Cairns Taipans & Townsville Crocodiles [Archive]

Bergin

October 21st, 2004, 04:16 AM

Gertzy i came across this on the NBL site

Hawks stay top, Crocs drop
Wednesday, October 20, 2004 - 08:29 PM
Asa Schuster, Sportal

The Wollongong Hawks have outlasted the Townsville Crocodiles 95-83 to extend their perfect start to the Philips Champioship at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Wednesday night.

Wollongong held a ten-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter and continued to grind out its fourth win from as many starts.

Steady play from Darnell Mee was the catalyst for the home side, his game-high 25 points and six assists keeping the Crocs on their toes as he earned 12 trips to the free-throw line.

Glen Saville produced another powerful all-round performance, filling his stat line with 23 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three blocks.

The Hawks’ 95-point total marked the first time this season they have been held under 100, coach Brendan Joyce praised his team’s ability to win in ‘ugly’ circumstances.

"We’ve been scoring pretty well, this became a defensive game tonight and we showed we can win in other ways," Joyce said.

"It got ugly, it got physical and we toughed it out and won the game."

John Rillie's poor success rate - 4-of-17 for his team-high 16 points - told the Townsville tale, as the Crocs were hampered by a 34 percent (27-of-80) shooting clip. Rillie also grabbed a team-best 11 boards as the Crocs were out-rebounded 46-58.

Rookie guard Brad Newley was a rare bright spot for coach Ian Stacker, making the most of his 20 minutes, contributing 13 points and two steals.

"Brad brings a lot to the table, he’s a great talent and he’s still learning the game," Stacker said.

"He certainly can be exciting and put points on the board fairly quickly."

Townsville’s import combination of Robert Brown (15 points, 5 rebounds) and Casey Calvary (12 and 9) were kept relatively quite as a result of the Hawks effective help-defence.

"We did a much better job defensively than we’ve done in our previous games, Wollongong did a good job defensively as well, I think that just made it difficult for both teams to execute well," Stacker said.

Despite losing their fourth consecutive game, Stacker remained upbeat about his team’s chances and room for improvement.

"Robert Brown, Adam Quick, Brad Newley, Casey Calvary, all those guys are playing their very first game in this venue against a team they’ve never played against before."

"The next time you play them, you’re going to do better against them."

"I still think we’re going to be a good team and have a good year."

Both teams shot just 6-of-21 to open the game, Wollongong's nine extra boards (21-12) helping them gain a five-point advantage (24-19), while the Crocs missed five free-throws to compound their early woes.

Townsville briefly held the lead in the second stanza before Wollongong tightened its defensive screws in the final two minutes of the half to eventually regain a three-point edge (45-42).

The visitors once again grabbed the lead with eight-straight points to open the third, but the Hawks quickly closed in with Saville posting eight points in the period to stretch the margin to 10 at the last break (73-63).

The Hawks (4-0) now head to Cairns to take on the Taipans on Saturday, while the Crocs (1-4) return home to face the Brisbane Bullets on Sunday (Crocodiles vs Wildcats scheduled for October 22 has been changed to November 1).

Wollongong Hawks 95 (Mee 25, Saville 23, Campbell 16)
Townsville Crocodiles 83 (Rillie 16, Brown 15, Newley 13)
@ WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong, 20/10/2004. Crowd: 3572.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------Looks like Hawks are going to be a tough contender for this year's comp. It would be good to beat Sydney Kings though :)

Gertzy

October 21st, 2004, 09:33 AM

Not wrong about that I reckon. Every time we (Crocs) play Hawks, we lose. There have been a couple of moments where we have defeated them. But especially back in 2000 and 2001 how we were in the semis but we ended up vs Hawks and losing.

Bergin

October 24th, 2004, 10:09 AM

http://www.nbl.com.au/_content/image/00001142-image.jpg

Snakes bring down Hawks
Saturday, October 23, 2004 - 11:18 PM
Andrew Aloia, Sportal
Cairns Taipans 98 (Stewart 22, Croswell 20, Grabau 18)
The Cairns Taipans, in a powerful home-court performance, brought an end to the Wollongong Hawks' perfect start to the season with a 98-87 win at the Cairns Convention Centre on Saturday night.

The Taipans led at every interval, starting with a commanding 26-17 advantage at the first break and extending the margin to as much as 13 late in the third.

A controlled mid-court game by Nathan Croswell - playing in only his second home game with the Taipans - was the catalyst for the Snakes. He collected 20 points, five assists and two steals.

“We have a new point guard running the team and I thought that Nate was really sensational tonight,” Taipans coach Guy Molloy said.

“I think he is really maturing. He is only 24-25 playing with some great veterans and for him to have the strength to put people in position… is definitely getting a lot of respect from the veterans.”

Wollongong's in-form star swingman Glen Saville was nullified by the ever-improving Aaron Grabau, effectively forcing him to focus on defence.

Good defensive work by Melvin Thomas put the Hawks offence under constant pressure, while also being able to work well with Croswell to help extend the lead to 13 in the third quarter.

“You really have to complement Melvin. He didn’t score but he played some great D to control Wollongong,’ Molloy said.

Croswell made his mark early in a strong opening stanza, working quickly and effectively out of the Cairns defensive half to score 11 points for the term, emphasised by a coast-to-coast play to hit a two pointer on the buzzer.

The second quarter started well for the visitors, with a steal by Adam Caporn to stem the Snakes' barrage and register two easy points, which was quickly backed up by a pressure three-pointer from the baseline.

The Hawks' dynamic duo of Darnell Mee and Saville, who were both kept quiet in the first period, stood up in defence while Mee assumed his familiar role of attacking linchpin to finish the half with 13 points (5-of-8 from the field).

Early in the third, however, Cairns captain Anthony Stewart, supported by Grabau and big man Chris Burgess, reaffirmed the team's dominance, highlighted by a crowd-pleasing alley-oop.

Grabau continued to shine in attack in the third, hitting two three-pointers (4-of-6 for the game) to keep the Taipans 10 clear late in the term.

Adam Ballinger (19 points and six rebounds) combined with Mee and former Townsville Crocodile Mike Kelly to keep the Hawks within five points (74-69) at the final break.

League veteran Kelly finished the night with 22 points - 17 coming in the second half - and continued to lead the Hawks early in the last term with five unanswered points to close the gap to just one (82-81) with seven minutes to play. But Marcus Timmons and Grabau stepped up in the clutch to seal the match.

Despite the fact the Hawks were denied a fifth-straight win for the season and a new club record, Wollongong coach Brendan Joyce remains positive about his team's early-season form.

“Realistically, if we looked at it at the start of the season, after having played five games against Brisbane, Melbourne, New Zealand away, Townsville and Cairns away, if we came up with four and one we would be pretty happy,” he said.

Joyce also credited his team's ability to come back rejuvenated in the second term after a first-quarter display that produced few offensive highlights.

“After quarter-time, I though the guys refocused and played good D and did what they could," he said.

Both teams are in action on Wednesday as the Taipans travel to Sydney to play the Razorbacks for the first time since their play-off elimination last season, while the Hawks head to Perth to face the Wildcats.

Round 4 results

Hawks 95 v Crocodiles 83
Box Scores | Match Report

Bullets 111 v Kings 105
Box Scores | Match Report

Taipans 99 v Hawks 87
Box Scores | Match Report

36ers 104 v Breakers 78
Box Scores | Match Report

Razorbacks 97 v Tigers 105
Box Scores | Match Report

Kings 49 v Pirates 47

Crocodiles v Bullets Oct 24

NBL Ladder after round four
P W L
36ers 5 4 1
Wildcats 5 4 1
Hawks 5 4 1
Kings 5 3 2
Razorbacks 4 2 2
Taipans 4 2 2
Tigers 7 3 4
Bullets 6 2 4
Pirates 4 1 3
Breakers 4 1 3
Crocodiles 5 1 4

Bergin

October 24th, 2004, 10:11 AM

Bergin

October 24th, 2004, 10:16 AM

Round 5 (All times local at venue)

Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Match (Home v Away) Venue Time TV
Wildcats v Hawks Challenge Stadium - Perth 07:40PM AWST
Razorbacks v Taipans Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre 07:40PM AEST

Friday, October 29, 2004
Match (Home v Away) Venue Time TV
Kings v Taipans Sydney Entertainment Centre 07:40PM AEST
Tigers v Bullets State Netball and Hockey Centre - Melbourne 07:40PM AEST
Breakers v Razorbacks North Shore Events Centre - Auckland 07:40PM NZDT

Saturday, October 30, 2004
Match (Home v Away) Venue Time TV
Breakers v Razorbacks Trusts Stadium - Waitakere 07:40PM NZDT
Pirates v Bullets Newcastle Entertainment Centre 07:40PM AEST
36ers v Taipans Distinctive Homes Dome - Adelaide 07:40PM CST

ferdinand

October 25th, 2004, 06:36 AM

Found this on the Townsville Bulletin website http://townsvillebulletin.news.com.au, thought i might post it

By ANTONY STEWART http://www.nbl.com.au/_content/image/00001148-image.jpg
BULLETS SHOT BY CRAFTY CROCS
25oct04
THE Townsville Crocodiles laid their early-season shooting demons to rest with an emphatic 21-point National Basketball League drubbing of championship favourites the Brisbane Bullets at the Swamp last night.

The 129-108 victory was the Crocs' second of the season and sees their win-loss record improve to 2-4.

Leading by just one at the halftime break, the Crocs came back with an enthusiasm and commitment that had not been seen so far this season.

The Crocs went on a 19-3 run, with big American Robert Brown the main destroyer.

And with Townsville holding an 11-point advantage at three-quarter time, the final period gave the Crocs a chance to entertain the 4876 spectators at the Townsville Entertainment Centre.

After scoring just four points in the first half, Brown finished the match with the incredible figures of 32 points at 10-from-12 shooting from the field and 12 from 17 from the free-throw line and more than enough feature plays to enter into the end-of-season highlights reel.

And while Brown said he was extremely pleased with his own contribution, he tried to deflect the credit to his teammates.

"It was a team effort, the majority of my points came from the opportunities that were provided by my team," Brown said.

"(Of) course I'm happy with the way that I played, but the team all played well and that's the main thing."

On a night when all the Crocs got on the scoreboard, six made it into double figures.

Townsville's young players Adam Quick (15 points) and Brad Newley (19) had break- out games, while John Rillie came out of his shooting slump with 16 points at five from eight from the field and four from five from three-point land.

Playing in his 200th game for the Crocodiles, captain Robert Rose scored 10 points, collected seven boards and dished out five assists.

Crocodiles coach Ian Stacker said the win proved the team was beginning to gel as a unit.

"I think that we played with great intensity defensively and you can just see that it was coming together at the defensive end," he said.

"I thought against Wollongong the defence was pretty solid, but the offence had a little way to go, whereas tonight we made good decisions offensively.

"The players are starting to understand the offence that we are running and while there is still a lot of work to be done, it is coming together."

For the Bullets, Bobby Brannen was a continual inside threat for the Crocs' defence on his way to 22 points and seven rebounds, while a late flurry from Stephen Black saw him end the match as his team's leading scorer with 23 points.

Trailing 28-19 two minutes before the end of the first quarter, the Crocs scored 12 of the next 16 points either side of the first break to take the lead for the first time since the score was 2-0.

Rillie brought the crowd to life with three-pointers at the end of each quarter and seemed to be rediscovering the form he had lost early in the season on his way to 10 points and five rebounds for the half.

Despite the Bullets scoring four of the final six points in the first half, Townsville went to the main break with a one-point advantage, 56-55.

ferdinand

October 25th, 2004, 07:20 AM

The Cairns Taipans' efforts to turn thier home court into a fortress are paying dividends.
The Taipans' 98-87 win against the Wollongong Hawks on Saturday night was thier second in succession against a presviously unbeaten team and gives them a perfect record at the convention centre this season.
The effort extended the Snakes' unbeaten home record to six games and built on a recent trend which has given them a 13-6 win-loss record at the convention centre since the start of last season.
Coach Guy Molloy said the Taipans had aimed to take the Hawks on physically to establish a dominant home-court presence.
"The way our schedule is we knew our first two home games would be very crucial to our future season performance" he said.
"As it turned out we ended up playing two unbeaten teams at home so they were playing pretty damn good basketball, so that just made it tougher as well"
The Taipans again had stroung contributions from several players, something Molloy believes will be vital all season if the team is to achieve its playoff goals.
Anthony stewart had 22 points an equal match-high with Wollongong's Mike Kelly- including a nine-point contribution in the final quarter, while Nathan Crosswell (20), Aaron Grabau (18), Marcus Timmons (15) and Chris Burgess (14) also made double-digit contributions.
Crosswell exploded out of the blocks, finishing the first quarter with 11 points and leading Cairns to a 26-17 lead at the end of the term.
Melbin Thomas earnt a technical foul and unsportmanslike foul after a clash with Troy Pilan midway through the opening term, but rather than having an adverse effect on the Taipans, it seemed to spark them, and the crowd.
The Hawks chipped away at the lead over the next two periods, with the Taipans seemingly in control but never able to put the result beyond doubt.
Wollongong fought back to within a pointin the final term on the back of consective three-pointers from Kelly, but the Snakes rallied again and when Marcus Timmons hit a three-pointer with less than three minutes to go, the home side had the win in the bag.
Wollongong coach Brendan Joyce said complacency may have been an issue for his team coming into the match witha four-from-four record.
"we've won four in a row, We've beaten some pretty good teams.
Maybe we feel a little too good about ourselves," he said.
"You hope that's not going to happenm but certainly we didnt play with the same determination that we've had at the start of in other games"
Joyce was particularly complimentary about the efforts of Grabau and Crosswell. Grabaus' points contribution was strong, but it was his defensive effort on Olympian Glen Saville that had Joyce raving.
A regular member of the boomer's starting five at the recent Athen's Games, Saville was restricted to just four points on Saturday night and fouled out in the final quarter.
"(The Traipans had) gread performances from Grabau and (Croswell) did a great job running his team and made a contribtution getting to the rim and scoring tonight, played a hell of a game.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there are some typo's i apologise as i had to type the whole article out.

Gertzy

October 26th, 2004, 08:11 AM

Great to see that both teams won their matches. My Brother really wanted to go see that Crocs vs Bullets match.

Bergin

October 26th, 2004, 11:23 AM

Cairns Taipans play Sydney kings Friday 29th October @ Sydney entertainment centre. I hope we can win, geez we've never won against sydney yet. Thier like the best team in the league, thier "kings of thier league" :)
anyways good luck to Taipans and thier sydney ordeal :)

Gertzy

October 27th, 2004, 09:03 AM

The next Crocs game is with Wildcats. Nov 1 I think

Bergin

November 1st, 2004, 01:23 AM

http://www.nbl.com.au/_content/image/00001167-image.jpg
Kings too good
Friday, October 29, 2004 - 10:28 PM
David Meddows, Sportal

Another final-quarter surge has propelled the Sydney Kings to a 98-82 win over the Cairns Taipans at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on Saturday, denying the visitors their first victory against the reigning champions in Sydney.

Despite the double-figure final margin, the game was incredibly close throughout with the lead changing hands a number of times in the first three quarters.

But it was the Kings who took charge down the stretch, the home side raising the intensity and producing a last-quarter rally that is becoming a regular feature of their games this season.

The Taipans were still reeling from a disappointing loss to the Razorbacks on Wednesday night and were hoping to break a horrific history they have with the reigning champions. Cairns has never won against Sydney at the Entertainment Centre and only recorded one win in all of their 13 meetings.

Marcus Timmons finished with a double-double, including a game-high 29 points and 12 rebounds, while CJ Bruton was best for Sydney with 21 points, six boards and eight assists. Bruton was also on target from beyond the arc with four-of-five of his long-range shots finding their mark. Ben Knight and Mark Sanford chipped in with 20 points apiece.

The home side shot at an impressive 50 per cent from the field (35-of-69) while the Taipans struggled to find form with 36 per cent (28-of-76), the Kings also having a slight advantage on the boards, 44 to 42.

Sydney coach Brian Goorjian admitted he was concerned about the team as a whole but was happy with the win and believes they are starting to find the form he is after.

“I think we’re hurting right now,” he said. “(But) we moved forward. I was real pleased to get this one.”

“We’ve positioned ourselves to anything from here. We’re right where we want to be. We don’t have a tradition anymore of being the violet crumbles.”

Sanford kicked the game off in style with a huge reverse dunk but, apart from a single free-throw, was to remain scoreless for the remainder of the term.

Timmons was a constant threat to the Kings, the big forward landing a long-range bomb early in the quarter to kick-start a Taipans surge that saw them establish an eight-point (17-9) lead.

But has been the case in previous weeks, the home side rallied and hit back hard and quickly closed the gap. Bruton was brutal with seven points and when Knight made a simple basket in the dying seconds, the Kings had evened up the scores (21-21).

The second quarter was again a contest between two key players – Timmons and Bruton. Both were producing some brilliant basketball, especially from outside the arc where Timmons was on target with four-from-four and Bruton not far behind with four-from-five for the half.

While it seemed the Kings were gaining the upper hand in the arm-wrestle, the Taipans were able to stay with the home side until a Bruton-inspired 8-0 run saw Sydney carve a seven-point buffer midway through the period. It was the visitors’ turn to fight back.

Stewart stepped up with a big three-pointer and with another three from the charity stripe, closed the gap to just two points before a massive pressure three from Cairns guard Gary Boodnikoff on the buzzer allowed them to overtake the home side for a narrow one-point (47-46) lead at halftime.

The game remained close throughout the third period, neither team taking advantage of small opportunities - the lead changing hands five times over the twelve minutes.

Sanford, who had been successfully kept at bay during the first half with just five points, began to make his presence felt with seven third-quarter points, while Bruton continued to lead by example, adding another five points.

Just three points separated the teams heading into the final 12 minutes with Sydney holding the small 69-66 advantage.

Cairns (4-2) has no opportunity to recuperate from the loss, heading to Adelaide on Saturday for a clash with the inform 36ers at the Distinctive Homes Dome. The Kings (5-2) also face Adelaide in their next game, the 36ers travelling to Sydney on Wednesday night.

Sydney Kings 98 (Bruton 21, Knight 20, Sanford 20)
Cairns Taipans 82 (Timmons 29, Stewart 17, Grabau 9)
@ Sydney Entertainment Centre, 29/10/04. Crowd : 4143

Gertzy

November 1st, 2004, 08:28 AM

Tonight.

Crocs vs Wildcats, 1st November, Challenge Stadium, Perth WA. I think its on about 7:30pm AEST/5:30pm AWST.

Gertzy

November 2nd, 2004, 02:12 AM

Bitter Defeat. Wildcats beat Crocs 117 - 111.

Bergin

November 2nd, 2004, 06:17 AM

Hey Gertzy lets make a deal to post winning stories of the teams not losing? i think it would be more exciting to read and not have to be constantly reminded of the pain (lol)

Bergin

November 2nd, 2004, 06:18 AM

Round 6 (All times local at venue) Prev Round | Next Round

Monday, November 1, 2004
Match (Home v Away) Venue Time TV
Wildcats v Crocodiles Challenge Stadium - Perth 07:40PM AWST

Wednesday, November 3, 2004
Match (Home v Away) Venue Time TV
Kings v 36ers Sydney Entertainment Centre 07:40PM AEDT

Friday, November 5, 2004
Match (Home v Away) Venue Time TV
Hawks v Taipans WIN Entertainment Centre - Wollongong 07:40PM AEDT
Razorbacks v Bullets Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre 07:40PM AEDT

Saturday, November 6, 2004
Match (Home v Away) Venue Time TV
Pirates v Hawks Newcastle Entertainment Centre 07:40PM AEDT
Wildcats v 36ers Challenge Stadium - Perth 07:40PM AWST
Crocodiles v Tigers Townsville Entertainment Centre 06:40PM AEST
Bullets v Taipans Brisbane Convention Centre 07:00PM AEST
Breakers v Kings Trusts Stadium - Waitakere 07:40PM NZDT

ferdinand

November 18th, 2004, 04:01 AM

http://townsvillebulletin.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,3600,396995,00.jpg
CAUGHT IN TRAFFIC ... Townsville's Adam Quick meets Sydney's Jason Smith during the Crocodiles' impressive National Basketball League win last night

Kings dethroned
By ANTONY STEWART
in Sydney
18nov04

TOWNSVILLE took advantage of the Sydney Kings' terrible luck with injuries to record an 18-point National Basketball League win in the harbour city last night.

The Crocs withstood some measly first-half defence from Sydney to finish all over the Kings with a 109-91 win.

Coming back from the final change trailing by seven points, the Kings were always going to be in trouble after their bench was reduced to three with match-ending injuries to CJ Bruton and Luke Kendall.

Townsville's Brad Newley and Robert Brown each scored eight points in the final term and were in special form, answering any attempt the Kings made to get back into the game.

Casey Calvary finished the match as the top scorer for the Crocodiles with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while five other Townsville players finished in double figures.

For the Kings, captain Jason Smith played a lone hand on his way to a game-high 28 points at 11-fom-15 shooting from the field.

Townsville coach Ian Stacker said he was happy that the team did not take the foot off the pedal after the Kings' injury problems.

"I think Sydney did a very good job to hang in there - obviously losing CJ and Kendall was a bit of a blow for them, but they still had plenty of talent out there," Stacker said.

"We did a good job defensively to reduce their opportunities and do what we needed to do to win."

Both teams struggled to find any rhythm in the early stages, conceding easy misses and turnovers, but it was the Kings who settled best with the sweet shooting of Bruton and Smith.

Despite some miserly defence from the Kings, Townsville did well to only go into the first-quarter break down by seven (29-22).

If the Crocs thought their night would get easier when Bruton left the court with ligament damage to his right elbow, they were sadly mistaken.

Smith took on the role as main scorer, netting eight of Sydney's opening 13 points as they jumped out to a 41-32 advantage midway through the term.

And while the Kings were clearly playing the better basketball in a scrappy encounter, the Crocs forced their way back within four points with less than a minute remaining.

From there the Crocodiles of the past fortnight returned when Adam Quick banged a three-point effort off the glass and Casey Calvary jammed as the buzzer went in the background to give the visitors the lead for the first time in the match (49-48).

Stacker said he was proud of how the Crocodiles reacted under the first-half pressure from the Kings.

"I thought we turned it over a few too many times in that first quarter, but we did a good job to hang in there," he said.

Calvary repeated his dunking effort as soon as he hit the floor in the third quarter and when Quick made it a double act with a triple, Townsville had their biggest lead at six points.

Smith again helped the Kings back into the game, but with the Crocs leading by 76-69 Kendall went down clutching at his knee and Sydney's bench was reduced to three.

The win was the Crocodiles' third in succession and lifts them to a 5-5 win/loss record.

* Cairns scored a convincing 104-87 win over Melbourne at the Cairns Convention Centre last night.

Cairns had six players in double figures, with Chris Burgess the best with a game-high 33 points, Aaron Grabau 16 and Anthony Stewart 16, while for Melbourne only Andrew Gaze with 28, Dave Thomas 20 and David Stiff 12 made double figures.

CAIRNS TAIPANS 104 (C Burgess 33 A Stewart 16 A Grabau 16) d MELBOURNE TIGERS 87 (A Gaze 28 D Thomas 20 D Stiff 12) at the Cairns Convention Centre.

ferdinand

November 18th, 2004, 04:03 AM

http://www.nbl.com.au/_content/image/00001157-image.jpg
Taipans cruise home
Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - 11:34 PM
Andrew Aloia, Sportal

A dominant second-half performance has sealed an important 104-87 home win for the Cairns Taipans against the Melbourne Tigers at the Cairns Convention Centre on Wednesday night.

The Taipans led by 12 points at the main break, but the Tigers clawed their way back into the contest, closing within six (75-69) at the final break, before the home side romped home to seal its commanding 17-point win.

Chris Burgess asserted his dominance on the game with a game-high 33 points and 15 rebounds but emphasized his presence in the league with a phenomenal defensive game defined by his block on league legend Darryl McDonald in the third period.

While it was Melbourne’s emerging youngster Daryl Corletto that helped the team to a home-court win when the sides met previously on Saturday, the Snakes' resident up-and-comer Gary Boodnikoff chipped in with 11 valuable points to emerge as an important piece of the wining puzzle for the Taipans' 2004/05 Philips Championship season.

The Snakes sealed the match in the fourth term as Burgess continued to penetrate and put up easy points under the basket while Anthony Stewart, Tony Rampton and Aaron Grabau pried Melbourne’s defence open to seal the game with 15 unanswered points at the start of the last quarter.

Cairns coach Guy Molloy was quick to admit that the team was able to play a more physical game in the absence of Mark Bradtke but adds that the game was robbed of an epic face-off as a result.

"I think Chris was disappointed that Bradtke wasn’t out there tonight. He was disappointed about his performance on Saturday night because he didn’t think he had a good game in Melbourne and he wanted to put the record straight," he said.

Despite the absence of Bradtke, Molloy is adamant that Burgess will continue to improve as the pre-eminent player in the league capable of leading the team to greater glory.

"One-on-one at the post no-one can challenge him in the league and that is what our offence has to manufacture," Molloy said.

Tigers coach Lindsay Gaze agrees with his counterpart about the sheer offensive power that Burgess asserted in the game.

"We always knew it was going to be tough without Mark and with Chris as their main man," Gaze said.

"My prediction that they would exploit us were correct … the emphasis was to go to Burgess and he had his way with us tonight."

Burgess was kept quiet early as the visitors started the game at full throttle, opening up a nine-point lead by the halfway mark of the first quarter, courtesy of the athletic prowess of Dave Thomas.

At 12-3 the visitors were dictating play before Burgess, with nine points for the period, and Rampton (14 points for the game) asserted their physical presence under the basket to lead the Snakes' comeback and reduce the difference to one point at the first break.

Making his 350th NBL appearance, McDonald took charge of centre court to lead play as the team’s main creative option during the first half.

Despite the team’s inability to match it physically with the home side, Gaze was satisfied with the effort put in by the veteran.

"He is still as quick as he ever was," Gaze added. "North, south up and down he is as quick as anyone in the league, he is the spark and is what we needed to keep the pressure on the ball."

McDonald was Melbourne’s strongest contributor off the bench with 10 points, three rebounds and three assists while the incomparable Andrew Gaze led with 28 points.

In the second quarter Marcus Timmons (10 points and eight rebounds) took over where Burgess left off to snatch the lead within seconds of the buzzer.

Timmons’ early thrust was the spark that inspired captain Stewart, who came to the fore with a trademark long-range three-point bomb.

The hosts restricted Melbourne’s offensive options to effectively shut Thomas out of the game and keep Gaze to four points for the period, but to the veteran's credit, he persisted and was the focal point of his team's attack.

Thomas returned after the main break to get an upper hand against Boordnikoff in defence and score 20 points as the Tigers lifted.

With a 102-80 lead late in the game, the Taipans were afforded the opportunity to bring on local product Debba George for his home court debut.

With a 4-8 record, the Taipans hit the road again with a trip to New Zealand for their Friday match against the Breakers before returning to Cairns on Sunday to play the Brisbane Bullets while Melbourne (4-7) returns home to take on the Adelaide 36ers on Friday.

Cairns Taipans 104 (Burgess 33, Stewart 16, Grabau 16)
Melbourne Tigers 87 (Gaze 28, Thomas 20, McDonald 10)
@ Cairns Convention Centre, 17/11/2004. Crowd 3, 207

ferdinand

November 18th, 2004, 04:09 AM

www.nbl.com.au

Round 8

Taipans 104 v Tigers 87
Box Scores | Match Report

Kings 91 v Crocodiles 109
Box Scores | Match Report

Next Scheduled Matches
Breakers v Taipans Nov 19

Hawks v Crocodiles Nov 19

Wildcats v Pirates Nov 19

Tigers v 36ers Nov 19

Razorbacks v Hawks Nov 20

Pirates v Crocodiles Nov 21

Taipans v Bullets Nov 21

Kings v Razorbacks Nov 21

36ers v Wildcats Nov 21

NBL Ladder as at 18th November 2004
Team Pld Won Lost Last 5 Streak Home Away % Pts % Won

Wildcats 10 8 2 4-1 won 4 4-1 4-1 107.2 80
Hawks 9 7 2 3-2 won 1 5-0 2-2 112.4 78
36ers 9 6 3 3-2 won 1 5-0 1-3 109.9 67
Kings 12 8 4 3-2 lost 2 5-2 3-2 105.7 67
Crocodiles 10 5 5 4-1 won 3 4-1 1-4 102.3 50
Bullets 12 5 7 3-2 won 1 1-2 4-5 94.5 42
Pirates 8 3 5 2-3 lost 1 3-2 0-3 96.4 38
Tigers 11 4 7 2-3 lost 1 3-2 1-5 96.2 36

Taipans 12 4 8 2-3 won 1 3-1 1-7 93.7 33
Breakers 9 3 6 2-3 lost 3 3-4 0-2 91.0 33
Razorbacks 10 3 7 0-5 lost 5 2-3 1-4 95.1 30

ROUND 9 SCHEDULED MATCHES(All times local at venue)

Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Match (Home v Away) Venue Time TV
Bullets v Wildcats Brisbane Convention Centre 06:40PM AEST

Friday, November 26, 2004
Match (Home v Away) Venue Time TV
Pirates v Hawks Newcastle Entertainment Centre 07:40PM AEDT
Tigers v Breakers State Netball and Hockey Centre - Melbourne 07:40PM AEDT
Crocodiles v Wildcats Townsville Entertainment Centre 08:00PM AEST
Razorbacks v Kings Sydney SuperDome 08:45PM AEDT

Saturday, November 27, 2004
Match (Home v Away) Venue Time TV
Taipans v Wildcats Cairns Convention Centre 08:00PM AEST
36ers v Tigers Distinctive Homes Dome - Adelaide 08:10PM CDT
Bullets v Pirates Brisbane Convention Centre 07:00PM AEST

Sunday, November 28, 2004
Match (Home v Away) Venue Time TV
Breakers v Crocodiles Trusts Stadium - Waitakere 03:00PM NZDT

Gertzy

November 18th, 2004, 09:36 AM

Good, to hear both teams won their matches. I'm Glad the crocs beat Sydney.

Gertzy

December 6th, 2004, 03:22 PM

Information on what I know about the last Two Crocs Matches, They both ended in shockers losing to both the Breakers and Pirates.

ferdinand

December 21st, 2004, 11:25 AM

Crocs hold off Sixers
Sunday, December 19, 2004 - 06:27 PM
Jason Phelan, Sportal
courtesy of www.nbl.com.au
http://www.nbl.com.au/_content/image/00001353-image.jpg

Townsville has ended Adelaide's run of home victories with a hard-fought 110-107 win over the Sixers at the Distinctive Homes Dome on Sunday afternoon.

The Sixers were missing their inspirational captain, Brett Maher, and the Crocs took full advantage with a superb team effort that saw seven players reach double figures in points scored.

Townsville led for most of the game and held off a late surge by the Sixers to record the win – Willie Farley missing the opportunity to force overtime in the dying seconds when his three-point attempt rimmed out.

Robert Rose top-scored for the Crocs with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting while Kelvin Robertson was also important with 20 points (9-of-15).

Farley led the Sixers with a game-high 35 points on 10-of-24 shooting and Dusty Rychart played well in support with 20 points and 12 boards.

With Maher succumbing to a back injury, Adelaide was forced to reorganise its back court and as a result its offence lacked cohesion early.

The Sixers shot at 36 percent in the first quarter while the Crocs established a handy early lead on the back of some good work from Rose and John Rillie.

Townsville was up by eight points at the first break (33-25) but Adelaide turned up the heat on defence in the second to get itself back into the game.

ferdinand

December 21st, 2004, 11:26 AM

Snakes snip Hawks
Saturday, December 18, 2004 - 11:05 PM
Duncan Watts, Sportal
courtesy of www.nbl.com.au
http://www.nbl.com.au/_content/image/00001347-image.jpg

The Cairns Taipans have completed a thrilling final-quarter comeback to beat the Wollongong Hawks 80-78 at the Cairns Convention Centre on Saturday.

The Hawks led at every break, but an 18-4 final quarter run, led by Taipans guard Gary Boodnikoff (17 points, 8 rebounds), brought the home side back into the contest.

Cairns also received a strong performance from centre Chris Burgess (15 points, 17 rebounds), while Hawks forward Adam Ballinger (22 points, 4 rebounds) was the standout for the visitors.

The Taipans had been behind by as much as 12 points earlier in the game, but outscored the Hawks in the final two quarters 18-13 and 25-21 to complete the comeback.

Taipans coach Guy Molloy said his team’s focus, even when behind by nine points with three minutes to play, was a main factor in the win.

“You have to give credit to our guys, they stuck to the task and got the ‘W’,” Molloy said.

“Having the guys manage to keep their heads up has been a good bit of progress.”

Wollongong suffered a double blow before tip-off with starting forward Andrew Rice sidelined through injury and star guard Darnell Mee on the way home to the US for his grandfather’s funeral.

The Taipans looked untroubled by the Hawks early in the first quarter, until Ballinger got hot, scoring the Hawks’ first 8 points, and 10 of their first 11.

Anthony Stewart (13 points) led the home side with eight points for the term, but the Taipans’ offence lacked strength as Burgess struggled to score past double and triple teams under the basket.

The early difference between the Taipans and Hawks was accuracy from the perimeter, the Hawks shooting at 40 percent (4-of-10) compared to the Taipans’ 0-of-5, as the visitors jumped out to a 22-17 first-quarter lead.

The teams traded baskets early in the second quarter, but the Hawks capitalised on 13 first-half Cairns turnovers to extend their lead to as much as 12 points.

A 9-0 Hawks run helped the visitors stretch their advantage and win the half 44-37.

The home side started the third quarter with renewed intensity, as Burgess scored six of the Taipans’ first 10 points, sparking a 12-4 run.

Wollongong’s first-quarter sharp shooting from the perimeter left them behind in the third stanza, as Cairns responded to the visitors’ accuracy by increasing defensive pressure on the perimeter, forcing the Hawks to shoot 29 percent (11-of-37) from the field.

An unlikely off-balance Aaron Grabau jump-shot continued the home team’s momentum, as they closed to 57-55 at the final break.

A 6-2 start to the final period looked to have the Hawks back on track for victory, but a Glen Saville technical foul shifted the momentum to the home side.

Boodnikoff was the star of the Taipans comeback, scoring five of the team's final nine points, including a clutch three-point play, to finish with 13 points for the half.

A missed Boodnikoff layup with 10 seconds left in the game presented the Hawks with an opportunity to win the game, but Saville’s layup attempt rimmed out, forcing the Hawks to foul.

Anthony Stewart then calmly sank four consecutive free-throws with less than three seconds left to seal the Taipans win.

Wollongong coach Brendan Joyce said his team’s performance in Rice and Mee’s absence showed the depth of his side.

“Obviously with two starters out it made it tough, but tonight showed how good we can be without those guys,” Joyce said.

“We were very unlucky to not come away with the win – very unlucky.”

The result sees the Taipans move from last position on the ladder (7-12), while the Hawks remain in the top four (11-7).

The Hawks head home to face the Adelaide 36ers on Wednesday night, while the Taipans have two weeks to prepare for a New Year’s Eve match-up at home against the West Sydney Razorbacks.

ferdinand

December 21st, 2004, 11:28 AM

Information courtesy of www.nbl.com.au
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Match (Home v Away) Venue Time TV
Kings v Breakers Sydney Entertainment Centre 07:40PM AEDT
Wildcats v 36ers Challenge Stadium - Perth 07:40PM AWST

Friday, December 31, 2004
Match (Home v Away) Venue Time TV
Tigers v Hawks State Netball and Hockey Centre - Melbourne 07:40PM AEDT
36ers v Kings Distinctive Homes Dome - Adelaide 08:00PM CDT
Bullets v Wildcats Brisbane Convention Centre 07:30PM AEST
Crocodiles v Breakers Townsville Entertainment Centre 08:00PM AEST
Taipans v Razorbacks Cairns Convention Centre 08:00PM AEST

Sunday, January 2, 2005
Match (Home v Away) Venue Time TV
Breakers v Wildcats Trusts Stadium - Waitakere 03:00PM NZDT
Pirates v Taipans Newcastle Entertainment Centre 05:00PM AEDT
Hawks v Razorbacks WIN Entertainment Centre - Wollongong 05:00PM AEDT
Kings v Crocodiles Sydney Entertainment Centre 05:00PM AEDT

Gertzy

December 22nd, 2004, 09:10 AM

I see that Crocs are 4th last and Cairns are 2nd last on the ladder from the weekend
W P L
Sydney 12 17 5
Adelaide 11 17 6
Wollongong 11 18 7
Perth 12 20 8
Brisbane 9 18 9
Melbourne 8 17 9
W Sydney 8 18 10
Townsville 8 19 11
Hunter 7 18 11
Cairns 7 19 12
NZ Breakers 6 17 11

Gertzy

January 10th, 2005, 10:15 AM

Good News, The Last two games for the Crocs have been a sucess, They beat the Kings and the Razorbacks, We've taken down Sydney.

ferdinand

February 11th, 2005, 08:54 AM

Townsville crocs have been doing so good lately, i have slim hopes that the Cairns Taipans will make it into the finals... But there's always next year and despite the rivalry the majority of Cairns people will be shifting their support to the Crocs for the finals

Gertzy

February 11th, 2005, 12:13 PM

They are now 5th which is quite good. Infact the finals are happening in April but the Qualifying matches are happening next month and the crocs may just reach the finals.

Gertzy

March 2nd, 2005, 08:42 AM

Townsville is in the Semis, I think they won last nights match against Hawks.

Wezza

March 2nd, 2005, 10:06 AM

Townsville plays their 1st game against the Hawks in Wollongong tonight. It's the best of 3 series. Game 2 is to be played in Townsville on Saturday.

Gertzy

March 15th, 2005, 10:01 AM

Well, the season was good while it lasted, Farewell till October, Crocs.

Cairnsinite

January 10th, 2007, 01:53 PM

Cairns Taipans vs Singapore Slingers
Friday 12 January, Cairns Convention Centre, 7:40pm (local)

Projected Starters
Taipans: Darnell Mee, Anthony Stewart, Gary Boodnikoff, Martin Cattalini, Kevin Owens
Slingers: Brad Davidson, Mike Helms, Marquin Chandler, Ben Knight, Ben Melmeth

Bench
Taipans: Luke Martin, Damon Thornton, Aaron Grabau, Kane Oakley, Matt Smith, Scott Cook
Slingers: Aaron Trahair, Pero Vasiljevic, Larry Davidson, Jeremy Kench, Eban Hyams

Current Record
Taipans 13-11, 6th; Slingers 8-14, 9th

Recent Form
Taipans: Won 112-106 (OT) vs Breakers @ Cairns
Slingers: Lost 85-110 to Dragons @ Singapore, Won 114-103 vs Crocodiles @ Singapore, Lost 116-131 to Bullets @ Brisbane

Season Series
Taipans lead 2-0

The Snakepit in Cairns is a tremendous venue, and one of the hardest places for opposing teams to get a W in the Philips Championship. In the past two seasons, the Taipans have a 24-6 record at home, including an outstanding 11-1 mark to date in 2006/07, and although they haven’t been at their best recently they still found a way to get past the Breakers in overtime last Saturday. But there still should be some concern in the tropical north because you’d have to say this is a unit that doesn’t look like a championship contender right now. They still have the tools to get there, starting with the outstanding Martin Cattalini, who is making a strong case for Most Valuable Player at the end of the season. The 6’7” forward was once again the difference in Cairns’ victory last week, and his performances will ultimately determine how far the Taipans progress in 2006/07. Coach Alan Black would also be happy with the effort of swingman Aaron Grabau this season, because the defensive specialist has upped his numbers in scoring and rebounding significantly from the previous season and is giving the team an option they haven’t had previously. Once Gary Boodnikoff gets on track, and Damon Thornton has a few more games under his belt, the Taipans can still do some damage. For their part, Singapore is in a desperate situation as they strive to reach an unlikely playoff berth in their inaugural season. They have been terrible on the road – not surprisingly – and coming into the furnace that is the Snakepit is never an easy task. But you look at the roster and see they do have plenty of talent – it’s just that they haven’t been able to put it all together consistently. Mike Helms will go for big numbers one night, the others might struggle. Or the two Bens – Knight and Melmeth – will dominate inside yet receive no help from the perimeter guys. When they are all on the same page, look out. They have played Cairns tough in both losses this season and that’s encouraging, and if they can get stops have enough firepower to make things interesting. But the issue as always is the travel. The team hasn’t quite figured out how to overcome those problems of jetlag and other physical ailments common with extensive long distance international travel, and until they do, I can’t see them getting another win outside Singapore. I think the Taipans will play with passion and fire at home, and although the Slingers will give a good account of themselves, Cairns will be just too strong.
Matt’s Prediction: Taipans by 11

Townsville Crocodiles vs Singapore Slingers
Saturday 13 January, Townsville Entertainment Centre, 8:00pm (local)

Projected Starters
Crocodiles: EJ Rowland, John Rillie, Brad Newley, Larry Abney, Greg Vanderjagt
Slingers: Brad Davidson, Mike Helms, Marquin Chandler, Ben Knight, Ben Melmeth

Bench
Crocodiles: Daniel Egan, Kelvin Robertson, Andrew Rice, Drew Williamson, Michael Cedar
Slingers: Aaron Trahair, Pero Vasiljevic, Larry Davidson, Jeremy Kench, Eban Hyams

Current Record
Crocodiles 15-10, 5th; Slingers 8-14, 9th

Recent Form
Crocodiles: Lost 103-114 to Slingers @ Singapore, Won 113-94 vs Breakers @ Townsville
Slingers: Lost 85-110 to Dragons @ Singapore, Won 114-103 vs Crocodiles @ Singapore, Lost 116-131 to Bullets @ Brisbane

Season Series
Tied 1-1

Townsville’s ordinary road record came back to bite them on the backside in their last encounter with the Slingers when they couldn’t slow down a potent Singaporean attack and were rolled in a minor upset. But at home, they are a completely different proposition, and they ran New Zealand right off the floor Sunday night. John Rillie said after the win over the Breakers that he “went into his shell” in Singapore and wanted to ensure he made an impact against the Kiwis. Did he ever. JR went for a game-high 33 and shot the ball at an incredibly high percentage, and that’s what this team needs consistently if they are going to challenge for a Top Four spot. Rillie also admitted the Crocs needed to beat every team below them to be considered a legitimate postseason threat, so you’d expect Townsville to come out strongly against a team that has been a non-factor on the road – with this game even tougher than usual given it is on the backend of the notorious Sunshine Swing. Three losses this round would surely end any hope Singapore has of making the playoffs so if they are going to take a stand, the time is right now. Their win over the Crocs last week was full of merit and should give them some confidence heading in, because Townsville is not a standout defensive team and can be gotten at, especially on the fast break. That said, the Crocs are tremendous on their home floor – a great shooting gym tailor-made for their perimeter-oriented attack. Look for JR and Brad Newley to weave their magic and EJ Rowland to bounce back after a couple of mediocre games. The key for Townsville is securing boards and running as often as possible against what will be the fatigued legs of Singapore; Singapore in turn must find a way to slow down the Crocs in transition and take advantage of their big people inside. The Slingers will give it their best shot, but so long as the Crocodiles maintain their focus and commitment they should win this comfortably.
Prediction: Crocodiles by 19

Cairnsinite

January 10th, 2007, 01:57 PM

Ladder

Team Pld Won Lost Last 5 Streak Home Away % Pts % Won

Bullets 24 19 5 5-0 won 9 12-1 7-4 112.19 79.17
Wildcats 24 17 7 4-1 won 1 11-1 6-6 108.36 70.83
Tigers 24 17 7 3-2 won 1 11-2 6-5 104.73 70.83
Kings 24 15 9 3-2 won 2 10-2 5-7 103.89 62.50
Crocodiles 26 16 10 4-1 won 2 11-1 5-9 102.47 61.54
Taipans 25 14 11 3-2 won 3 11-1 3-10 101.02 56.00
Dragons 26 12 14 3-2 lost 1 6-6 6-8 97.66 46.15
36ers 25 10 15 2-3 lost 1 6-7 4-8 95.75 40.00

Slingers 22 8 14 2-3 lost 1 7-5 1-9 97.29 36.36
Hawks 22 8 14 0-5 lost 5 4-7 4-7 95.64 36.36
Breakers 24 7 17 0-5 lost 9 6-5 1-12 94.97 29.17
Razorbacks 24 2 22 0-5 lost 20 2-10 0-12 88.34 8.33

Wezza

January 10th, 2007, 04:49 PM

Crocs played the Pigs tonight & spanked the crap out of them.......39 points!

Cairnsinite

February 15th, 2007, 05:39 AM

Crocs sling Singapore
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - 09:22 PM
Zane Bojack, Sportal
http://nbl.com.au/_content/image/00003287-image.jpg http://townsvillebulletin.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,3600,5388798,00.gif

The Townsville Crocodiles have eliminated the Singapore Slingers from the Philips Championship Finals Series with a 106-93 victory at the Townsville Entertainment Centre on Wednesday night.

The Crocs now face the Kings in Sydney on Friday night after some dramatic moments against the Slingers, who made a strong charge in the third term after trailing by 18 points at half-time.

American import Larry Abney (30 points, 12 rebounds) and skipper John Rillie (26 points including five-of-nine triples, nine rebounds and five assists) were once again the stars for the home side as the fifth-placed Crocs showed their superior experience in NBL play-off games.

However it was the performance of American point guard EJ Rowland which proved the ultimate difference, becoming the first player since Sam Mackinnon to score a triple-double in the finals with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as well as five steals.
Crocodiles coach Trevor Gleeson said his point guard did a great job in marking Slingers danger man Mike Helms and was a silent killer in many aspects.

"I didn't realise he had so many boards," Gleeson said. "He did a hell of a job getting five steals as well and did a great job on Helms defensively who only shot six-of-20 and had a hand in the face all night and put pressure on him when he was dribbling."

"He has been an added bonus for us and we need his energy out there and he gets a good crack at Sydney on Friday night."

Gleeson said he was happy with the effort against a team which the Crocs believed they should beat after finishing much higher on the ladder.

Rillie echoed those sentiments and said all eyes will now be on his side's match up with last season's beaten grand finalists.

"Goorj (Brian Goorjian) will have those guys pretty amped up and they will probably be peeling paint off the walls right now but you just have to combat their intensity early on," Rillie said.

"If we can get into some sort of flow we will be fine, with both teams having some team changes since we last played and it's been a long time between drinks but it will definitely be a feel out session."

The Slingers were playing their first finals game in their inaugural season in the Philips Championship and it was left to their most experienced players to get the job done.

Ben Knight was magnificent with 21 points, 17 boards and two assists while Helms (20 points, eight rebounds four assists), Brad Davidson (17 points including five-of-eight triples) and Aaron Trahair (14 points) worked hard to keep them in the contest.

Slingers coach Gordie McLeod said Singapore fans had plenty to cheer about in coming years with his side showing tremendous character in the match as they had throughout the season.

"You are always disappointed when you lose but the pleasing thing is the guys sort of showed what they have showed all year," McLeod said.

"We got behind through being poor in a couple of areas and the guys showed they are fighters by toughing it out and making a run at it, we had our opportunities, and if we had taken those it could have been a different thing."

The former West Sydney mentor said his players have had to change their way of life and get used to long hours of traveling to compete in the Philips Championship.

"I am so proud of the guys and the way they have approached everything this year," McLeod said.

"People back in Australia just don't understand what these guys have been through with regards to the basketball season and pre-season and those who are there know they are warriors."

Townsville was allowed to put on a clinic early on as both teams tried to fire up in front of a small crowd at the Swamp.

The Crocs shot out of the blocks in the opening minutes with the ease of Abney's jumper in the first minute an indication of what was to come.

The game seemed to lack intensity in the first term with first Townsville and then Singapore taking turns at making scoring runs.

The Crocs shot out to an early seven-point lead thanks to the hot hand of Rillie with the score at 16-9 after four minutes.

However, this seemed to spark Trahair into action with the Singapore sharp shooter jacking two triples in his 10 points for the term as the Slingers recovered to be only five points down at quarter-time (26-31).

The home side looked like it was again going to run away from its opponents in the second stanza with the Crocs racking up a 16-5 run to lead 49-35 with three minutes remaining.

Singapore continued to rely on Trahair and Helms for its baskets while Knight made his presence felt but the Crocs were on fire leading into the main break.

They outscored the Slingers 29-16 in the second quarter and took a commanding 60-42 lead into half-time.

The Crocs went cold in the third quarter and let the Slingers back into the contest with the Asian NBL franchise outscoring them two-to-one in the first seven minutes thanks to four consecutive triples from former Croc Davidson.

The Slingers scored 26 points in quick time as the Crocs clung to a 74-66 advantage with four minutes remaining until the last break.

Knight continued to impress with strong drives to the basket as the Slingers lifted their shooting percentage and cut the margin to just six points but Townsville registered a late flurry to push the score out to 82-73 at three-quarter time.

The Slingers never allowed the Crocs to get away in the final term but struggled to peg back the home side's double-digit lead.

Helms went to the foul line to complete a three-point play with four minutes left and the Slingers trailed by only eight points before a Knight jam shortly after saw the margin cut to only six (97-91).

But Townsville steadied through a double to reserve shooter Daniel Egan (14 points, four rebounds) and then another to Rillie before finally coasting home to a 13-point victory.

Footnote: EJ Rowland became just the 5th player ever to record a triple-double in the NBL playoffs behind Sam Mackinnon (twice), Darryl McDonald (twice), Ricky Grace and Robert Rose.

Townsville Crocodiles 106 (Abney 30, Rillie 26, Newley 19)
Singapore Slingers 93 (Knight 21, Helms 20, Brad Davidson 17)
@ Townsville Entertainment Centre, 14/02/06. Crowd: 3964

Cairnsinite

February 16th, 2007, 03:17 PM

DRAGON SLAYERS

http://www.cairnspost.com.au/images/uploadedfiles/editorial/pictures/2007/02/16/dragon_slayers.gif http://nbl.com.au/_content/image/00003281-image.jpg

16Feb07

High flyer: An airborne Darnell Mee hits his straps on the way to 27 points during the Taipans’ rollicking playoff win against South Dragons in Cairns last night.
Taipans victory books trip west

The Cairns Taipans head into tomorrow’s elimination quarter-final against Perth high on adrenalin and confident they can push further into the National Basketball League playoffs.

The manner of last night’s win against the South Dragons at the convention centre, rather than the victory itself, determined the Snakes’ mood after the match.

Against one of the best attacking teams in the league, the Taipans’ frugal defence allowed few chances and shut the Dragons out for all but the opening seconds of the game.

The tone was set in a dynamic opening period where 61 points were scored and the Taipans took a potentially match-winning 15-point lead to the first break.

They were not to have things all their own way though, with the Dragons reducing the margin to four points at halftime and threatening to steal the home team’s thunder.

But any cockiness the Taipans may have had was erased at halftime when coach Alan Black reminded his charges they could not just expect the league’s newest team to lie down.

"If we thought we were just going to walk into the gym and they would lie down, that was never going to happen," Black said.

After shooting at better than 63 per cent in the opening period, the Snakes slipped to less than 40 in the second as the Dragons fought back.

"I thought about halfway through the second we fell in love with our offence and we stopped really getting down and doing the defensive things we’d done at the start," Black said.

"We re-focussed after halftime and our second-half defence was terrific."

Aaron Grabau was outstanding on Dragons shooting guard Kavossy Franklin and Darnell Mee restricted Shane Heal’s opportunities, although the captain-coach landed several long-range bombs as he urged his team to fight back in the second half.

Perth finished the regular season in third place, although the Taipans head into the game with a 2-1 record against them this season and a win in their most recent clash in Darwin a fortnight ago. While the Taipans face a tough task to back up, Black fancied their chance heading into the game with momentum.

Heal, who was disappointed at his team’s exit from the playoffs although chuffed with his players’ show of character, said Cairns was a chance in Perth "for sure".

"They’ll have to shoot the ball well … Cattalini will have to step up and get probably 25-30 on the road for a win but he’s certainly capable of that and I think Perth are a little bit vulnerable as well right now, they haven’t had a great couple of weeks."

Cairnsinite

February 17th, 2007, 09:00 AM

Kings end Crocs' dream
Friday, February 16, 2007 - 09:50 PM
Ben Collins, Sportal[/SIZE]

http://nbl.com.au/_content/image/00003248-image.jpg http://townsvillebulletin.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,3600,5391277,00.gif

The Sydney Kings have booked their place in the semi-finals of the Philips Championship after romping to a 122-89 victory over the Townsville Crocodiles at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

A devastating performance from Mark Worthington ensured Sydney advances to the semi-finals to face the Brisbane Bullets and keeps the Kings in the hunt for their fifth successive Grand Final appearance.

The Boomers forward claimed 19 of his game-high 28 points in the first half as the three-time champions streaked to a 66-39 half-time advantage.

Townsville had a 2-1 record against the Kings this season but the Kings have lost just once at the Kingdome and blew away the Crocs with a 22-2 surge in the second quarter.

Captain Jason Smith, playing his 350th NBL game and his 51st play-off game, kept Sydney in control, scoring 11 of his 16 points in the third quarter, while BJ Carter finished with a career-high 20 points and was 6-of-8 from the arc.

The Kings had a total of six players in double figures, shooting 54% to the Crocs' 44% and out-rebounding the Crocs 58-34.

"We were good all the way around and we got contribution from everybody," said Kings coach Brian Goorjian, who has now led a team to the NBL semi-finals for 18 successive seasons.

"I think the consistency came from the defensive end of the floor for us. We talked about the traditions of the Kings over the last four years in defense, rebounding and looking after the ball, and this team has had to be better.

"It turns an entry into a chance and we want to savour that moment for a minute. We feel real good about the win tonight and getting a day's rest, but we're here to win this thing (the championship)."

Kelvin Robertson finished strongly for the Crocs, scoring 15 of his team-high 21 points in the final quarter, and coach Trevor Gleeson felt the result did not match the team's achievements over the campaign.

"It wasn't a reflection of our season at all," he said. "It was a disappointing way to finish. We came here with a quiet confidence, we've been playing well, but hats off to the Kings.

"They pushed us out of the stuff we were trying to do and we didn't do a good job of countering that. They seemed stronger and every open shot they got was dropping."

Townsville took an early advantage but five straight points from Russell Hinder (17 points) gave Sydney a 7-6 lead, before Luke Kendall's three-pointer capped a 12-0 run that put Sydney up 19-9.

Worthington took his tally to nine points for the quarter as Sydney led 31-22 at the end of the first term while Smith passed 1,000 points at the Kingdome.

Hinder, who scored a team-high 18 points in the last game of the regular season, then added another five points as Sydney charged clear at the start of the second stanza.

Worthington hit consecutive baskets and Carter drained two three-pointers as Sydney's lead ballooned to 53-27 before Cameron Tovey's second straight basket stretched the lead to 32 (64-32) just before the long break.

Brad Newley (14 points) and former Kings guard EJ Rowland (17 points) battled to get the Crocs back into it but the hosts were never troubled, Smith hitting 11 straight points for the Kings as they led 92-60 into the final term.

The Kings heaped the misery on the Crocs, putting on a 14-1 run at the start of the fourth to lead by 43 (106-63), although the Crocs rallied late on to add a sliver of respectability to the scoreline.

http://nbl.com.au/_content/club/kings-header.gif 122 (Worthington 28, Carter 20, Hinder 17, Smith 16) Def
http://nbl.com.au/_content/club/crocodiles-header.gif89 (Robertson 21, Rowland 17, Abney 14, Newley 14)
@ Sydney Entertainment Centre

Cairnsinite

February 17th, 2007, 09:10 AM

http://nbl.com.au/_content/club/wildcats-header.gif VS. http://nbl.com.au/_content/club/taipans-header.gif 5:40pm AWST at Challenge Stadium, Perth

Cairnsinite

February 17th, 2007, 12:57 PM

Taipans upset Wildcats
Saturday, February 17, 2007 - 09:41 PM
Sportal

http://nbl.com.au/_content/image/00002910-image.jpg

http://nbl.com.au/_content/club/taipans-header.gif 82 http://nbl.com.au/_content/club/wildcats-header.gif 78

The Cairns Taipans have set up a semi-final clash with the Melbourne Tigers after upsetting the Perth Wildcats 82-78 in their quarter-final at Challenge Stadium in Perth.

The Taipans led by one point with a minute remaining in the match, but Gary Boodnikoff sunk a killer three which gave his team the edge - which it did not relinquish.

Darnell Mee top-scored with 19 points for Cairns, and was well backed up by Boodnikoff with 15.

For the Wildcats, Shawn Redhage poured in 24 points to lead his side, but fouled out with 39 seconds to go as Perth tried to claw back into the game. Paul Rogers added 18 for Perth.

Perth Wildcats 78 (Redhage 24, Rogers 18)
Taipans 82 (Mee 19, Boodnikoff 15)
@ Challenge Stadium

Cairnsinite

February 17th, 2007, 01:08 PM

http://nbl.com.au/_content/club/tigers-header.gifVS. http://www.nbl.com.au/_content/club/taipans-header.gif Wednesday Feb 21, 7:40pm at State Netball Hockey Centre, Melbourne

Wezza

February 19th, 2007, 04:40 AM

The Crocs were woeful the other night. I started to watch the match, but got sidetracked pretty easily after a while when i knew they had no chance of coming back. It was just one of those nights when nothing could go right for them & everything Sydney touched turned to gold. I guess it happens from time to time, bugger of a time for it to happen though! lol Anyways, c'mon Bullets, get some revenge on Sydney. All Qld GF series would be cool.

Gertzy

February 20th, 2007, 02:02 AM

I remember in the 2000 quarter-finals, when they had the Crocs and Wildcats game which was held here in Townsville, all the Commentators kept saying was that a Cyclone Warning was issued for the region, and it turned out to be Tessi.

Cairnsinite

February 21st, 2007, 11:27 AM

Sydney and Melbourne are old timers...so i say out with the old and in with the new...ps. i would love to see an all Qld finals...:)

Wezza

February 21st, 2007, 11:59 AM

I'm hoping for a Bullets championship! Sorry Cairns guys! :) I was a Bullets supporter well before Townsville or Cairns had teams. Plus it's been good to see the game being revitilised in Brisbane. They played their 1st match at Boondall in years last night. Got a decent crowd as well. (5400 people) I think if they beat Sydney to make the GF, they'll get 10,000 or so to the championship matches. I still want the Taipans to make the GF though.

Cairnsinite

February 21st, 2007, 01:23 PM

all i want is for the old guns: sydney and melbourne to bow out and let some new kids on the block battle it out :)

Wezza

February 22nd, 2007, 05:27 AM

I'm sure Cairns can rattle Melbourne up there in the next game to take it to a decider. Brisbane should down Sydney tonight hopefully. :)

Cairnsinite

February 23rd, 2007, 07:55 AM

Taipans draw strength from defeat and fans

Emma Greenwood

23Feb07

http://www.cairnspost.com.au/images/uploadedfiles/editorial/pictures/2007/02/22/STORY5.gif

Just the tonic: Gary Boodnikoff is greeted by undaunted Taipans fans on his arrival with the team in Cairns yesterday.
THE Cairns Taipans have examined Wednesday night's horror second half against the Melbourne Tigers to find out exactly where their offence broke down and how to remedy it ahead of tonight's vital semi-final.

The Taipans had little time to turn their fortunes around but coach Alan Black was confident it was possible, even taking some positives out of the opening NBL semi-final encounter in Melbourne.

"We’ve got to regroup," Black said.

"We’ll have a look particularly at that third quarter and see how our offence broke down and have a look at what we did.

"But I thought – two three-minute periods aside – our defence wasn’t too bad, the zone worked pretty well, we were able to force them into some perimeter shots and were able to contain their penetration.

"(But) in that third quarter they got too easy baskets, they were getting to the paint, they snuck under the rim like they do and we just didn’t have an answer for it.

"The Taipans have drawn strength from their home crowd all season, yet tonight will be the first convention-centre sellout.

Black hopes more than 5300 screaming fans will be just the tonic his players need.

"It’s a semi-final. The way it’s supposed to go in a semi-final is the home team wins the first one, the home team wins the second one and away you go," he said.

"I think there’s some technical things that we have to do with our offence to try and get better and get some easier shots but I think that we can turn this around pretty quickly.

"Sport’s a funny thing. You look down-and-out one minute and the next minute you’re up and running.

"That’s the beauty of it and I think particularly at home, with a home crowd and the noise they make and the adrenalin you get from that I think you’ll find we won’t have any problems getting up for the game.

"Obviously the Tigers are a great team. They beat us (on Wednesday night) but Friday’s a different game."

Black refused to blame the Taipans’ heavy schedule over the past couple of weeks or their tiring trip to Perth for Wednesday’s loss and while many of the Snakes are carrying slight injuries he will not hear of that being used as an excuse either.

"I think most players are banged up a little bit (at this stage of the season)." he said.

"I just think there are no excuses in a semi-final. You play with what you’ve got and with the bangs and niggles you’ve got knowing other people are the same and you put it all out there and see what happens.

"Like I said, it’s game one of a best-of-three, if it was game one of an elimination, you’d be walking home with your tail between your legs.

"But it’s not, so we’re going to go after it and see what we can get done."

Centre Kevin Owens, who has not had his happiest two games of the season in the past two playoff matches, said the Taipans had to bounce back.

"That’s what the semi-finals are about. You can’t sit there and dwell on the loss," he said.

Tonight's Game

http://nbl.com.au/_content/club/taipans-header.gif VS. http://nbl.com.au/_content/club/tigers-header.gif at http://www.architectureaustralia.com/resources/aa/1996/09/5proj_1.gif

Cairnsinite

February 23rd, 2007, 07:56 AM

Cairnsinite

March 1st, 2007, 12:33 PM

i would just like to say good on ya Taipans for a very exciting year...Hopefully next nbl season you will go one better!! :)
ps. may joe blake retire a happy snake :)

http://www.ticketsplus.com.au/Images/taipansbackyard160.jpg
http://www.taipans.com/dimages/Joe_Blake_17_11_200531_th.JPG

Cairnsinite

April 18th, 2007, 12:56 PM

http://www.cairnspost.com.au/images/uploadedfiles/editorial/pictures/2007/04/17/STORY5.gif
In full flight: Larry “The Birdman” Abney caught in a tug of war between the Taipans and Townsville Crocodiles.

Taipans firm as Abney's new Home
'Birdman set to fly north to Cairns'
18Apr07

CAIRNS Taipans general manager Denis Keeffe is making no apology for his efforts to assemble the strongest possible National Basketball League team.

Given a directive from his board to put together a team capable of bettering the Taipans’ semi-final finish of the past two years, Keeffe and coach Alan Black have placed "an emphasis on recruiting" during the off-season.

Keeffe confirmed yesterday the Taipans had made an offer to import forward Larry "The Birdman" Abney but said he had not been signed despite a press release from Townsville claiming Abney was likely to sign with the Crocs’ "arch rivals".

Townsville chief executive Ian Smythe said despite the Crocs’ offer to Abney being "the most substantial in our club’s history" it had been rejected and he believed the import would most likely sign with Cairns.

"We were simply out-bid," Smythe said.

GoTroppo

April 19th, 2007, 02:53 AM

Taipans firm as Abney's new HomeCongrat's Taipan's - Larry's a huge pickup if you can nab him. The Crocs are increasingly looking like cannon fodder with Newley and now Abney off the roster.

Actually, all credit probably needs to go to Keeffey - he's an impressive General Manager and was key to the early success of the Crocs and certainly was pivotal in turning around the Cowboys. Our loss is certainly your gain!

Cookies18

July 23rd, 2007, 02:09 PM

WK1 Thursday, 20 September 2007: New Zealand Vs Cairns
North Shore Events Centre - New Zealand

WK1 Saturday, 22 September 2007: Cairns vs Townsville (Brownsville)
Cairns Convention Centre - Cairns

WK2 Saturday, 29 September 2007: Cairns vs Gold Coast
Cairns Convention Centre - Cairns

WK3 Friday, 5 October 2007: Wollongong vs Cairns
Win Entertainment Centre - Wollongong

WK3 Saturday, 6 October 2007: Sydney vs Cairns
Sydney Entertainment Centre - Sydney

WK4 Wednesday, 10 October 2007: Cairns vs Melbourne
Cairns Convention Centre - Cairns

WK5 Sunday, 21 October 2007: Perth vs Cairns
Challenge Stadium - Perth

WK6 Saturday, 27 October 2007: Cairns vs Brisbane
Cairns Convention Centre - Cairns

WK7 Wednesday, 31 October 2007: West Sydney vs Cairns
Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre - West Sydney

WK7 Sunday, 4 November 2007: Gold Coast vs Cairns
Gold Coast Convention Centre - Gold Coast

WK8 Saturday, 10 November 2007: Cairns vs Wollongong
Cairns Convention Centre - Cairns

WK9 Saturday, 17 November 2007: Cairns vs New Zealand
Cairns Convention Centre - Cairns

WK10 Thursday, 22 November 2007: New Zealand vs Cairns
North Shore Events Centre - New Zealand

WK10 Sunday, 25 November 2007: Cairns vs Sydney
Cairns Convention Centre - Cairns

WK11 Saturday, 1 December 2007: Cairns vs South Dragons
Cairns Convention Centre - Cairns

WK12 Saturday, 8 December 2007: Cairns vs West Sydney
Cairns Convention Centre - Cairns

WK13 Sunday, 16 December 2007: West Sydney vs Cairns
Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre - West Sydney

WK14 Friday, 21 December 2007: Cairns vs Singapore
Cairns Convention Centre - Cairns

WK15 Thursday, 27 December 2007: Melbourne vs Cairns
State Netball & Hockey Centre - Melbourne

WK16 Monday, 31 December 2007: Cairns vs Brisbane
Cairns Convention Centre - Cairns

WK17 Wednesday, 9 January 2008: Cairns vs Perth
Cairns Convention Centre - Cairns

WK17 Saturday, 12 January 2008: Brisbane vs Cairns
Brisbane Convention Centre - Brisbane

WK18 Sunday, 20 January 2008:Singapore vs Cairns
Singapore Indoor Arena - Singapore

WK19 Friday, 25 January 2008: Townsville (Brownsville) vs Cairns
Townsville Entertainment Centre - Townsville (Brownsville)

WK19 Saturday, 26 January 2008: Cairns vs Adelaide
Cairns Convention Centre - Cairns

WK20 Friday, 1 February 2008: Cairns vs Gold Coast
Cairns Convention Centre - Cairns

WK21 Wednesday, 6 February 2008: South Dragons vs Cairns
Vodafone Arena - Melbourne

WK21 Saturday, 9 February 2008 Adelaide vs Cairns
Distinctive Homes Dome - Adelaide

WK22 Wednesday, 13 February 2008 Wollongong vs Cairns
WIN Entertainment Centre - Wollongong

WK22 Saturday, 16 February 2008: Cairns vs Townsville (Brownsville)
Cairns Convention Centre - Cairns

http://www.violencenoway.org/images/Cairns_Taipans_logo.jpg VShttp://www.djrod.com.au/Crocs.jpg http://www.nbl.com.au/_content/image/00000538-image.jpg BRING ON THE GRUDGE MATCHES: 22/09/07 Cairns, 25/01/08 Townsville, 16/02/08 Cairns

TomA4

July 24th, 2007, 12:02 AM

well Cairns just about has the best roster on paper in the leauge. Hoxever it will be interesting to see if they gell together as a team.

GoTroppo

July 24th, 2007, 07:17 AM

Alas, I don't hold out much hope for the Crocs this year. Our roster has been decimated and I think Larry's comments (that he left because he wanted to win a championship) sums up the sad state of the club.

The perception is that they're unwilling to spend the dollars and they've been doing their best to reign in costs (fewer assistant coaches, support staff, etc). Which is strange because the club has always been a "going concern" so there's been some speculation it reflects the level of confidence in the viability of the league.

Cookies18

July 24th, 2007, 08:47 AM

you're doubting your team already...oh dont be a sad sport :?
The season hasnt started yet and who knows people like pepper might make a statement in the games

Cairnsinite

September 4th, 2007, 06:24 AM

went to the Basketball challenge over the weekend and it was awesome...Cairns Taipans, Brisbane Bullets, Gold Coast were there....oh and so was Townsville...
Good game between Taipans and Crocs....feels kinda strange seeing Larry Abney in Taipans colours :nuts: anyways the Taipans injected venom into the Crocs....cant wait till the NBL season starts....will definitely be in Cairns and Townsville for the grudge matches :)

||-GOB-||

September 4th, 2007, 02:19 PM

One of the things I like about the NBL is the number of Queensland teams in it, now that Brisbane are the champs and with the Gold Coast joining they might aswell rename it the QBL. :lol:

Cairnsinite

September 16th, 2007, 01:32 PM

http://www.canz.com.au/images/billboards/taipans/Taipans-logo.jpg VS. http://www.nbl.com.au/_content/image/00000538-image.jpg Athttp://www.2007isscr.org/images/CCC%20Hero%20final.jpg
7:30PM Saturday 22nd September, 2007 (Round 1)
Cairns Convention Centre

Cairnsinite

October 3rd, 2007, 05:42 AM

as it stands Taipans are 2nd on the ladder behind Melbourne and Crocs are 9th behind new Queensland franchise Gold Coast

Theville01

October 3rd, 2007, 05:55 AM

^^ Are you trying to make the crocs sound shit?

GoTroppo

October 4th, 2007, 02:54 AM

^^ Are you trying to make the crocs sound shit?I don't think he needs to make it "appear" like anything - they are playing lousy. I watched the game against Sydney last week. We blew a 15 point lead in the 2nd in about 3 mins flat and poor Rillie missed an open 3 pointer with 10secs on the clock in the 4th that would've tied up the game - there was no-one within Cooee of him, had all the time in the world to line up and he missed the hoop by a couple of feet.

Mind you, we also lost one of our imports for the rest of the season the day before and he'll only be replaced this week - so I'm willing to cut them some slack. But then again, that's just one person - and if we're that reliant on an individual, it's going to be a dismal season...

Cairnsinite

October 4th, 2007, 01:33 PM

^^ Are you trying to make the crocs sound shit? mate its just random updates from time to time.....and its also a "friendly bragging thingy" nothing personal

Cairnsinite

October 5th, 2007, 04:35 AM

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/fr/e/eb/Wollongong_Hawks.jpgVS http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/b/bc/150px-Cairns_Taipans.jpg
Friday 5 October (Tonight), WIN Entertainment Centre, 7.30pm (fox sports)

*images courtesy of: http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/b/bc/150px-Cairns_Taipans.jpg, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/fr/e/eb/Wollongong_Hawks.jpg

Theville01

October 5th, 2007, 05:09 AM

I rekon Cairns has a good chance this year to be honest but iam dissapionted that larry abney (sorry about spelling) went to cairns :lol: But Townsville may make it to the pre lims this year but I doubt they would win this year, If cairns play good this year as they have than there a chance

Theville01

October 6th, 2007, 04:09 AM

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/fr/e/eb/Wollongong_Hawks.jpg84-89 http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/b/bc/150px-Cairns_Taipans.jpg
Good win for the taipans, Looking good!

Cookies18

October 6th, 2007, 11:10 PM

Kings rule over snakes

Glen Saville The Sydney Kings have held off a fast-finishing Cairns Taipans on their way to a 92-85 victory at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on Saturday night.

Forward Mark Worthington once again led the way for the Kings (20 points - 13 rebounds), while Glen Saville also recorded a double-double (18 points - 13 rebounds) to steer the Kings home.

Sydney saw their 18 point half-time lead all but evaporate in the third quarter and led by just three points at the final break, but the home side hung tough to record their third straight win of the season against the previously unbeaten Taipans.

A superb shooting display from guard Stephen Black (8-of-14 from long range), along with a strong all-around game from Nathan Jawai (22points - 18 rebounds) was not enough to give Cairns their fifth win of the season.

"We did what we had to do to get the win and I'm excited at where this club can go to," a relieved Worthington said at the post game press conference.

"We're winning games on heart at the moment and I think we can build offensively with our structure and executing well and defensively just getting more stops."

"We were all a bit tired but I think that shows how big the hearts are on the team right now."

The Kings got the early jump to lead by 14 points after just five minutes of action - Jason Smith providing the initial spark with back-to-back bombs from beyond the arc to open proceedings.

Sydney showed no sign of fatigue despite only returning from their whirlwind tour of China on Thursday.

Instead it was the visitors who were sluggish on the back of their 89-84 victory over the Hawks on Friday night - with the exception of Rashad Tucker (four points - seven rebounds).

For the hosts Mark Worthington led the way with eight points - Jason Smith and Glen Saville chipping in with six apiece.

The Kings had no intentions of slowing down in the second quarter, extending their lead to as many as 19-points towards the end of the half.

Explosive Kings point guard Dontaye Draper came alive with seven points while Glen Saville led all scorers for the half with 12 - Luke Kendall was also busy with six first-half assists.

Eleven first-half turnovers told the story for the Taipans who went into the main break down 48-30.

Big-man Nathan Jawai led the visitors with eight points (3-of-10 shooting) and 11 rebounds - seven at the offensive end.

Cairns came out firing in the third quarter with a 6-0 run and got to within six points with four minutes remaining, thanks largely to four Stephen Black long-bombs.

The home-side steadied to again lead by double digits before the Taipans mounted another charge to draw within three points at the final break, 66-63

The Kings (3-0) play the South Dragons away next Sunday while the Taipans (4-1) host the Melbourne Tigers on Wednesday night.

Sydney Kings 92 (Worthington 20, Saville 18 , Smith 17 )
Cairns Taipans 85 (Black 24, Jawai 22, Tucker 16)
@Sydney Entertainment Centre, 06/10/2007. Crowd: 4224

Cairnsinite

October 10th, 2007, 02:01 AM

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/b/bc/150px-Cairns_Taipans.jpg VS http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/8/83/150px-Melbourne_Tigers.jpg

at Cairns Convention Centre. Tonight: Tip off 7:30pm (fox sports 2)

Theville01

October 20th, 2007, 04:56 PM

Couldnt be botherd typing :D

http://i22.tinypic.com/sglank.jpg

Theville01

October 22nd, 2007, 04:40 AM

:D

http://i24.tinypic.com/qn017p.jpg

Cairnsinite

October 22nd, 2007, 10:10 AM

ok now i feel there are tough times ahead for Taipans.....oh well thats life :)

Makka

October 23rd, 2007, 11:36 AM

^^True True look at the crocs at the start of the season, now theve got the ball rolling, still alot of hope for Cairns this year!

Cairnsinite

October 28th, 2007, 10:48 AM

http://www.canz.com.au/images/billboards/taipans/Taipans-logo.jpg112 DEF http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/5/56/Brisbane_Bullets.jpg90

The Cairns Taipans have broken their three-game losing streak with a 112-90 triumph over the Brisbane Bullets at the Cairns Convention Centre on Saturday night.

The Taipans never looked troubled after shooting out to a 14-point lead at half-time as they cruised to their fifth win of the NBL HUMMER Championship season.

Import Larry Abney hit back to top form with a 26-point, 16-rebound night, while Nathan Jawai (17 points, 14 rebounds), Martin Cattalini (17 points) and Aaron Grabau (14 points) were all crucial in the win.

For the visitors, Ebi Ere (18 points), CJ Bruton (15 points) and Craig Bradshaw (15 points) contributed to the cause but it wasn’t enough to match the high-scoring Taipans.

The Bullets shot 39 per cent from the field (32-of-82), while the Taipans were more on target - 45 per cent on 37-of-83 shooting.

But it was the boards where Cairns really stamped its authority, pulling down 52 rebounds to Brisbane’s 39.

The home side made a blazing start to the contest, racing out to an 11-3 lead inside the opening four minutes before some cool shooting from Ere ensured Brisbane entered the first break just three points adrift (33-30).

The Bullets hit the lead early in the second stanza but their stay in the sunshine was brief as Cairns wrested control of the contest.

Cattalini popped up for a pair of long range bombs and Jawai chipped in with some important baskets as the Taipans entered the long break with a dominant 63-49 advantage.

The third quarter was more of an arm-wrestle as the teams traded baskets early on.

Cairns stretched its lead out to 22 points late in the stanza, but seven points from Bruton in the final 82 seconds of the quarter closed the deficit back to 16 points (88-72) at the final change.

Brad Williamson’s long-range bomb closed the gap to 10 points four minutes into the final quarter, but the challenge was brief.

Cairns simply had all the answers, extending the margin back out to a more comfortable 16 points before closing out the win.

Cairns (5-3) will look to make it back-to-back wins when it confronts the Razorbacks in Sydney next Wednesday, while Brisbane (6-2) takes on the Breakers in New Zealand on Thursday.

Cairns Taipans 112 (Abney 26, Jawai 17, Cattalini 17)
Brisbane Bullets 90 (Ere 18, Bradshaw 15, Bruton 15)
@ Cairns Convention Centre; 27/10/07.

JnR

October 28th, 2007, 11:08 AM

http://i20.tinypic.com/i3gbac.jpg

JnR

October 28th, 2007, 01:03 PM

^^Wins for NQ :D

Cairnsinite

October 31st, 2007, 06:03 AM

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0c/West_Sydney_Razorbacks.jpg/150px-West_Sydney_Razorbacks.jpg VShttp://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/b/bc/150px-Cairns_Taipans.jpg
at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Center
Live 6:30pm foxsports 1

JnR

November 3rd, 2007, 03:09 AM

http://i16.tinypic.com/5xhppqe.jpg

Cairnsinite

November 17th, 2007, 01:13 PM

http://www.4cafm.com.au/listen_online.html
http://www.violencenoway.org/images/Cairns_Taipans_logo.jpghttp://www.cbwc.org.au/images/4ca.gifhttp://www.lakopacific.com/content/Image/Resellers/WOW.gifCall team

Wezza

November 18th, 2007, 01:17 AM

Cairns got a little spanking last night huh? Looks like you've hit a little rough patch! Townsville must have stolen your form, they won easily again last night. ;)

Cookies18

November 20th, 2007, 08:00 AM

sadly the casualty ward is filling up with Cairns players.....kudos to Townsville for thier win but they played an easy team and we had to deal with an in form breakers :)

Wezza

November 20th, 2007, 10:06 AM

^^
Townsville won 3 in a row now.

Cairnsinite

November 29th, 2007, 06:29 AM

great win to Townsville over Melbourne Tigers :)
wish Cairns can bloody beat tigers:bash:

Wezza

November 29th, 2007, 10:05 AM

Townsville are on a bit of a streak now, thought they are playing Brisbane Bullets tonight who seem to be finding form. Corey Williams seems to be a good find for the Crocs. Will be interesting to see who wins.

**EDIT** Bullets 120-113 Crocs

TomA4

December 2nd, 2007, 07:41 AM

crocs are looking really good for the second part of the season, mostly home games now. good win over perth last night too :banana:

Cairnsinite

December 21st, 2007, 08:44 AM

Yay Cairns has moved to fourth on the ladder even though the team has injury woes...also have noticed a 3-way Queensland affair with Brisbane-Cairns-Gold Coast (as at 21 December) ^^:banana:

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff48/cairnsinite/nbl.jpg

Wezza

December 22nd, 2007, 12:58 AM

Bit of a shock loss to Singapore last night for Cairns!

Cairnsinite

January 2nd, 2008, 05:54 AM

http://www.wivenhoe.gov.uk/images_various/Clip_Art/fireworks.jpgTaipans welcome new year with a "bang"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/fr/thumb/c/c4/Cairns_Taipans.jpg/114px-Cairns_Taipans.jpg 120 DEF http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/5/56/Brisbane_Bullets.jpg 112
The Cairns Taipans have celebrated the end of 2007 in style by slam dunking the defending premiers, the Brisbane Bullets, 120-112 in their HUMMER Championship NBL match at the Cairns Convention Centre on Monday in front of a near capacity crowd of 4970.

Stephen Black led the Taipans with a game high 30 points and was ably supported by Jared Newson who gave the fans a taste of his aerial ability with some big dunks amongst his 22 points.

In an explosive start to the match 20 points were scored in the opening three-and-a-half minutes as the Taipans lead 12-8. But defence dominated the rest of the quarter as both teams had to work very hard for points. A Larry Abney free throw right on the buzzer extending the home sides advantage to two points at the break, 23-21.

The Snakes came out for the second stanza on fire and blew their lead out to 12 points by scoring the first ten points of the period. But the visitors again turned to their trusty defence and a very effective full court press to close the gap to the solitary point before the Taipans fired again.

Abney exploded with nine points in the final four minutes of the term as the Taipans shot out to a 56-46 lead on the back of a 15-6 run. A Brad Williamson three-pointer the only thing able to stop the onslaught as the Bullets trailed 56-49 at the half.

Abney and Stephen Black led the way for the Taipans with 14 points apiece as Williamson and Adam Gibson had nine each for a Bullets side who went into half time with foul troubles for their key big-men Dillon Boucher (4) and Craig Bradshaw (3).

The big crowd was in full voice as the Taipans onslaught continued from the opening moments of the third. The home side took full control with a 30-18 third stanza to lead 86-68 at the final break. The visitor's aggressive defence, meanwhile, had ended up hurting the Bullets as they conceded 30 fouls, sending the Snakes to the line 19 times in the third quarter alone.

The lead blew out to as many as 22 in the final term before Brisbane launched a barrage of three pointers to get back to within single figures at the death.

The Taipans are now at 11-9 for the HUMMER Championship NBL season and have a nine day rest before hosting the Wildcats next Wednesday. The Bullets slip to 14-7 but have a chance to return to the winners list when they host the Dragons on Saturday night.

Cairns Taipans 120 (Black 30, Newson 22, Jawai 21)
Brisbane Bullets 112 (Williamson 27, Rychart 18, Bradshaw 14)
@ Cairns Convention Centre, 31/12/2007, Crowd: 4790

----------------MEAN WHILE IN TOWNSVILLE-----------------------------

http://www.thakral.com.au/oasisshop/img/logo/Gold%20Coast%20Blaze.jpg 87 DEF http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/f/fc/Townsville_Crocodiles.jpg 79

The Gold Coast Blaze have succeed in their first venture to The Swamp, ending the Townsville Crocodiles' year in a losing fashion with a 87-79 point win at the Townsville Entertainment Centre on Tuesday night.

Led by James Harvey (21), Jason Crowe (16) and Pero Cameron (16), the visitors outdid a Crocodiles outfit relying on captain John Rillie (16) Ben Pepper (15) and Daniel Egan (12) but lacking any spark from match-winner Corey Williams.

The Blaze came out the better after a close first quarter to accelerate to a 10 point lead at half time and then a 13 point lead mid-way through the third, which would ultimately prove unassailable for the home side.

Blaze coach Brendan Joyce said it was a vital win: "It's pretty pleasing, where both teams sat tonight it was about who was going to move forward," he said.

"If we loose we are still in a pretty good position but, if we win, we have a buffer and if we keep doing what we are doing we should get a home final."

Joyce praised the efforts of his players.

"I though Jason Crowe did a fantastic job on Williams and Harvey did a fantastic job on Rillie," he said.

"Collectively our guards did a great job on defence and that was where the game was decided."

The start of the first quarter was staggered by the refs whistle until Rillie found the net and Jason Crowe sank a three for the Blaze.

The whistle continued to sound, Williams quickly racking up two personal fouls and Juaquin Hawkins, Scott McGregor and Casey Frank one each.

Crowe then sank another from beyond the arc to keep the score 10 all.

The Blaze then crept ahead before Michael Cedar hit a three-pointer to lock the scores up once again.

A Ben Pepper lay up and his 11th point of the game kept the Crocs ahead 22-21 at the first break.

Crowe continued to lead the Blaze in the second, scoring his 12th point with a twirl past the Crocs defence and then a seemingly easy two.

Lightning dribbling by the import then set up Hawkins for three to give the Blaze a four-point, 34-30 lead.

Pepper tried to lift the Crocs but the side struggled for cohesion, something Cameron didn't lack, sinking a three and helping the Blaze to an unlikely 45-35 lead at half-time.

Rillie began the Crocs fight back in the third with a three-pointer to recommence proceedings.

A quiet Williams then found the net with only second scoring shot of the night.

But the Blaze kept their noses in front by outdoing the Crocs in the paint, none better than Cameron with his sixth defence rebound.

The lead looked like blowing out but free throws from Daniel Egan kept the margin respectable and the home side retained some hope.

Egan then slashed the deficit again, this time with a thee-pointer to bring the crowd to life and end the quarter trailing 57-66.

Egan continued his sudden dominance to start the final quarter by taking his scoring tally into double figures.

The sides then exchanged points, the margin lingering on 10 points.

With that, Harvey stepped up, sinking a three and making the unlikely Blaze appear likely to walk away as victors.

The Crocs fought hard to cut the margin to single figures, Young fouling out in his struggles.
But the Blaze held on for an unlikely 87-79 victory.

The Townsville Crocodiles host the South Dragons on Friday night while the Gold Coast Blaze visit the Melbourne Tigers.

Townsville Crocodiles (RiIlie 16, Pepper 15, Egan 12)
Gold Coast Blaze (Harvey 21, Crowe 16, Hawkins 16)
@Townsville Entertainment Centre 31/12/07 Attendance 4843

Cookies18

January 10th, 2008, 04:39 AM

Taipans fend off Wildcats

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Cairns Convention Centre

CAIRNS coach Alan Black says the Taipans will need to maintain concentration if they are to be a National Basketball League force this season.

The Taipans held a 17-point quarter-time lead after a near faultless opening period in the 93-89 win against the Wildcats last night but blew much of it in the second term, adding just 10 points to their score – the club’s lowest second-quarter contribution.

The four-point halftime margin allowed the game to become a half-court slog and while the Snakes’ ability to win such a contest was a good sign overall, Black was disappointed his side had allowed last night’s game to become so mired.

"The thing that probably upset us was that we didn’t go on with it and we just lost our focus," Black said. "If we’re going to make a splash this year then we’ve got to be able to keep going and keep our foot on the throttle – I think the better teams in the league are able to do that."

Black said the aberant second quarter came about when the Taipans moved away from the things that had been successful.

"Our defence in that first quarter was sensational … and I thought we let ourselves down defensively in that second quarter," he said.

"We get a lot of our baskets out of our defence.

"In the third quarter, Darnell (Mee) made a couple of really great steals and got us going again. Disappointing from a discipline standpoint to say that we played so well, and defended so well in that first quarter, and then we weren’t able to keep it going."

While Stephen Black top-scored with 26 points and Larry Abney had 25, Mee was one of the Snakes’ best in his return, the five-time defensive player of the year helping turn the tide back in Cairns’ favour with five steals and a block.

With the game in the balance midway through the third quarter, a Gary Boodnikoff three gave the Taipans a five-point break and some breathing room before Paul Rogers’ continued complaint at a call that went against the Wildcats led to consecutive technical fouls being called against him.

Fifty-one fouls were called in a physical match, with both coaches seemingly puzzled by some of the calls.

But Perth’s Scott Fisher insinuated media reports about the Wildcats’ style had influenced the referees.

"It’s in the paper every single time we come here – headline: ‘Physical Cats’... blah, blah, blah, every single time we come here" he said.

******in the meantime its back to a three-way Queensland affair with Brisbane-Cairns-Gold Coast on the nbl ladder******

§æµ

January 27th, 2008, 09:42 AM

CROCS HAMMER TAIPANS

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WHO needs Larry Abney? We've got Kelvin Robertson. The pint-sized point guard proved good things come in small packages last night as he turned out his best game ever in Crocs colours with 37 points to lead Townsville to an upset 120-113 win over the Cairns Taipans in front of a sellout crowd.

He completely overshadowed the return of former Croc Abney who put in an average performance after injurying his ankle at training on Thursday.

The 180cm Townsville junior also equalled his record of seven three-pointers in a game that he set against the West Sydney Razorbacks last year.

"There's always been a rivalry (between Townsville and Cairns), whether it's ABA or NBL it's always a game I look forward to playing," he said.

"Everything was clicking, I've been working on my shots since pre-season and at the start of the season it was working great.

"Then I went into a bit of a (slump) and I just had to keep sticking at it and the rewards came tonight."

The Crocs came out slow at the start, but exploded out of the blocks in the second quarter with a massive 42-point term which propelled them to a 62-50 halftime lead.

But they were made to work for their win as they held off a ferocious Snakes' charge in the final quarter that cut the lead back to just six points with two minutes left to play.

And they were forced to endure it without star centre Ben Pepper who fouled out ear