VALE RIDES QBL WAVE WITH ROLLERS FOR NOW
IT’S easy to understand why Dwayne Vale was unsure if he could commit to an entire QBL campaign.
“Do you mind holding on for a second,” he says during our interview. “OK, all good ... um ... hang on. Can I call you back?”
With the 32-year-old’s wife, Sharon, due to give birth to the couple’s first child in July, the former Cairns Taipans player concedes he was happy to step aside this season.
One game in and 19 buckets later, and the Rollers are glad he’s back for a third term at the club.
Vale was judged one of the best on court in the weekend win over the Capitals, a bench cameo that justified why coach Mick Conlon was so keen to retain the veteran.
“I was half in and half out,” Coca-Cola business manager Vale says of whether he’d suit up this season.
“I love playing but I’m not one of those guys who is naturally talented so I have to do all those extra sessions.
“And with work commitments and having my first child on the way, and we’ve previously bought a house and renovating, I don’t want to be one of those guys who rolls up when I can and takes minutes off others.
“I didn’t want to get in the way of some of the younger guys who live and breathe it and are trying to get that (NBL) break that I was trying to get 10 or 12 years ago.”
There’s not yet a guarantee Vale will suit up all season.
Namely, there’s a new baby due amid a mid-season crunch.
“Being our first I’d like to be there a lot for my wife and bub but it depends on when things happen,” Vale says.
“That will be the priority but if everything goes well I’ll try and get back to the team as soon as I can.
“But your priorities change – happy wife, happy life.”
Work, too, is a constant shuffle.
“Training times are pretty good but it’s more the road trips (that are a juggling act),” he says.