Makuach Maluach’s form rises since signing with Sydney Kings among five things learnt from NBL1 North Round 9
There was plenty to learn following a round where the Darwin Salties clicked back into gear and found rhythm. Here’s what the coaches had to say.
Northern Territory
Don't miss out on the headlines from Northern Territory. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Darwin Salties got their season back on track in Round 9 with double digit wins in both the men’s and women’s NBL1 North competition.
With a healthy crowd at the Croc Pot on a weekend where competitor codes hosted nearby matches, the Salties stood tall, defeating Sunshine Coast’s Rip City by 11 points in the women’s game before a 12-point victory in the men’s.
The wins put the women’s side to second position on the table while the men rose to fifth spot.
Here’s what we learnt from Round 9.
Flinn ‘really happy’ with revenge win over top-rated City
Darwin Salties men’s coach Matt Flinn was pleased to get a win over Rip City in the quarter-final rematch on Saturday night.
The Salties had their debut season ended in the finals last year when they lost to City by three points away from home.
But this time, it was the Salties who gave them a lesson at the Croc Pot with a dominant 30-16 third quarter, leading to a strong 12-point victory.
“I was really happy with that performance,” Flinn said.
“They are a good team Rip City, they’re extremely talented, they have got the MVP of the league last year in Kouat Noi.
“They got a pretty smart import point guard and Matt Kenyon has joined that group as well and they have just got a bunch of role players.
“They have been playing together for a while so really happy (with the performance).
“That team is predicted to be thereabouts at the end in the playoffs.
“So it was really good for us to get that win and start to build a little bit of momentum now into next week’s home game and then a really tough road trip coming up.”
Flinn said a few players who were involved in last year’s final had a “sneaky word” about last year’s final loss and getting revenge on City in the pre-game.
Tremlett impressed with multiple performers from City win
The Salties had multiple contributors in their strong win over City on Saturday evening.
Co-captain Erin Bollmann was the leading performer with a near triple-double after having 16 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in the game.
Ruby Porter had 12 points and six assists, Chelsea Brook had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Catherine McGregor had 20 points and three steals.
Tsubasa Nisbet was also a handy contributor with 10 points and five rebounds.
“Five of six in double figures is always great,” Salties women’s coach Rod Tremlett said.
“Really good spread (of performers).
“Erin missing out on a triple double by one rebound was a great performance.
“Certainly Ruby Porter was outstanding, I thought, 12 points and six assists meant a lot to the group.
“And Cat McGregor was unbelievable in the first half with 20 points.”
The wide array of stat getters was a pleasing aspect for Tremlett.
“I thought we made some great team decisions,” he said.
“I think the most pleasing stat of the game is we had 28 team assists to their nine.
“That just shows that we shared the ball and got the job done as a team.
“That is our real advantage against all the teams in the competition, we are really deep in talent and if we share the ball, we’re really happy going so really pleasing.”
Makuach Maluach hits top form since signing with new NBL club
Darwin Salties co-captain Makuach Maluach has hit strong form ever since signing with reigning NBL champions Sydney Kings about a month ago.
Maluach has switched over from Melbourne United to the Kings this off-season while representing the Salties in NBL1.
The six-foot-seven forward has had a double-double in all his Salties games in the past month since putting pen to paper on a transfer to the New South Wales NBL club.
Prior to signing, the 25-year-old had three slightly quieter games with no double-double.
In Saturday's win over Rip City, he was on fire with 29 points and 11 rebounds.
“He is one of those explosive athletes,” Flinn said.
“If you don’t have plan for him and how you are going to guard him, things can get away from you with him.
“He is at his best when he is attacking the rim and he shoots the ball really well.
“He is in a really good space up here and he loves Darwin.
“We are really looking forward to continuing his development and we are looking forward to him going into a big year with the Sydney Kings.”
Maluach went to school and college in Sydney and has a lot of family there.
Flinn said he thought it was “a really good move” for Maluach’s career.
‘Would be amazing’: High targets set for upcoming triple-headers
The Darwin Salties will play two triple headers as part of their finish to the NBL1 North season.
The first triple-header road trip will begin next week where three games will be played in three days.
Salties women’s coach Rod Tremlett has set out a goal for his side in the difficult schedule.
“We would like to win two in each of the away triple-headers so if we can get four from six that would be amazing,” he said.
“That in itself is a big ask so we got to be really prepared in the scout.
“There is not a lot of time in the turn around of games. I think it is six o’clock tip off then five o’clock then 11:30am the next morning so it is a big ask.”
Preparation starts now for triple-headers
Even though the big road trips for the Salties are still more than a week away, preparations have started for the games.
With three games being played in three days, planning has already begun for each game.
The opposition scouting has to happen in advance rather than between games with so little time in between.
It will be a crucial period for the Salties with six of their 19 games in the regular season coming in these road trips.
Salties Central: Five things we learnt from Round 8 of NBL1 North action
The Salties had a challenging road trip in Round 8 where the team back in their traditional colours lost three out of four games and were made to work hard for their sole victory.
The win came by a point over Mackay on Friday night which extended the Saltie women’s win streak to eight before it was ended by Rockhampton the following night.
In the men’s team, their three game win streak heading into the double-header was also crushed as Mackay lifted to a six-point win on Friday night before another loss came to Rockhampton the following night.
Here’s what we learnt from Round 8.
No team is a walk over
This publication was told last week that “the competition really starts now” with teams gaining their imports and full squads at this point of the season.
Those words from Salties women’s guard Jessica Boundy before Round 8 couldn’t ring truer with Rockhampton, who were bottom-placed, knocking off the Salties’ men’s side by 10 points in an upset.
Despite the Rockets going into the game with a poor 0-7 record, they lined up a different side and they left with their first win of the season.
“They (Rockhampton) changed some of their personal and brought in a new import so they were a very different team, they were a very desperate team,” Salties men’s coach Matt Flinn said.
“We fought really hard but at this level, effort is just a prerequisite to play here.
“I felt like we fell down in some of the execution areas of the game particularly at the defensive end of the floor.”
So with teams potentially coming out with different sides in Round 8 and in future, it is possible that the ladder may not be an accurate indication of where teams might be at so every game is crucial.
Salties’ men: Second halves and defensive end an ‘issue’
The Salties men’s team have given up or lost strong first half leads in all of their last three matches.
In the weekend’s double-header, the Salties gave up a nine-point halftime lead and ended up losing the Mackay game by six points.
The following day against Rockhampton, the Salties were thrashed 30-16 in the third quarter after leading by as much as five points in the first half.
Flinn said he was aware of the problem and the importance of fixing it.
“It’s an issue we have to start to get better at, those third and fourth quarters,” he said.
“We are really good front runners, we start fast, we lead the league in points per possession, but again, a lot of our system flows from the defensive end of the floor.
“While we are a very entertaining team to watch, you can’t get out and run without having a strong foundation defensively.
“I just feel like our third and fourth quarters defensively are not good enough and what that does is it just puts a lot of scoreboard pressure on us.”
In the previous week, the Salties gained a 24-point halftime lead against Mackay at the Croc Pot but ended up losing both third and fourth quarters and had their winning margin cut to 14 points in the end.
Flinn said his side were looking at ways of solving the issue so they can “put four quarters together” and “be a very good basketball team.”
“We’re addressing that, this group we have had a fair few injuries this year which influences your depth,” he said.
“Whenever you can’t rotate people in, that certainly affects the way you play and the way you can get up the floor and pressure the ball which is something we hang our hat on.
“It’s an issue we got to look at and something that we are addressing trying to close out games and put four quarters together.
“We haven’t really done that yet as a group, if and when we do that, we’re going to be a very good basketball team that will hopefully contest in the playoffs.”
Tremlett content following ‘tough’ road trip
Salties women’s coach Rod Tremlett said he would look at the road trip as a “success” for the women’s side despite suffering their first loss of the season to Rockhampton on Saturday.
“Every time you can split a road trip … really proud of the group,” Tremlett said.
“It’s a tough road trip; to play Mackay and Rocky at their home is probably the toughest road trip in the competition.
“While we all wanted to keep the win streak going, still really see the week as a success being able to split the road trip the way we did.”
Tremlett said he was “really pleased” to get Catherine McGregor and Ruby Porter back into the rotations following multiple weeks where the pair were out of the team due to an ankle injury and illness respectively.
He also said his side was stoked to get on the right side of the ledger in their one-point triumph over Mackay.
“It does galvanise the group,” Tremlett said about the nail biting victory.
“It’s a tough win, it’s a close win, it’s high energy, high emotion so they’re great wins to have.
“The girls get around each other after a win like that which is really good.”
Makuach Maluach ‘a positive’ from tough road trip
While the Salties’ men’s side went down in both their road trip matches, a shining light from the double-header was the performance of co-captain Makuach Maluach.
The 25-year-old forward, who played for Melbourne United in the NBL last season, had 28 points and 11 rebounds in Friday night’s clash against Mackay and he followed it up with 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine steals the following day against Rockhampton.
Salties coach Flinn said he was stoked with Maluach efforts when speaking to media on Monday morning.
“He is a great player, he shoots the ball well, he is extremely athletic and he runs the floor well,” Flinn said.
“He can certainly score the ball and he can score it in a variety of ways.
“He was heavily recruited in the NBL; there is no surprises why.
“The good thing about Makuach is he is getting better at the defensive end.
“He is a leader for us, he is a leader on-and-off the floor.
“You got to have a plan for Makuach when you play against him.”
Tremlett credits co-captains, Chelsea Brook and Erin Bollmann
Salties women’s coach Rod Tremlett was complimentary of his two leaders who stepped up in back-to-back games in the Queensland road trip.
Chelsea Brook, who plays for Adelaide Lightning in the WNBL, had a strong Round 8 with 22 points, 10 rebounds and two assists against Mackay on Friday night before picking up 11 points, six rebounds and three steals the following day against Rockhampton.
“Chelsea is the conduit professional,” Tremlett said about Brook.
“She has been in the WNBL for seven years and she is 24.
“We rely on Chelsea a lot and not just for her on the court performance but the way she leads the group off the court.
“She is kind of a quiet leader but she has got so much respect for the group.
“She just goes out and gets her job done every week so we don’t have to worry about whether Chelsea is going to get the job done for us in any game, we know that is a given.”
Erin Bollman, who comes from Southeast Missouri in the United States, had 18 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and five steals in Friday’s win before following it up with five points, seven rebounds and seven assists on Saturday.
“Erin is just a competitive beast, that’s Erin’s great strength, she just wants to win; that was shown in the Mackay game,” Tremlett said about Bollmann.
“She is battling with those wrists as you can see.
“A lesser player would probably sit out the six months and rest and come back next season but that’s just not in Erin’s DNA.
“And again, her leadership on the floor is sensational and you couple that with her competitive spirit and she is a great player.”
Tremlett said Bollmann wrist issue was being managed day-by-day and that she hadn’t been close to missing a game so far this season.
Salties Central: Five things we learnt from Round 8 of NBL1 North action
It was a magical Round 7 for the Darwin Salties who picked up two impressive wins over Mackay to solidify top four spots in the men’s and women’s NBL1 North competitions.
The women’s side overcame a major setback during the week to defeat the Meteorettes 82-56 before the men flexed their muscles in a 102-88 victory over the Meteors later in the evening.
The women’s side sit in second on the ladder with a 7-0 record while the men are 5-2 and in fourth position.
Both Salties teams came out on fire with the home crowd cheering them on as they got out to 20 points leads in the first quarter on Saturday.
Here’s what we learnt from Round 7.
Tremlett impressed with depth of squad
Salties women’s coach Rod Tremlett was made to work extra hard last week following a gastro illness which swept through the group including some of the coaches.
But what came from the difficult circumstance was a new understanding that the Salties have got strong depth in their squad.
Tremlett complimented a number of his players who stepped up in the Salties biggest win of the season (26 points) post game.
“I mean Kylie started tonight but she has been a role player for us and her energy has been fantastic the last two games,” Tremlett said.
“I thought Abbey Wood for her minutes was good even thought she was unwell, I thought she showed real poise as a young player which was really great.
“And then Sophie Johnston played the most minutes in our team tonight … her defensive pressure is outstanding and she is in great physical state.
“So I thought it was great from all those ladies tonight.”
Kylie Duggan had seven rebounds and three steals in the match and Abbey Wood fired with two 3-balls from three attempts beyond the arc.
Johnston, who played 32 minutes, had six points, four rebounds, three assists, a steal and block.
Salties co-captain Erin Bollmann said she was also pleased with the work of her team’s bench.
“It was amazing to see our bench show up and give a contribution like they did today,” Bollmann said post game.
Co-captains shining lights alongside resilient Wood
Darwin Salties co-captains Bollmann and Chelsea Brook stepped up for the Salties after overcoming illnesses alongside other teammates during the week.
Bollmann had 32 points, nine rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks in the game including 10 points, three rebounds and two steals in the first quarter which led her side to a magnificent 25-4 opening.
Brook was also influential in the Salties victory with 19 points and five rebounds, including the first bucket which was the first of a trio of three-balls for the forward in the game.
“We knew with Ruby and Cath out, that’s leaving some points on the sideline for us so we knew Chelsea and Erin were going to have to be good tonight and I thought they really were,” coach Tremlett said post game.
Abbey Wood, who was still feeling unwell but fought through the challenge, stepped up for her best game of the season.
The guard had to sit out the final quarter as she felt sick, but she impressively scored two 3-balls from three attempts and finished the game with a season-high six points from seven minutes of play.
Jamerson, Foketi firing against former side highlights top Salties recruiting
The performances by skipper Jerron Jamerson and Viliami Foketi against their former club Mackay highlighted not only their individual brilliance but also the strong recruiting by the Salties men.
Jamerson had 29 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals in the 14-point win and Foketi had five three-pointers in the game for a total of 15 points, six rebounds and three assists.
The pair have been key players in the Salties line up this season with Jamerson being a regular starter and Foketi either starting or being a great option on Matt Flinn’s bench.
Foketi said his teammates were providing strong support which helped him perform with five 3-balls from 12 attempts in Saturday’s game.
“Honestly, it is just the work that we put in, we train four times a week and then I do my own individual work on top of that,” Foketi said.
“And honestly, I have got so many great teammates as well so fortunately, I get open shots and then it’s all about knocking them down.”
MacGregor, Porter expected to return
The Salties are set to receive a boost when regular starters Catherine MacGregor and Ruby Porter return this week for back-to-back games which begin with a rematch against Mackay on Friday followed by Rockhampton Cyclones on Saturday.
Salties women’s coach Tremlett told this publication that he expected the pair to be on the road with the side for the double header.
“It will be fantastic for us,” he said.
“We are going to need that depth with two games in two days.”
On the other hand, the Meteorettes could be without their star import Brittany Reeves who injured what looked to be her calf in Saturday’s game against the Salties at the Croc Pot.
The 194 cm American was playing in her second game for the Meteorettes and had to come off in the third quarter where she received treatment.
After going back on later in the game, Reeves returned to the bench a short time later in discomfort and remained off for the rest of the match.
Riak’s potential is sky high
A thrilling 10-2 lead to start the game against Mackay sparked by Deng Riak proved just how talented the big man is.
The forward had seven points, two rebounds, an assist and won the jumpball in the opening two minutes of the game to put his side up by eight points.
He finished the game with 14 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.
The 27-year-old showed just how special he can be for the Salties side.
Riak has put together a strong season so far with an average of 8.43 points, 1.71 assists and 8.29 rebounds from the first seven games.
More Coverage
Originally published as Makuach Maluach’s form rises since signing with Sydney Kings among five things learnt from NBL1 North Round 9
A watchful eye: How Border Force is combating drug cartels in Northern Australia
As drug cartels become craftier, the challenge to protect the nation becomes more difficult. See how Border Force officers operate in the Top End at sea and on land.
East Arnhem CEO holds grave fears new Groote council will be a puppet
The CEO of East Arnhem Regional Council, which will hand over the Groote Archipelago to a newly created council later this year, fears government underfunding will lead the new body into the arms of a controversial land council.