Rolling with derby
THE appeal of a Gold Coast grudge match helped ensure the Seahawks had their QBL pass stamped by Basketball Queensland.
The derby that has been simmering in the Southern Basketball League for a decade has finally been upscaled to state league status thanks to North Gold Coast’s 2018 promotion.
Seahawks officials trumpeted the ascent last month, a 15th addition to the Queensland state league which in turn promises future showdowns with the Rollers take on even greater emphasis.
It’s a delicious plot twist given the Seahawks’ fractured early relationship with the Gold Coast City Regional Basketball Association.
While the off-court feud has largely subsided since that 1996 splintering, the QBL looked promisingly at the prospect of a heightened Rollers and Seahawks rivalry.
“Yes, that was something we were aware of and we thought another derby certainly won’t hurt the league,” Basketball Queensland competitions manager Steve Royes said.
“We have spoken to both clubs and they have both embraced it.
“It will be great and add a little bit of extra spice to those games and bragging rights will be up for grabs.
“Anything like that which adds a bit more interest to the competition as a whole and to those associations is a good thing.”
The Seahawks’ domination of the second-tier league across the past decade also helped broker the rise of an ambitious organisation armed with 1500 players.
“We have had the same core group of (SBL) players now for a number of years,” club president Angelo Raguz said recently.
“They have been incredibly successful and they now need to showcase their skills against the best in Queensland.”
North Gold Coast’s women’s team recently crushed Northside Wizards by more than 50 points in the SBL grand final to cap an undefeated season.
The men’s side, meanwhile, have won four titles and been runners up twice in the past eight years.
The expanded QBL is likely to start in April but teams face tricky pre-season scheduling due to the Commonwealth Games.