Gold Coast Rollers players to watch in NBL1 North season
Gold Coast Rollers coach Anthony Petrie has previewed the 2025 NBL1 North season and revealed the players to watch from his side. See which Gold Coast stars are set to make their mark here.
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The Gold Coast Rollers will enter a new era in 2025 as the club bids farewell to one of the all-time greats in Jase Cadee.
Cadee was a pivotal figure in the club’s run to back-to-back NBL1 North grand finals series in 2022 and 2023 and was one of the league’s top players throughout his four-year stint on the Glitter Strip.
However, few can discount the Rollers even without their superstar, with a new-look team set to take the NBL1 North by storm.
Anthony Petrie has continued as coach and will look to add a second NBL1 North championship to his resume after leading the side to the title in 2022.
Despite the significant turnover in players and an increase in younger players in the squad, Petrie knows settling for average is not an option and said competing for a championship is an expectation which comes with coaching the Rollers.
“We’re always trying to win, we can’t help it, it’s who we are,” he said.
“But in amongst that it is about having players come into your program and get better and feel like they’ve got the confidence to do that.
“I know how talented these young players are that they can just find their feet and keep getting better because they’re just so young in their journey.
“But we‘ve got a group that’s always competitive, they’re habits are always outstanding so they will naturally be in games by how hard they compete.”
Petrie said it would be challenge for the team to no longer have Cadee in their ranks but was excited to see how the squad steps up to fill the void.
“I think with someone like Jase, I think he was everything we wanted at our association,” he said,
“Not just because he was a really good player but he was just a fantastic human being and he was just a shining example of being really careful about who we bring in and what we want our juniors to be exposed to.
“He was just a shining example of what that looks like everyday, he was so accessible to our boys to help them.”
Players to watch
Ruben Te Rangi: A New Zealand international who is set to take on a veteran role with the side.
Te Rangi will bring much-needed physicality and toughness and has an impressive game IQ.
Boston Maslin and Preston Le Gassick: The young back-court duo have completed their apprenticeship under the guidance of Cadee and are now set top make names for themselves as starters.
The duo have starred at junior level, making Queensland sides and winning national titles but will now have the chance to make their marks against some of the nation’s top guards.
“Both Boston and Preston have incredible work ethics, we’re just trying to help them get to that next level, so Preston will go back to have another year in college and Boston’s remained locally,” Petrie said.
“Having been around Boston now for a little bit, I just can’t see how he has not landed as an NBL Development Player.
“I know we all view different things in different players but if I had a program, Boston would definitely be in it as an NBL Development Player, an extremely talented kid.”
Charles Smith IV: An American import who has just started his professional journey with a stint in Norway.
“He’s a terrific human being so fits who we are, we’re really looking forward to seeing how he develops his game in another country,” Petrie said.
Jensen Bradtke: An exciting big man who spent time in the US College system and is the son of Australian basketball legend Mark Bradtke.
“He’s been really good throughout pre-season for us,” Petrie said.
“He’s a unique talent at 6’10, he’s huge but he has a really unique skillset at his size that we don’t see at lot at juniors in Australia.
“He’s found it a little bit tricky to find minutes in the US, I think he’s just back ready to enjoy playing basketball and trying to keep developing.”
Brodie McGregor: The son of NBL legend Scott McGregor, the 17 year Gold Coast local has risen through the junior ranks at the club.
“He’s had a terrific pre-season, I’ve started him in some of our pre-season games,” Petrie said.
“To have another one of our juniors come through our pathway and then be ready to progress into men’s even though he’s a baby is also exciting.”
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