Loughton, Weeks come to rescue of Marlins
JORDAN GERRANS IT is a case of one Taipan out and in comes two others for the Cairns Marlins.
With Stephen Weigh’s troublesome foot flaring up again, the QBL club has engaged 2016 championship winner Alex Loughton as an injury replacement while Weigh is unavailable for the start of the season.
As revealed last month, fel- low Taipan Jarrad Weeks will join him and also play for the Marlins this season.
Weigh, who missed the start of the NBL season with his foot concern, was diagnosed with a minor prestress fracture that requires a rest period of six weeks to prevent any damage or long-term issues.
The Marlins begin their QBL season on Friday, April 28, hosting Townsville with Weigh unlikely to be ready to play before Round 5, away at Sunshine Coast Clippers. The Jamie Pearlman-coached Marlins are already undersized going into the 2017 campaign with Tevin Jackson, Ryan Runnalls, Michael Demertze and now Loughton to be called upon to man the painted area.
The inclusion of Weeks adds to the championship winning back-court of Anthony Fisher and Damon Heuir.
Loughton has just completed a four-game stint back in Western Australia, where he led the Perth Redbacks to a perfect 4-0 start to the campaign on the back of a huge contribution.
“We kept an eye on Alex’s results in the SBL, and he put up good numbers over there. He shot the ball really well, and he’s in good touch,” Pearlman said.
“For our Taipans guys, it’s important to be playing at some level, for some length of time in the off-season so I’m certainly happy he’s joining us.
“It helps them stay sharp and makes the transition between off-season and NBL preseason so much easier.
“We’re looking to play that up-tempo style, which is different from what we did last season. Weeksy will be quick up and down the floor for us, and we will be looking to push the tempo, and push the ball harder up the court.”
Weeks began his career as a development player with the Sydney Kings.