Talk session gets Rollers back on track
THE Gold Coast Rollers have credited an honesty session for helping spark a Queensland Basketball League revival they hope can drive them to the playoffs.
Coach Mick Conlon revealed his team used one of their training sessions last week to hash out issues they felt were holding them back after a derby loss to the North Gold Coast Seahawks.
Conlon said none of his players had an issue with each other but the air needed to be cleared after the Rollers’ stopstart season faltered again.
“We talked it out and just got all the frustrations out in the air and everyone had their say,” Conlon said.
“The guys were open and honest and spoke from the heart and it got a bit emotional at times but it was really good for them to talk about what all the frustrations have been and what we need from each other.
“No one in the group dislikes each other, there’s no one that doesn’t want to work hard for their teammates, it just hasn’t clicked at stages.
“We all want to win, we all know that we’re good enough to win and I think we have to win out to make it which is not easy but we’re going to try our best.
“The players want it as much as the coaches do, they put in the work and they’re doing everything they can at training to get better.”
That and a horror session on Thursday helped the Rollers to a 98-79 win against the University of Sunshine Coast on Saturday, with Deon Mitchell contributing 30 points.
The Rollers women were unlucky not to add to their recent win, losing 74-70 to USC.
The Seahawks men backed up their breakthrough win against the Rollers with an 89-78 victory against Rockhampton.
The Seahawks had six players finish in double figures to beat one of the competition heavyweights.
The Seahawks women went down 78-55 to Rockhampton in a blow to their playoff hopes.