Waiting game on Taipans contracts

A DECISION on the Taipans’ coaching position is set to be the club’s top priority as planning for the 2018-19 season starts with Cairns all but ruled out of NBL finals contention this season.

The Far Northern club is in the precarious position of having nine of the 11 current players out of contract following this season. Coach Aaron Fearne’s deal is to expire at the end of the 2017-18 campaign.

Fearne, who is in his ninth season as coach of the club, which has included two grand final appearances, is in the third and final year of the contract he signed in June 2015.

There are sections of the club’s board who feel the coaching situation must be resolved before any new player contracts are discussed.

With out-of-contract stars Cameron Gliddon and Mitch McCarron set to be heavily courted by rival clubs in the coming months, the Taipans’ coaching position is anticipated to become a priority.

The club is expected to hold a board meeting on January 29, when contracts for the 2018-19 season are set to be discussed. Only star centre Nate Jawai and untried rookie Kuany Kuany are contracted players past the end of the 2017-18 season.

Vice-president Ross Moller says there will be no discussion about new contracts while the Taipans are still mathematically in the finals hunt.

“We are not starting anything yet until we know where we are going to finish,” Moller said.

“I would say that is probably when it will start (when the club is mathematically out of finals contention).

“At this stage, we are not doing anything.

“We just need to wait because if we go on and make the playoffs, it is a different ball game to now.”

The Snakes are 9-13 on the season, three wins behind fourth-placed Adelaide, and will need to go undefeated in their remaining six games to be a chance to crack the top four.

Following the loss to Adelaide on Thursday night, Fearne described the remainder of this NBL season as “character time”.

“After this result, the top four has broken away a little bit,” he said.

“It’s character time for me right now.

“What’s your character from this point? If you’re not playing for a playoff spot, what’s your make-up?

“There is still a long way to go. Anything can happen.”

The Taipans have not won a playoff game since they went to the grand final in the 2014-15 season.

AT THIS STAGE, WE ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING. WE JUST NEED TO WAIT BECAUSE IF WE GO ON AND MAKE THE PLAYOFFS, IT IS A DIFFERENT BALL GAME ROSS MOLLER