Former coach says it was ‘heart-wrenching’ to watch club fold Crocodiles’ tears shed

ALMOST four years after the Townsville Crocodiles became extinct, the club’s final coach has detailed the “heartwrenching” experience of watching the brand deteriorate.

Shawn Dennis, speaking on basketball podcast Aussie Hoopla, said the club struggled with their identity and were never able to have the impact they desired.

Dennis said he was excited about the young roster the

Crocs had together in 2016, which made their demise even tougher.

“It was heart-wrenching that we had flogged our guts out to try and keep that thing afloat and you really build something special,” Dennis said.

“The fans were starting to really love those young kids, they played with such passion for the green. That really ripped my heart out.

“For me we just didn’t get the crowd support, the sponsorship support that was needed and obviously the league had a very clear view of where they wanted to take it.

“We just couldn’t hold up our end of the bargain in the end.”

Dennis, who won NBL Coach of the Year in the Crocodiles’ final season, said he was unaware of how dire the situation had become.

“I was sitting in the GM’S office, Rob Honan, when Andrew Gisinger (club president) came in and shut the door,” he said.

“As soon as he shut the door

I knew it wasn’t going to be good. He sat down and basically said we can’t afford to keep going.

“I remember driving home and sitting on my deck stunned. It was a very numb feeling.

“It’s still a numb feeling to this day, because you put your heart and soul into it and all of a sudden it’s just swiped away from you.”

Dennis, who joined the Crocodiles in 2013, said every year was difficult in Townsville because of the constant threat of going into administration. He said word spread quickly around the league about Townsville’s situation and it made recruitment a hard task.

“There was optimism it would move forward as a community based club and the optimism of the club was really good. But it became fairly evident very quickly that it was a struggle.

“That hanging over your head every year was so hard and it was hard talking to the players (from other clubs) because they always said ‘are you going to survive?’ “It’s not that players didn’t want to come and be part of the program, they were very concerned about the viability of the club. It was a real shame.

“The fact we were playing out at the RSL (Townsville Stadium) also made it difficult because it was seen as a step back for a lot of people.”

Dennis was succinct when asked if he could see Townsville ever getting back into the NBL. “I don’t believe they’ll ever get back in. I don’t think it will ever happen.”