QBL glory sacrificed chasing NBL dream
Far North talent missing out as mighty Marlins revert to a Taipans training ground
WHAT will the Cairns Marlins stand for going forward?
There is a quote from my early days in the Far North that has stuck in my mind.
Then Marlins captain James Mitchell said he loved playing with the 2016 QBL squad because they were playing as a group, for one goal – a QBL title. The Marlins were seen as contenders and not just a development squad, which some felt had been the case in seasons gone by.
It appears the Marlins reverted to being a Taipans training ground in 2017.
If you plot back through the season, it appears countless major decisions were made in the best interests of the Taipans program, but possibly to the detriment of the Marlins.
For the majority of the Marlins squad to play three games in between QBL quarter and semi-finals showed that perhaps preseason games against college teams were more important than a crack at backto-back state league titles.
The Marlins were knocked out by Townsville on Saturday night and there must be a level of frustration by those in the group at having had to play five games in eight days instead of resting for a QBL final.
In 20 years’ time I wonder if these blokes will be sitting around saying: “How good was that day we lost to Texas in a preseason game?”
A QBL title would have been a career pinnacle for some and the Marlins, with six professional players in their squad, should have won it in a canter if they were rested.
The mid-season injection of Stephen Weigh and Kuany Kuany is also a case in point.
Don’t get me wrong, Weigh and Kuany are elite players at the QBL level, but bringing them into an absolutely rolling Marlins unit, who were 8-2 at the time, almost derailed their season. The coaching staff and players spoke about “starting again”, integrating two pieces that demanded touches and teaching Kuany the entire offence on the fly to give him a headstart for the NBL season.
Alex Loughton was brought in as an injury replacement for Weigh. Loughton should have finished the season to ensure continuity for the Marlins. Instead Weigh was brought back to prepare for the NBL season.
This is not about individual players but the direction of the program.
Weigh is a star in the QBL but Loughton had the flow of playing with the Marlins squad for almost 18 months.
Taipans-contracted players made up the top seven for minutes played on the Marlins roster with no local Far North products playing more than 200 minutes across the season.
Should the Marlins be used to bolster the Taipans in the summer or should they be about developing local juniors?
If 2017 is anything to go by, local juniors sat on the bench as the Taipans worked towards another NBL campaign.