Rollers start new season campaign with push for redemption
The Gold Coast Rollers’ quest for grand final redemption will begin this weekend against the very foe that shattered their hearts.
The Rollers men and women will tip off against Ipswich on Saturday, before playing host to the Southwest Metro Pirates on Sunday.
But reigning NBL1 North men’s MVP Jason Cadee expects last year’s decider to be a distant memory for both his side and the Force.
“It kind of doesn’t feel like a grand final rematch. The only person that’s still on (Ipswich’s roster) is Jason Ralph, everyone else is not on the list any
more,” Cadee said, noting the Force did possess threats in exRoller DJ Mitchell and import Henry Pwono.
“We have to be ready to go and we’re still very much undermanned ourselves.
“We’ve got a lot of moving pieces over this first month of the season, I’m not expecting anything other than us getting off to a good start and playing some good basketball, but this will definitely be a building block for us to get started.”
The prospect of hunting championship and back-toback MVP success again with the Rollers is one that excites Cadee.
“I’ve not been shy in saying that playing for the Gold Coast … has been probably the most enjoyable basketball I’ve played,” he said.
“Coming to the Gold Coast has been refreshing and it’s an environment that I’ve just really enjoyed being able to worry about playing basketball with a good group of guys.”
A selfless character, Cadee attributed his MVP success last season to those around him and the coaching of Anthony Petrie.
Having lost the experience of Todd Blanchfield – who recently ticked off his 400th NBL game – the Rollers have gone big in their replacement, adding an NBL championship winner and freshly unveiled member of the Boomers Olympics squad in Will Magnay.
Cadee said he and Magnay are good mates, and alongside the excitement of having someone like that to push him at training, Cadee believes the move could “unlock a few things that have probably been stored away for a few years now” in Magnay’s game.
Unfortunately Magnay is set to miss the opening rounds of the season through injury.
Cadee is also looking forward to seeing the development of Boston Mazlin, a new face lured from Logan.
Meanwhile, the Rollers women’s side is set to be tested early, with five players unavailable throughout the opening rounds of the season.
But don’t tell that to new coach Matt Paps.
“I don’t really focus too much on who’s unavailable or who can’t play, I just worry about who is available and giving the best efforts that we can give,” said Paps, who comes the Rollers with an extensive coaching resume that includes a WNBL championship as an assistant and an NBL1 championship as the main man.
“Challenges are always good and getting people out of their comfort zones I think is important for character growth.”
Opportunity is set to be plentiful for the Gold Coast youth in the early stage of the season, and one young talent in particular that has caught the Paps’ eye over pre-season is guard Jayla Cassidy.
“She’s been quite impressive to me so far … she’s putting in a lot of work.”