The Good, The Bad and The Scheibs, ep. 1
Well I am back for another crack, thought I would start by giving my thoughts on the likely winners of
each division and the play off qualifiers for 2016. Might as well start at the top and once again in this
competition that will be the north.
Cairns- well the roster looks loaded with size and class. Trigger and Loughton would be two of best big
pairings to ever suit up in the same team in this competition. However since the Taipans inception the
NBL is this cities priority and that’s not changing, so I expect by season end this team will look vastly
different to the one that starts the season.
Townsville-This club is at the crossroads now with the Crocs demise. Will they continue with the local
talent and no imports or will they follow the lead of their cousins from the south and load up and chase
titles? Welcome back PC and I am keen to see what 2nd year HC Rod Anderson can do for an encore
after a very good first season.
Macktown-Can they defend the title with a new coach? Who will get the press now that the media tart
JK has taking his talents to the very far north? The backcourt will once again be the comps best with
Bruce and CC and these two will be a big help to the rookie HC. A lot depends on the new import, he
shines they probably repeat.
Rockhampton-Word out of Rocky is they think this might be the best side they have had for a number of
years. The first five is the competitions strongest but that bench is paper thin. How will Philip and
Gleeson coexist is a big one for me. Auryn McMillan is a great pick up and Tweedy always gets great
Yanks. However someone needs to get BRad and NT to sit down, kiss and make up, if this happens Rocky
is a lock.
Gladstone with the loss of their coach D Ruck will probably be the big losers in this pool. Willis is quality and he’s back, will be interested to see how he goes under a new coach Brian Waters. The loss of Baker, Baldwin, Gray and Iwanicki will hurt. How new import Williams and D1 Aussie Tevin Jackson preform will determine this side’s fate in the toughest pool in the comp.
The South pool from top to bottom is better than the Central for a long time in my humble opinion, so
no more references to the pool of puss for this group.
SWM- The return of one of my all-time favourite players in Brendan Teys, who pairs with another
favourite in Jarrod Bairstow will make the Pirates the leader of this group for mine. How well the new
coach Tate handles the group is a big question that will need to be answered.
Gold Coast who will from this point on be known as the OLD Coast have made the most changes. Getting
a guy who can actually coach in Pero Cameron is a great step in the right direction. If the group fails in
this comp they can use it as training for the next Masters game. Thalo, AD, Mac and Vale lead the
revival! Not sure if Metamucil have come on has major sponsors yet thou?
Once again there is no D in Ipswich. Thou the signing of Ben Wilson should actually give them a player
who is a defence first, hardnosed kind of guy. But he will miss the first 5 weeks of the season and it may
be too late to change the culture by then. Mickey C obviously likes this group, so it’s all on his shoulders
to get them to even attempt to play some defence.
TBar were the big surprise of last season, the loss of league MVP Kindle is a huge blow. Thou I hear his
replacement is a big time player, but in the preseason they have all struggled to gel. Evergreen import
Maxey will need to produce like last season and if he and the new import can mesh the mountain men
will be close again.
Central pool has powerhouse and the souths biggest spender in BBI who are making an art form of
falling at the last hurdle, will this be the year?
Brisbane have the comps most settled line up and have basically played a whole season of practice
games so they really have no excuse for not stitching up the leagues number one seed. However they
still haven’t got a legitimate big besides their stud Rychart. Way too may shoot first guards and can
someone tell me why Ant K continues to play a backup role to a player that he has surpassed? They have
depth, experience and Dusty so once again they will be close.
Bundy- if you can’t say anything nice…..
Rip—See Bundy
Maroochydore-The Phoenix welcome back a lot of familiar faces this season. First and foremost is the
coach Warwick Meehl, this is a big plus and gives them quality patrolling the sidelines again. Jorden Page
plays at his home court for the first time in almost ten years, I know I’ll be paying to see him play. Zane
Meehl returns to the backcourt for his junior club too and throw in two imports, and a deeper bench
and the Clips opps, Phoenix will be around the mark.
Logan-Forget the signings of Cedar and Baker, and they are great signings. The coup was getting D
Rucker to replace the very forgettable Ben Johnson as the HC. Ruck should have been the COY last year
and does a great job. If he can keep the meddling Logan front office from sticking their two cents worth
in, he has all the tools to challenge Brisbane and MDore to top the Central.
So I am going Rocky/Macktown in the north
SWM/Old Coast in the ultra-competitive South pool
Brisbane and Logan in the Central
I got a the final four as Rocky/Macktown/BBI and Logan
Brisbane Rocky final and whoever is the host will be champions in 2016. Disclaimer: This article was prepared or accomplished by Rob Scheibner in his personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not reflect the view of the Basketball Expressions.
