Everyone played for the Cats as far as I know.

Horvath led with 23 points. Farley had 16. Maher was quiet with only 6 from memory.

36ers won comfortably by 14. Were up by 18 in the last few minutes before Perth hit a couple of corner threes.

I think the scorers were Horvath 23 and Farley 16; for Perth, Rogers and Redhage with 17 each? Brooks 14.

All nine 36ers got decent minutes and did well. Perth played their roster down to Robbins. Redhage fouled out after a sequence of steals and boards that was quality, and probably didn't deserve to leave the game on a charge.

Both teams are interesting in that they are even down to the tail. e.g., this season, I expect to see Adelaide play all ten regularly. Perth, I don't know. They played 11 players I think. Both teams were in it to win - there was some passion from the Perth bench after key plays, for example.

I don't know if Perth would normally play a full roster though. Caporn was good. Brooks, I don't know - didn't stand out and I was surprised to hear that he had 14. Had a dunk on the break and he hit a three at some point, but nothing else that stood out to me. Rogers was good and I think he's going to be one of the main offensive targets for Perth along with Redhage who I rate and who played well.

Leven and Hunt held their own but didn't push their cases if that makes sense: no silly mistakes, but nothing that stood out like Caporn's drives to the basket for example.

Dowdell looks solid but, apart from a three in the last minute or two, I can't remember much from him.

Cooper got on the boards for Adelaide and went after block attempts. Majstrovich looks decent for the 36ers and will prove to be a good pick-up along with Copeland who was clearly held back in Brisbane - he wasn't afraid to put up shots at all. Ng and Hill were fine. Maher missed a few that he might normally make. Sutton, Dodman, Burdon all didn't play. Hambour was on the bench next to Wheeler - wonder what his involvement is? Nash rebounded well, had a couple of good assists, performed well.

All up, I know people are fancying Perth a bit this year, but out of those stalwart teams (Hawks, Cats, 36ers), I reckon they'll be the one that's off the pace.

Brooks isn't quite the dynamo Perth would need to be top four, Crawford is a bit too unpredictable, Rono is a bit too plain. Redhage will be efficient and reliable, but after that Rogers' might have too much to shoulder? Shouldn't miss the play-offs or anything, but 6-8th material is my feeling.

Adelaide played in their training uniform which is a much darker blue than past seasons. The actual uniform is the same colour I think, but has some yellow at the shoulders, and obviously sponsors logos.

Not a pretty game, but some good signs, particularly on defence.

Horvath was solid, and his dunk coming down the lane over a couple of Wildcats was great.

Cooper had a really good game on the boards, and stuck 3 jump shots from 15-18 feet out.

Brad Hill gave a bit of a spark offensively, and Farley coasted for 16 points. Copeland didn't have a great first half, but did some excellent things in the second.

Brett Maher was well off, and looked frustrated with a lot of non-calls the whole game. Mastro did some good things, and Ng hit a couple of nice shots in the second after going 0-4 in the first half.

If Boti was serious through the week when he wrote that Mark Nash was "a major contender for sixth man of the year" then he had his hand on it with a tighter grip than at any point in his entire career.

It could be a long year for Perth, though Rogers had a good game.

Good to see Adelaide get a win, and although they have a long way to go, they will be tough to beat this season.

Photos from tonights game are now online at www.damrob.com.au or via direct link - http://www.damrob.com.au/gallery2/v/NBL/NBL+Season+2006_2007/Pre-Season/

Solid win from the 36ers, breaking the game open in the 3rd. 1st half was pretty sloppy, both teams got up & down the floor, but neither could convert open outside looks (Perth 1/7 3's, 6ers 1/10 at HT). 6ers picked things up in the 2nd half, knuckled down on D and began converting in transition. Perth challenged in the last Q, but never got the margin below 4, then Adelaide knocked some 3's & blew the game apart.

Thoughts on 36ers :

- Looked really poor in the half court. I can only hope they were still feeling their way through some new sets, because they were largely ineffective.

- Were fantastic running off of stops & long rebounds, Copes, Farley, Hill & Maher all capable of shooting in transition or making nice passes to Horvath (who runs the guts really well), Majstrovich, Nash & Cooper.

- I think they could struggle in D when running Majstrovich or Nash at the 4 spot and having Copeland or Hill playing at the 3. Against guys like Saville, Redhage, Mackinnon I think they're going to be exploited either with height, strength or both.

- Horvath was solid, after a pretty ordinary start (first 2 shots were blocked). I don't think he played his best game, so finishing with 23 & 7 in 33 minutes was a good effort. Had a monster dunk down the lane after slipping a screen. Has nice form on his shot & I think he'll be more reliable than Dusty from 15-18 feet. Appears to be a good fit for the team and should put up some big numbers this year.

- Farley was very efficient, shot 6/9 for 16 points. Also had 5 assists and already seems to have a good rapport with Horvath. Didn't really force any shots, and I think we'll be in good stead if he can score his 20-25 points in 15 shots or less.

- Majstrovich didn't knock too many of his open looks, but I think he'll be reliable from the outside, and was solid on the boards, collecting 9 for the game.

- Cooper was great. Really attacked the offensive glass, and cleaned up on the defensive end. Appears to have taken his ABL rebounding form into the NBL. Also knocked 3/4 shots from 16-18 feet, and he'll be very valuable if he can keep that touch up.

- Hill had a great patch in the 3rd term where he managed to string together a few baskets in a row & give Adelaide a nice cushion. Still tends to over-dribble but if he picks his spots to attack, he'll be a livewire off the bench.

- Copeland & Nash were both solid. Nash was good on D, made the extra pass in O and gathered 8 boards. Copeland shot poorly (3/12 FGs, 1/5 3s) & you can reasonably safely assume he's going to launch it any time he gets any space within 25 feet. I'd say there will be games he hits 20+, and games he'll score 5, but I think the 6ers are deep enough to live with it.

- Maher was below his normal standard, but I wouldn't read too much into it, I'm sure come the season proper he'll be fine.

- Ng wasn't very effective in his first stint, throwing up some off-balance shots, but managed to hit a few towards the end of the game.

Perth notes :

- Rogers really does look fitter than he has in previous years. Looks more mobile than before, and was able to gets some nice looks off pick & rolls (including a very nice ally from Redhage). He may not be in the same form as he was in 2000, but he'll be one of the premier 5 men in the comp. The 3 bigs (Rogers, Redhage & Ronaldson) looked to work well together & had some nice high-low looks.

- Redhage was quietly effecient. Has good size at the 3 spot, and did a good job of slashing to the basket on his way to 17 points. Rounded out his stats nicely with 11 boards & 5 assists.

- Brooks was slightly disappointing. I was expecting a taller, leaner guy (not idea why?). He's shorter than Farley (I'd guess 6'2") but he's pretty well build. Has a weird shooting action (think Wayne Turner, but a little less funky, and judging on tonights results, a little less effective). Finished up shooting 5/19 FGs and 3/9 FTs. Played exclusively off the ball in the 2 spot. I don't know that he's a fit for these guys. He's certainly not a pure shooter, and doesn't appear to be a particularly good scorer outside of transition. Will be interesting to see if he lasts.

- I actually thought Caporn was disappointing. Sturggled with his shot (3/12 FGs, 2/7 3s), didn't create anything in the Perth offense & had 4 turnovers.

- Crawford & Ronaldson were virtual non-factors I thought. Neither had much effect on the game, and the wildcats would be looking to get more out of them in the season proper.

- Leven did OK in his time, at least he was aggressive off the dribble, and made a couple of nice shots. Had a few turnovers in his second stint on the floor, but his game seems a contrast too Caprons. Definitely has some super ink on his arm.

- Hunt, Dowdell, Robbins & Brown all looked pretty average, and didn't do much to inspire me that any will have a great impact this season.

All in all, it was probably a handy hit-out for both sides to iron out some wrinkles before the seaosn starts. Both teams looked a little disorganised offensively, and neither team had great success excecuting in the half court.

Looking at both sides, I'd say both will be around the mark to make the finals, but neither looks at championship contender level. I'd say they're both looking at the 5-8 mark, with the 36ers likely to be slightly ahead of the Wildcats.

Horvath, Coops and Rogers dunks now on yvonnemilbank.com, or direct link: YvonneMilbank.com.

More coming on 36ERS site and this one.

96119- I got it on video. It will be on the next episode of Seal'D. As will AJ's bodyslam on Rogers! :-)
I thought he killed him for a moment.

When can we see some pics of the new uniform?

Seems teams around the league have improved their training strips over the years - dragons in particular have a nice training strip.

Can't wait to see Horvath's dunk again. Whoever it was (think it was one of the Seals) that came out with the comment about Rogers after AJ flattened Rogers should be given the keys to the city. Pure Gold.

I really like Copes for the Sixers bringing the ball up the Court and in transition. He adds a new dimension for the Sixers and will hopefully avoid the need for Nash to ever take ball handling duties again.

Whilst the execution was a bit down, the Sixers showed great promise, with more depth and versatility than in the past. I liked the fact that both Ng and Hill looked more poised playing at this level than in the past, and will both make a major contribution spelling Maher/Farley/Copes off the bench.

Perhaps most importantly, for the first time in 3 seasons, the Sixers will not need Maher and Farley to star to win a game. The pressure should be off of their individual performances and I expect that both of their stats could drop dramatically this season. But that for mine is all for the good.

Maher did look like he was in a bit of a funk at the moment, was getting some pretty heavy treatment too. But that just seems to open some of the other options up, and Maher will come good, can't keep a player like him down for too long.

I still wish that Farley would finish off some of those nice layups with a good aggressive dunk. He had a couple of opportunities that he would have taken in 2002. But as long as he scores, can't complain too much!

"Couldnt have hurt, he's got no spine!"

I think thats what was yelled out.

skip - hahaha.

XY - agreed. He's reading his job brief of "shooting guard" too much. Can someone make it "dunking and shooting guard"? He's far less aggressive than his first season here.

Photos up on the 36ers site

Competition between photographers is all good for the fans, IMO. Damrob's got the numbers this round, but Yvonne got the key dunk pics! Also at the game were ABC shooting video, another photographer, and Skip shooting video on his digital camera (upgrade time!). Would be great to get some of that ABC footage for Seal'D if someone knows who to talk to.

About the only good thing Ronaldson did last night was bleed.

Awesome write ups guys, cheers!
So is Mastojvich??? going to be a solid player or possible star guys? His pre season form, in particular his rebounding has sounded pretty awesome judging by what has been posted here previously...

DJ....I was lucky enough to sneek a look at the new strips last night.

The home strip is navy, not royal blue and looks fantastic! The away strip is white.

The club wanted to keep the uniforms under wraps til the first game....not long to wait now!

Many people at the game? Were the stands close to capacity?

Not a big crowd. Maybe 800-1000? Ends behind baskets empty, sides half-full tops. But people got into it when the 36ers scored, etc.

Yeah I would've guessed around the same figure Isaac.

DB5,

If I were selecting a 5, Majstrovich would be in it. Didn't shoot particularly well last night (he has a very awkward release on his shot, too), but from all reports, he can certainly shoot the rock.

Seems to be a good rebounder, but not a fantastic defender. Will certainly be a contrast to what Nash will bring us, about the only thing they have in common is they both rebound well.

I thought my comment regarding AJ getting the keys to the City for dropping Rogers was reasonable. Hey if he had of taken him out for an extended period AJ for PM.

The black edges are to square up the thumbnails which may by portrait or landscape. I've removed it from the 36ers site but will leave it on Yvonne's site as hers has the ability to detect the orientation of the thumbnails.

Firefox does not align the thumbnails within their black placeholder correctly which is why it looks like a stripe on one side.

Cheers Hoop Addict..
Looking forward to seeing how he plays for us....

Great result, awesome photo's. Couldn't make the game last night but thanks all for the recaps. Sounds like we might be fitting nicely into that group of teams just below the main 3 everyone is picking to win - Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

96170 - you just have to put up with these type of things when using non-standard browsers like Firefox or Opera. I've had a number of different sites which don't display quite right, but so long as the photo's are visible, it doesn't matter. Part of the small price we pay to have better protection against viruses, bugs, etc!! Everything on the net has to be coded for Explorer or Netscape as those two make up the majority of all browsers - hence they make up the majority of all hackers targets too!!

That's Firefox for you. Usually it makes sense, but I have no idea why it's not centering correctly in this instance.

TG, Firefox is a more standards-compliant browser, but just not quite a dominant browser.

More photos from last night now posted on www.yvonnemilbank.com

I think Majstro will be a solid team player for us this year, with a potential to improve. I thought his passing and particularly offensive work on the boards was great. I think he could be the kind of guy who sneaks in 10ppg this season without really dominating or drawing too much notice. I wasn't disappointed with my first look at him in Sixers 'navy'.

Any Truth To The Rumour That Ronaldson and Gary Ayres have the same Hairdresser?

Ayres gets his hair cut by Ronaldsons mum too?

Rumour has it that Rogers wants a piece of that hair cutting action from Ronalson's mum!

I wonder who Paul Rogers plastic surgeon is? Surely a nose like that can't happen naturally?

Nick Horwath?

Bonz - Ditto, just fishing ;-)