Ultimate team man my favourite Taipan

Damo deserved better than having to hope for a new contract

ALL parents lie and say they don’t have a favourite child, right? I am sure they do. As a journalist, we are like parents in that regard, and need to remain impartial and treat everyone the same.

As a lifelong basketball lover who has covered the Cairns Taipans the past couple of years, it is hard not to have a preferred player or two in the squad, or even across the league.

There are plenty of options: flashy and clutch point guard Travis Trice, the big man from Bamaga or maybe the Venezuelan Volcano Michael Carrera.

The Volcano was not a favourite option, but you could never take your eyes off him because he was almost always about to be in a physical or verbal blue with someone.

But, I must admit — Damon Heuir was always my favourite Taipan.

He never played big minutes but always had a crack and did his job well and showed the NBL glimpses of what made him the dominant guard at QBL level the past couple of seasons.

There is one story that I think sums up “Damo” down to a tee.

An important Taipan had just gone down with a serious injury and was facing a decent stint on the sidelines before he would be back fit and firing.

The injured Snake was pretty emotional and frustrated What do you think? @jgerrans with the sudden injury and when talking to the Cairns Post just days after, he made special mention of how heartening a phone call from Damo was to check in on him.

The injured Snake did not specify if other teammates or coaches did or did not contact him too, but the call from Damo was obviously significant to him.

With Mitch Young rejoining the Taipans, Damo will not return next season, unless Mike Kelly decides to not sign imports, which is very unlikely.

Damo did the hard yards for the Taipans and Cairns Basketball and deserved better than having to wait and hope each season for a new contract. Before this season, he stayed with Marlins and turned down bigger offers from other QBL clubs, double the money was on offer at some clubs, one QBL coach told the Cairns Post this week.

“He always did it the hard way for Taipans and still doesn’t get a decent opportunity,” a former teammate of Heuir’s said this week.

There are still NBL clubs with open Australian roster spots — let’s all hope Damo finds a way on to one of them because there is no doubt he deserves it.