25 JANUARY 2001
Gone Troppo
by DEREK NIELSEN

Firstly, it’s great to see that first-ever sellout crowd at the Cairns Convention Centre. The Taipans have been putting together some good performances in recent weeks, and their competitiveness has been rewarded with big crowds. You can talk all you like about Townsville being undermanned on the night, but Cairns has been pushing the big teams lately, and full credit to them.

Townsville fans who made the trek up to Cairns on the weekend- and unlike the Cairns Post suggested, I’m sure there was more than 140 of us- noticed one substantial difference between the way home games are presented in each city.

Over the past few years, the Crocodiles/Suns have tried to foster a more sporting environment, where booing the player introductions is discouraged and… er, certain not-family-friendly chants aren’t allowed.

Up in Cairns, the atmosphere is very different- basically, the Taipans (as an organisation) do everything possible to make the visitors uncomfortable. Those not-family-friendly chants are common, and the announcer/sound crew even went so far as to play a “Sit Down/Shut Up” chant over the PA while Ian Stacker was talking to the scorers’ bench.

I don’t object to that- indeed, one of my favourite pastimes is going to away games and being The Bad Guy for a change- but if you’re going to promote that sort of aggro at home games, you’ll reap what you sow. If your crowds are generating negative PR, you might want to lay off on the hostility a bit.

Oh yeah, and us Townsville fans did get to chant “Scoreboard! Scoreboard!” and cheer off the winning team- payback after the courtside announcer started the chant with Cairns up in the third quarter. The final result was a close-run thing though; when asked about the result after the game, 4TO-FM announcer Steve Price said, “Never in doubt,” before clutching his heart and falling over.

The Taipans’ mascot still looks more like Mr Hankey than a snake, though.

COMPULSORY REFEREE-BAGGING SEGMENT

The game against Cairns on Saturday also marked the third time in four games that the Crocodiles have had points deducted from them, MINUTES after the fact, because the referees didn’t have a clue what they were doing. On two occasions, the new calls were correct (but they shouldn’t have been wrong in the first place), and on the third… well, I have no idea what they called, and it was overturned after two minutes of argument.

It’s nice to get the call right eventually, but can we train them up so that it doesn’t take minutes at a time to sort it out?

LOOKING BACK

I didn’t do all that well last week, but I still managed 4/7 (35/51 on the season). Okay, so I did pick Victoria over Perth- not unreasonable- and we did see a hiring, a firing, and an injury between my column and the Crocs/Tigers game. (“Excuses, excuses.”) Shut up.

LOOKING FORWARD

Cairns v Adelaide: Adelaide leads this series 2-0, and I’ll tip them to make it a clean sweep this weekend. The Sixers need to take Cairns seriously, though, as they have been very close to some big upsets recently- especially on their home court, in front of an ever-growing army of fans. You have to earn your wins in Cairns now, y’know. Sixers by 8.

Sydney v Perth (FOX): A good choice for the Fox game on Friday night. The series is split at 1-1, with both teams winning on their respective home floor. The Kings provide Perth with some matchup problems, with guys like Nielsen, Melmeth and Moore able to take it at the shorter Perth lineup, and they have a backcourt that can score big on its night. But will the Kings come to play? Wildcats by 4.

Wollongong v Victoria (FOX): Second plays third in the game of the week- note that Fox originally listed West Sydney/Melbourne for the Saturday game, but changed their minds last week. Victoria will be looking to get back to their winning ways after losing a tough one to Perth, while Wollongong are the second-hottest team in the league, having won six straight. The Titans burned me last week, so I’m going with the home team and Player of the Week, Charles Thomas. Hawks by 5.

Brisbane v Perth: Shyeah, right. Wildcats by 14.

Townsville v Adelaide: This is an important game for Adelaide, as they have the Crocodiles breathing down their necks for fourth spot; a win sees them clinch the season series over Townsville. The Crocs will be without Sam Mackinnon (for a while) and DuJuan Wiley (permanently), and will be playing their fourth game in nine days; Adelaide are backing up as well but should be at almost full-strength. It saddens me to say it, but Sixers by 4.

West Sydney v Melbourne (Netcast at tigers.com.au): The Razorbacks’ win against Adelaide should be a real boost to this side, who still have a chance at making the playoffs. The recent indifferent form of the Kings and Tigers only helps their chances, but Melbourne might be about to turn their season around. They have the rebounder they need to help Bradtke down low (go Clarence!), and they still have The Big Three- meaning I think they’ll take this one and jump two clear of the Kings for sixth spot. Tigers by 7.

Deep Thoughts
3 FEBRUARY, 2001
Miscellaneous notes about the state of the league- some even positive!
Gone Troppo
25 JAN 2001
It's okay to rev up your home crowds, but eventually you reap what you sow.
Shades of Grey
17 JAN 2001
The referees under fire?  Surely not!  Whatever next?