NBL: Penalties have been handed down after rivalry exploded
One of Australia’s greatest modern sporting rivalries exploded last Sunday and now penalties have been handed out.
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Melbourne United’s Mason Peatling has copped a one-game suspension and four players and an assistant coach were fined in the wake of the bench-clearing brawl that lit up the NBL clash with cross-town rivals South East Melbourne Phoenix last weekend.
Peatling had a two-ban game reduced to one after an early guilty plea for the incident. He was thrown out of the game for a heavy bump after a big dunk from Mitch Creek which sent the Throwdown into fever pitch.
The total fines handed out to those who were held accountable for the melee that followed amounted to just $2250, with each person hit with a $375 penalty.
The NBL match review panel handed down their findings on Wednesday and South East Melbourne Phoenix CEO Tommy Greer said he was “disappointed” in the proceedings after Kyle Adnam, Izayah Leafa and Creek were charged with engage in melee/brawl.
“While we remain disappointed with the the handling of the incident and treatment of our players on the night we want the season to get back to being about basketball,” Greer said.
United trio Peatling, veteran Dave Barlow and assistant coachJustin Schueller, whowas charged with unsportsmanlike behaviour, all copped their fines.
The Hungry Jack’s NBL advises the Game Review Panel (GRP) has completed its assessment of incidents in Round 2, and has handed down a number of sanctions #NBL22https://t.co/zjnM00Pddl
— The NBL (@NBL) December 15, 2021
Creek has declared his South East Melbourne Phoenix won’t stand for the “inappropriate” off ball hit that sparked the huge brawl on Sunday.
He conceded his own reaction “may not have been the most professional” as he went after Peatling but said it was important to make a stand after being blindsided.
“I literally turned. I didn’t even see him coming. I was still sort of screaming and yelling like an absolute idiot,” Creek said on Monday.
“I was pretty tense and was yelling and as I turned I kind of just got blindsided. I didn’t see it at all.
“I didn’t really realise what had happened until I hit the deck and once my brain went ‘oh actually that’s probably not okay’, that’s all it took for me to jump up.
“The reaction I had may not have been the most professional, but at the same time if you take the basketball away from it, it was an inappropriate play and something we won’t stand for as a club.
“At the end of the day it is what it is. I’m not here to name names or point fingers. It’s a play that was made and it definitely brings a little more spice to Throwdowns now I think.”
“It was actually pretty cold in the gym and he’s such a nice guy, I just wanted to go and give him a big bear hug. That was all. I don’t know why everyone was booing me. He’s got soft skin apparently, I wanted to see if it really was that soft.”
"If you want to play that way, they can f---ing play that way..."
— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) December 12, 2021
Mitch Creek didn't mince words when talking about the melee which marred the #NBL22 Throwdown 🤬
MORE ðŸ“: https://t.co/tWbsQcs9iH
THE SLAM THAT STARTED IT ALL â¬‡ï¸ pic.twitter.com/CWrfW6Iv1X
Creek added he has no regrets about the huge dunk which helped the Phoenix make a statement win over the reigning NBL champions.
No. That’s just like saying ‘do you get out of bed in the morning’,” Creek told SEN.
“It’s a part of life mate, you lay it up, you shoot the ball, you dunk it, you turn it over, you make plays and that’s all I did.
“I’m never going to apologise for dunking, let alone dunking on an opposition player, I don’t think that’s in my being to apologise for that. If it is I think I’m going to hang up the boots tomorrow. Definitely no regrets at all.”
RIVALRY EXPLODED
It was always going to be intense.
But the Throwdown between bitter cross-town rivals Melbourne United and South East Melbourne went nuclear as the two teams mixed it up on John Cain Arena.
United has always been top dog in town. But, as Phoenix star Mitch Creek threw down one of the most brutal poster dunks on United’s Boomers Olympic bronze medallist Matthew Dellavedova, tensions reached boiling point.
As Creek roared, United big man Mason Peatling did not take kindly to the celebration, coming through with his body with a cheap shot that rocked the Phoenix jet.
“Tempers have flared in Throwdown XIII,” said Jack Heverin in commentary for ESPN.
“Really silly stuff from Peatling. Not necessary.”
“What was Peatling thinking? Sometimes you’ve just got to wear it,” agreed Andrew Gaze.
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An incensed Creek made a beeline for Peatling, as the two teams came together in a push and shove.
Creek came away smarting, clutching his jaw.
After a long review, the referees threw Peatling out of the stadium and Creek received a technical foul for taunting.
The mostly United crowd spent the rest of the night booing Creek every time he touched it.
“THROWDOWN XIII HAS EXPLODED!!,” South East Melbourne Phoenix tweeted.
#NBL22 MADNESS
— Herald Sun Sport (@heraldsunsport) December 12, 2021
A Mitch Creek poster dunk has sparked madness in the NBL. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/6izAJu00lz
Somewhere in there, a game broke out.
And it was an entertaining one that lived up to the hype, Phoenix looking the victor with an 18-point lead in the second quarter, before United hit back with a vengeance.
After a blistering first four minutes, United needed all nine of Dellavedova’s points in the second quarter as, after trying to get his teammates going in the first, he took matters into his own hands.
But Munford had eight points of his own at the other end to virtually cancel out the Aussie Olympic bronze medallist’s contribution.
United would take the lead a minute into the last quarter, but Munford would put the Phoenix ahead for good with a nifty layup with a tick over six minutes to go.
Less than 48 hours after pouring in a career-high 36 points on New Zealand, Mitch Creek went into his bag of tricks again to contribute all over the floor, notching 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Dellavedova had his best game for United so far, hitting 19 points to go with 10 rebounds and five assists — and some pretty stifling defence.
But, aside from the third-quarter fisticuffs, the battle between towering big men Zhou Qi and Jo Lual-Acuil was everything and more hoops fans could have hoped for.
The ‘Two Joes’ men dominated each other, muscling up in a big man war that is among the NBL’s most memorable.
They had their own personal block party, Lual-Acuil with 17 points and six rejections and Qi, who took the points on the night with a near triple-double — 22 points 10 rebounds and seven blocks.
Qi’s only real blemish was a pair of missed free throws that gave fans free Hungry Jacks — cold comfort for United fans.
Both teams will next play the Sydney Kings, United on Thursday night in Melbourne and the Phoenix head to Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday, beginning a stretch of five games away from Melbourne.
They don’t return home until January 10, when they will play new franchise Tasmania for the first time.
Champions champed by Phoenix
Melbourne United unfurled its championship banner to Queen’s ‘We Are The Champions’, celebrating their stunning 2021 victory.
But, on this night, South East Melbourne Phoenix owned the city, 94-86.
There’s a steely determination among coach Simon Mitchell’s men that have the ‘Little Brother’ challenging for King of Melbourne.
Agada beginning to deliver?
After starting throughout the pre-season Blitz, United import Caleb Agada admitted he was struggling to adapt to the NBL. Moved to the bench for the season proper as Vickerman searched for the right mix, Agada had not had the impact his side needed before Sunday. And, after an airball from deep on his first shot, it looked like the Nigerian’s struggles would continue. And, while his shot was still off — five for just 17 — he would channel his frustrations to help spark United’s fightback, finishing with 16 points, 11 of those coming in the third quarter run.
We see you Sydney
The Kings had Nick Kyrgios, Anthony Mundine and a smattering of A-League and NRL players in attendance when they hosted Melbourne last week. United showed it is still the league’s glamour club with megastar recording artist Tones and I, comedians Peter Hellier and Tommy Little, AFL captains Marcus Bontempelli and Scott Pendlebury and Melbourne Tigers great — and father of the NBA’s Ben — Dave Simmons all in town to watch the Throwdown. United has also introduced a ‘Legends box’ at home games to celebrate past players, with South East Melbourne sharpshooter Andrew Parkinson and Tigers enforcer Ray Gordon occupying it on Sunday.
Peatling apologises
Melbourne United forward Mason Peatling has apologised to his coach after he was thrown out of the game for a bump on South East Melbourne’s Mitch Creek that sent the Throwdown into fever pitch.
The NBL’s game review panel will pore over footage of the incident and decide whether further sanctions will be imposed.
Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell questioned why United forward David Barlow, who was on the bench at the time, was allowed to continue to play, after he tried to play peacemaker.
But the referees determined the scuffle occurred in the Melbourne bench area, which meant no United players technically left the bench.
The on-court video review of the melee, which followed Creek’s roaring celebration of a highlight reel poster dunk that sent United guard Matthew Dellavedova sprawling, took several minutes as the replay centre analysed each player’s role.
“Peatling’s a good kid, I like him, (but) I think if he had his time back, he wouldn’t do that — emotions got the better of him,” Mitchell said.
“I think Izayah (Le’Afa) has got to refrain from jumping in as first man.
“I don’t think Creek did anything to warrant the reaction that it got.
“Our guys kept their cool, they stayed on the bench, they did the right thing.”
Mitchell said he would seek clarification from the league on why Barlow, who was a peacemaker, was not ejected.
United coach Dean Vickerman said a contrite Peatling would learn from the incident.
“He’s already approached me about it. He apologised, saying ‘I saw my teammate getting disrespected, I’ve got to be better in how I counter that one without getting thrown out of the game’,” Vickerman said.
“He’s already assessed himself that he needs to be smarter in that situation.”
Vickerman said there was a broader issue in sport around competitions cracking down on celebrations.
“Somewhere, sport has started to discourage celebration,” he said.
“Mitch Creek makes a great play, he celebrates and then the league and others decide how much people are allowed to celebrate.
“We had a (former United centre) Shawn Long dunk a couple of seasons ago where he just kind of screamed at himself and got a tech foul.
“I’m not going to make a statement about what Creeky did was right or wrong. Mason thought it was disrespectful and he gave Creeky a little bump there and then all the boys came in.
“Does Creeky come in and retaliate? Is that worth a tech foul or should he be out of the game?
“There’s a million things that could have happened out of that incident, I’ll be interested to see how the referees view that whole situation.”
For the record, Dellavedova didn’t think much of Creek’s dunk.
“I don’t really care about getting dunked on,” Dellavedova said.
“I’ve been dunked on worse than that before.
“It was a good play by him.”
NBA stars new to Showdown
One is the most popular native basketballer in a country of more than a billion people.
The other helped the Boomers to a groundbreaking Olympic medal in Tokyo.
But 216cm Chinese giant Zhou Qi and feisty Aussie point guard Matthew Dellavedova had one thing in common on Sunday afternoon — their first taste of The Showdown between Melbourne United and South East Melbourne Phoenix.
And so it was fitting that the two men who have walked vastly different paths to success would star as the two Melbourne teams put on a basketball show at John Cain Arena.
Qi began in a blaze of glory, with a huge rejection at one end — the first of a remarkable seven for the game — before grabbing an offensive rebound and stuffing it home with two hands at the other to open the Phoenix scoring. He would finish with 22 points to go with 10 rebounds, keying the Phoenix’s 94-86 win.
Dellavedova was a relative bystander as Phoenix roared out to an 18-point lead, held scoreless in the first quarter.
But the NBA champion took matters into his own hands in the second, scoring nine of his team-high 19 points to begin the revival.
Delly added 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals and, while he was pumped by the fan support, he said one thing was missing.
“The crowd was awesome, I thought early they didn’t have much to cheer about but, when we started getting stuck in defensively and made a bit of a run there in the third quarter it was really loud,” Dellavedova said, post game.
“In a time-out, I remember just having a smile on my face thinking ‘this is pretty cool’.
“That’s what (United captain Chris) Goulding’s been telling me about and I’ve been looking forward to experiencing.
“That part was cool, just would have been nice to finish it with a win.”
Qi had four fouls against United and three against the Breakers Friday night, some that left him throwing his hands up in frustration.
But Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell says the fault is not in the “jewel in the crown” of the NBL, but in the referees.
“I feel like the referees actually need to adjust to him,” Mitchell said of the unique big man.
“You go back to the game on Friday night against New Zealand and he gets called for a moving screen when he’s pushed into a guy who grabs him. There’s no adjustment for him to be made. He gets called for a pushout on an offensive rebound when there is no pushout – that’s not an adjustment he has to make. I’ve got video all through the pre-season of things that are very, very similar.
“He needs to be allowed to play.
“He’s such a good kid, he’s such a good player, he’s such a jewel in the crown of this league and we’ve got to have him on the floor.”
SCOREBOARD
Melbourne United 86-94 South East Melbourne Phoenix
Crowd: 6361
United:
Dellavedova 19 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists
Lual-Acuil 17 points, 6 blocks
Agada 16 points
Ili 14 points
Phoenix:
Qi 22 points, 10 rebounds, 7 blocks
Creek 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
Munford 16 points
Broekhoff 14 points, 6 rebounds
‘They p*** me off’: Phoenix coach ignites Throwdown
There has never been any love lost between cross-town rivals South East Melbourne and Melbourne United.
As they gear up for Sunday’s incarnation of the Throwdown, Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell has bluntly declared the reigning champions “p*** me off”.
“I don’t like them,” Mitchell said after his side stopped New Zealand 95-88 on Friday night.
“The Throwdown’s a great event (but) we don’t like each other.”
Mitchell, who spent four years at United before taking on the Phoenix job in 2018, says there are friendships away from basketball, but once Sunday comes around, all bets are off.
“We may get along, I know me and Deano (United coach Vickerman) get along and (Phoenix assistant) Juddy (Flavell) and Deano, there’s people who are genuinely friends off the court, but I turn up to the gym and I don’t like them,” he said.
“It’s an organisation that I respect highly, it’s an organisation I had wonderful years in, but I just like us.
“I really want success for our team, I want success for our players and our front office and all of our work is in our fans.
“Melbourne’s one of those teams that’s going to stand in between us and what I want for these people and so they p*** me off.
“Good on them for winning last year, it’s on, let’s go.”
Phoenix enter Sunday’s game warm favourites, but Melbourne United big man Mason Peatling says he is raring to be unleashed.
A member of United’s 2020-21 title-winning side, Peatling says he and his teammates relish the chance to win bragging rights in the NBL “Throwdown”.
“You always want to be the best team in your home state and so since we’ve got another team to compete with, it just adds fuel to the fire,” Peatling said on Friday.
“Every year we play them, and more and more, games are going down to the wire. It adds a sense of drama to the rivalry.
“It’s a good thing for both franchises.”
Peatling and United coach Dean Vickerman are both expecting a fast, physical affair.
“The South East Melbourne Phoenix are one of the form teams going around; you don’t take them lightly,” Peatling said.
“I’m sure it’s going to be a physical contest. We’re looking forward to it.”
Vickerman assured United fans his troops were ready to bounce back from their round one loss to the Sydney Kings
“From the response that we’ve seen, we expect our communication to better than it was in the Sydney game,” he said.
“We expect to play a little faster than we did in the Sydney game as well. A lot of (our preparation) has been about the detail of our offence – that’s something that let us down for about 15 minutes in that game in Sydney.”
Vickerman said the side would welcome veteran David Barlow back with open arms, but admitted he was still unsure whether influential captain Chris Goulding would recover from a hamstring injury in time to take to the court.
“Barlow helps with our execution at both ends of the floor,” Vickerman said.
“We look forward to having him back.
“Chris got into some competitive work (on Friday), which is a great step forward. He’ll probably need a little bit more work and we’ll get some of that (on Saturday), then we’ll make our assessment from there.”
Vickerman said his side had done its homework on Phoenix import Zhou Qi, a man whose imposing height is only matched by his lofty NBA reputation.
“His rim protection, when I look back and watch him, it’s not unlike playing on Andrew Bogut. He really makes you adjust around the rim,” Vickerman said.
“He’s a high-quality player. We look forward to the challenge of going against him.
“He’s an anchor for their defence. We’ve got to make sure we can drag him away from the rim at different times.”
Peatling is encouraging all United fans to get along to the Throwdown, which will be his side’s first home game without capacity restrictions since March.
“I love playing in front of John Cain Arena, in front of a packed-out crowd. It still gives me goosebumps running out in front of the fans,” he said.
“It’ll be a lot of fun. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Originally published as NBL: Penalties have been handed down after rivalry exploded
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