FISHER L OOKING T O HOOK QBL CRO WN
6pm today, Townsville 106.3FM Stadium 7pm today, Candle Stick Park CAIRNS Taipan and Marlin Anthony Fisher feels his basketball is rebounding in the right direction.
And, with QBL finals in the balance and the Taipans raring up for another NBL season, it would be a perfect time for the development point guard to hit form.
Fisher will lead the Marlins unit into battle in Townsville this evening as they chase a second straight title, just hours after he suited up for the Snakes against Texas at the Fish Tank.
The Ballarat export was the Marlins’ firstchoice point guard in 2016 but has had to shift to play off the ball more with the inclusion of NBLregular Jarrad Weeks this season.
Fisher could be excused for being unhappy about moving outside his preferred position but he has taken on the new role with vigour and found his way to contribute.
Despite being a guard, Fisher is the club’s top rebounder this season, averaging almost seven a game.
“I think my basketball is going in the right direction and with now Marlins as well, things have been going well, not just for me but the team as well,” Fisher said.
“It helps with the system just because you play your role and you know where the shots are going to come from in the system. We have a lot of guards in the Marlins but we just need to play our role.
“That can be just going after it on defence or hitting a shot when you are open.”
The Snakes development player is putting up 14 points and just over three assists a game in the QBL.
Marlins coach Jamie Pearlman would have almost called you crazy if you told him in the preseason that Fisher would lead the team in rebounds. “He has been phenomenal,” Pearlman said. “That is why we love Fish so much, he will do whatever is required of him.
“He just finds a way to contribute. He is versatile and just plays for the team.”
The former Perth Wildcat led the Snakes scoring with 17 against Oklahoma on Sunday.
The Marlins beat northern rivals, Townsville Heat, at this stage of the season in 2016.
The Heat qualified for the semi- final by beating South West Metro 92- 89 on the back of Josh Wilcher, who dropped 27 points, five rebounds, and seven assists while import Jamell Anderson ( 10 points, 6 rebounds) set the tone early. ALL Blacks captain Kieran Read gave evidence in the bugging court case on Bledisloe Cup eve to help “a mate” but said the Kiwis had to be wary of letting a week of off- field drama take their minds off the Wallabies.
Read explained why he’d taken the extraordinary step of giving a character reference to a Sydney court via phone on Friday for All Blacks security consultant Adrian Gard, who had been charged with lying to police over the discovery of a listening device in the All Blacks hotel last year.
Gard was found not guilty yesterday afternoon after Downing Centre Local Court Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson said there was not enough evidence in the circumstantial case to convict the security man of public mischief.
Read’s involvement in the case on match eve was the latest episode in a bizarre week, with Aaron Smith’s sex scandal resurfacing and the mysterious bugging trial continuing on through the week, too. Read said his team was keen to get out on the field on Saturday night and put a week of distractions behind them.