West beating the Wizards has probably given Northside a wake up call just before the playoffs start and has given South West a real boost in grabbing the last spot.

Spartans vs TSV didn't quite live up to the expectations but Spartans got the job done , Townsville would be happy to split the road trip and add Shiels back into the Squad after her efforts in China they would be pretty happy with the way the weekend went . Spartans are the form team at the moment and look to be heading into finals as the team that will be more than capable of defeating any of the top 3 . Cubillo has given them a spark and added some much needed speed in the back court , they just cant seem to get much out of Clinch-Hoycard who is a great shooter but cant seem to get shots in this league.

Rocky 3/3 on the road can't do any better than that , Heard has them running nicely ,they are organised and well coached .

South West have a double this weekend that could place them firmly in the playoffs but a loss against either SC or Logan could mean they will play against Darwin for 8th spot the following weekend.

Brisbane must win against Spartans to have any hope of grabbing 8th as well.

Townsville should get Darwin and consolidate the 2nd place and get themselves a home semi final , Darwin will need SW to lose at least one game and hope that they drop2.


Player of week Heard from Rockhampton , put together 3 solid games and that's enough for the Bata Scouts this week or Leah Scoot who had 30 against Northside will be very close.

Games to watch Logan vs South West and Brisbane Vs Spartans , both games have implications for playoffs.

How did that Patterson shot not count last night?? Robbed of one of the best gamewinners in years by some serious home cooking, I would love to see the proof of how that shouldnt have counted.
Meanwhile Ipswich much better without Sobey lol

Patterson looks fit too. That basket definitely should have counted. Plus, they should have added time back onto the clock after the Logan basket.

Just watched the replay

Logan scored with 1.1 secs to go, clock ran down to .9 secs

Game should have stopped, and clock been reset at that point.

Patterson got the ball at .9 and shot the ball with .6 on the clock.

Should have counted.

Patterson caught the ball with 0.9 sec on the clock from the inbound correct. The clock was then slow in starting, he wouldn't have got the shot off with in the 0.9 if they started the clock correctly. Not sure of the rules there if a video review can review the late starting clock or not.

https://x.com/i/status/1809583472375484561

Patterson got the ball at .9 and shot the ball with .6 on the clock

Patterson caught the ball behind him - clock on 0.9sec
then he brings the ball down to his waist = clock still on 0.9sec
then he lifts it up from his waist to behind his ear - clock still on 0.9sec.
then he puts it into his right hand to throw it like a javelin - and if you are playing along at home - yet clock still on 0.9 sec.
clock starts
ball released at 0.6 secs.

Probably should have been 1.1 secs on clock, rather than 0.9 sec.

I am not sure if refs reviewed the video at all, or just made a call on it.

Amazing shot.

I guess they could protest the finish if they really needed to as there is clear video of it.

Okay down to the last round and a few scenarios bouncing around.

From last week Brisbane managed to blow a 12 point lead at half time , score 9 points in the last quarter , turn the ball over 25 time and lose to Spartans. They fall to Eight place and play Northside this weekend , must win for any chance of the sixth place spot.

South West split the 2 games over the weekend , they travel to Darwin to play the Salties , South West must win and Brisbane must lose for South West to finish 6th . Brisbane has the split over South West and Darwin.

Darwin must win at home against South West and Brisbane must lose to Northside for Darwin to finish 6th. Darwin really struggled to score against Townsville last week but also they played pretty well defensively. Going to have to stop Leah Scott if they are any chance at all.

Realistically the 6th spot is making up the numbers for the teams above them .

So Spartans at Rocky probably playing for the 3rd Spot and a much easier qtr final than 4 vs 5 will get . Game of the round easily and this will be a real test of where Spartans are at .

Brisbane might get Northside , I hear that Johnson is 'having a rest ' until finals and they lost another starter to what looked like a serious injury .

I thought that Cubillo was really good against Brisbane and led t hat 2nd half comeback , POTW to her .

"NBL1 North 2024 Season Starts.", should now be, "NBL1 North 2024 Season Ends.". Last games of the reg season this w/end for the North con in NBL1.

3 games last night with all 3 being won by the home teams.

Brisbane Capitals 91 d Northside Wizards 72. Caps won all 4 qs with a whole-team effort. The 5 starters all had double figures in points. Hadley with 16 and 8 boards and 5 assists, Thew and McDanial both added 15 pts and 8 boards each, Johns 14 pts and also 8 boards and Tueta, 13 pts and 8 assists. The bench, Kopcikas, Soong and Papacostas all had 6 pts and Papcoatas added 6 boards to his tally. Wizards got a great game out of Ahale with 20 pts and (believe it or not) 8 rebounds, Ross Pai...(sorry?) 11 pts and Angola contributed 14 from the bench. To their credit, all the Wizards scored.
Caps are now waiting for tonight's game between Mackay and SDS, the result of which will determine the Cap's opposition for the 1st round of finals.

For some reason (?), the Caps v Wizards men's game had no writeup on NBL1 web. Other games are there for those interested.

Finals and MVP Stuff.

Recap on the last Round Brisbane against Northside with only 3 regular starters playing for a playoff spot could not get themselves going and 27 Pts and 16 Assists from Bollman was enough to sink their season , Bollman POTW based on that .

South West went to Darwin needing to win to secure their spot , Darwin may have got through with the win but somehow one of the leading scorers in the League and the whole of NBL1 would only get 4 shots in the first 10 minutes and not shoot again for the rest of the game . This did not work out well from them as they then shot 30% from the field and 15% from 3 and proceeded to lose by 40 points. Mind-blowing . If that was a game plan its going to be a long off season for the Salties to come up with something better than that .

Spartans and Rocky was a good game , Rocky at home are tough and never really let Spartans settle into a rhythm , very handsy , very physical , I still like Spartans as coming from outside the top 4 and spring a upset in the run home.

This week.

Spartans vs Seahawks , keep Goodchild to around 20 points , don't foul her when she drives (right , righter and right) and they will probably be okay. .

Townsville Vs South West , not sure if Townsville is full strength , even so they will be too strong for South West at home.

AJ Johnson MVP , a great choice , said all year she is the glue at Northside .

Well, the first of the finals has seen 2 of the Northern finalists eliminated.5th placed Rockhampton lost to 4th placed Brisbane Capitals and, surprisingly 3rd place Logan were beaten, at home, by Southern Districts Spartans from the 6th spot. Logan has really had a strong reg season with a loss or 2 of late. I didn't think much of it at the time. I already stated that Logan were finals bound but SDS put an end to that.

The game stats show that after a strong 1st quarter by the visiting Spartans, 32 pts to Logan's 19, the home team matched the Spartans in a low scoring 2nd quarter, 14 pts each to trail by 13, 33 to 46 at half time. The 3rd quarter belonged to the home side outscoring Spartans 27/ 21 only to fall apart (it seems) in the 4th to score just 9 pts to Spartan's 26 for a final score line of Logan Thunder 69 lost to SD Spartans 93.

Logan's Zac Triplett led all scorers with 25 with just 2 teammates in double figures, Shaun Bruce and Callum Dalton with 12 apiece.

Spartans were led by Tyrell Harrison with 22pts and 24 rebounds and had 4 others in double figures with him. Mitch Norton added 16 pts and 8 asts, Max Kerle 15pts and Corey Sherville and Mason Honeyman both contributed 13 each.

Congratulations Spartans. Spartans face Mackay Meteors next weekend.

I was at the Bris/Rocky game and honestly, the crowd noise was startling. For both sides. To their credit, a fair number of rockets fans attended, and they made their presence heard almost as much as the Caps fans. A fabulous atmosphere, louder than I've heard before. Think that the renos that are going on is having an effect on the sound generated. Anyway, it really added to the game. To add to that, the game itself was played at a blistering pace (been dying to write that), to the Caps' advantage.

For the visiting Rockhampton Rockets, Xavier Ford led the way with 25 pts and Nighael Ceaser kept pace with his 21 pts. Matur Maker was 1 rebound away from a double-double with 17 pts. Ben Tweedy was held in fairly tight check allowing him just 10 pts, so he dished off 12 assists to make up for that.

The home-side fans of the Brisbane Capitals were in for an unexpected performance from sharp-shooter Gabriel (Gabe) Hadley. The starting Shooting Guard delivered 38 points at 70% from the field (14 of 20) and sat out lots of the last. The assistance came from all over the floor.

Sam McDaniel added 19, 7 rbs and 4 asts, Isaih Tueta had 14 and 7 asts and Geordan Papacosta, 11 pts. Let me add that Cameron Thew, Anthony Kopcikas and Timothy Soong never get a mention in spite of their fantastic, unheralded efforts every single game night. (Wipe my chin)(that's better).

The game, rather easily won by the home side, had the Caps outscoring the Rockets each of the first three periods. Period 1 ended 27/21, P2 - 27/19. Half time score was 54/40. The 3rd P was no kinder for the visitors giving up 24 more pts for their own 17, now trailing 78/57 facing the 4th P which Rocky won 24/20, for a 98 - 81 win for the Caps and a trip to Darwin for the Semi Final and the right to play for the chip????.

Pretty impressive win from the Caps on the weekend, thought they would win but it would be a close game. You would be a happy man Rob!

In the other game glad to see Logan getting served some much deserved humble pie after that awful Patterson gamewinner home cooking a few weeks back. The Spartans have been quite unpredictable throughout the year, definitely enough talent on paper to push any of the teams but often have underperformed.

Looking forward to this weeks games, my prediction is a Mackay Caps GF