Former Melbourne championship forward Mason Peatling thriving in starting role as top team Illawarra plots United’s downfall
He stepped up when it mattered in a Melbourne United NBL title but Mason Peatling is now a key figure in Illawarra’s stunning season and any sentiment for his former club is out the door when the one-v-two blockbuster tips off.
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Once the workhorse on a Melbourne United championship team, Mason Peatling is now plotting his former club’s downfall in a one-v-two NBL blockbuster as a key cog on the top-of-the-table Illawarra Hawks’ juggernaut.
The 27-year-old power forward has been the ultimate plug-in-and-play man since he stepped up as a development player for Melbourne United and helped United win the 2021 NBL title after Jack White went down with a season-ending injury.
The two nominal title favourites will go in to battle in Wollongong on Saturday night with top spot up for grabs — and Peatling knows better than most what to expect.
“I’ve got tight relationships with a lot of those guys (at United) but once the game starts, it’s you against them, it doesn’t really matter who it is on the other team, they’re wearing a different colour jersey,” Peatling said.
“I spent a lot of years in that locker room learning off some of the best coaches and players Australia has to offer, so it’s held me in really good stead and I sort of know how the coaches and players think and what sort of things they’ll want to do against certain players on our team.”
After making the switch to Illawarra prior to last season, Peatling began his second year in the ‘Gong out of the rotation. But coach Justin Tatum’s call to shift the no-nonsense big man into the starting line-up following November’s FIBA break has proven a masterstroke.
It might have even been an obvious one, given his past history, but Peatling’s unselfish attitude, intangibles and tough-as-nails defence has been a circuit breaker for the starting five and released the pressure on young import Darius Days, who is making an impact off the bench.
His numbers won’t always jump off the page, but it’s the things Peatling does that don’t reflect on the stat sheet that has helped Illawarra peel wins in eight of their last 12 games — the four losses by 3, 3, 3 and 5 points as the toughest beat in the league.
“It’s been a really good year for us so far, there’s a real confidence in the group that, over a 40-minute game, our depth will really challenge teams,” he said.
“I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity and I’m really glad that it’s had a positive impact on the team, more than anything.
“To now be put in this position is something I don’t take for granted, so every time I step on the floor I try to take the game with both hands.”
United assistant Rhys Carter said Peatling would always have a special place at United.
“We’ve always stayed in touch on non-basketball stuff, he’s a starting power forward on a championship team with us and he’ll always be that,” Carter said.
“I love what he did for us, he’s doing similar things with them now and I’m happy for him to go and keep building his career.”
Injuries to Goulding and Marcus Lee and form struggles for Jack White and Ian Clark have challenged United after they won 12 of their first 16.
Carter believes his side is not far from its best.
“We had a bit of a patch there before Christmas where we burned a lot of minutes into a lot of guys and got a bit tired and that limited the amount of extra work we could do,” Carter said.
“We’re back in a really good routine the last couple of weeks and it’s only a matter of time, training’s been really good and mindset’s good.
“Everyone’s up for it and knows how big it is, so we’ll see what we’re made of.”
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Originally published as Former Melbourne championship forward Mason Peatling thriving in starting role as top team Illawarra plots United’s downfall
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