Wind taken out of Manawatu¯ Jets’ sails
OPINION: The deflating end to the Manawatu¯ Jets’ season took the gloss off what could have been a reasonable year.
This season started off looking good and the Jets showed they had to be respected by other teams, but the loss of key import Kuran Iverson through injury and some shocking losses to finish the year really hurt. They finished with a 16-loss, two-win record to finish last out of nine teams.
Chairman Kevin Smith said the results in the past five weeks were not what they wanted, but the rest of the organisation was stronger than it’s been in a long time.
He’s spot on. The return from two years in the wilderness was never going to be a quick fix, and the new board seems to be doing all the right things.
There were a few tight losses, game atmosphere was better this season, crowds were steady and a few more players were brought in.
But those poor results took the wind out of the sails and tested the Jets faithful.
The Jets finished the season with eight losses in a row, six of them by 20 or more, and three of them were by 39, 40 and 43 points, respectively.
The team is young, and coach Tim Mctamney is trying to build veteran leadership, but that is easier said than done. Many of the players are still finding their feet at NBL level.
Outside the three imports, there were few guys consistently contributing. And, especially after Iverson was injured, opposition teams knew to shut down Wally Ellenson and Daishon Knight and they didn’t have to worry about the rest.
More output is needed from the rest of the squad.
Next season the Jets need more from their Kiwis, and a big-name New Zealand player could do a world of good. But that comes back to the same problem: the Jets don’t have the cash to buy in a Tall Blackquality player.
Young big man Taane Samuel looked good in his first season and has potential, while point guard Jackson Stubbins and forward Shane Temara improved as the season went on.
Of the local players, young guard Haize Walker looked handy in limited minutes, and Tia Temata-frost, an experienced guy who hasn’t played much NBL, looked good in his cameos.
Manawatu¯ has produced numerous schoolboy stars and national age-group players in recent years, but few have made a massive impact yet. Building depth locally may take some time. With a couple of good imports, the Jets have proven they can compete with, and sometimes beat, anyone. But they need more from the rest of the squad if they want to do it more regularly.
The introduction of two new teams next year, Franklin and the Otago Nuggets, could spread the talent around the league more and even things up. But it is hard to see teams with big budgets coming back to the pack.
Some bills are yet to be paid, but Smith said team was in good shape financially. More sponsors for next year would make life easier.
Smith summed things up nicely: ‘‘We need to operate at a strong level. We’re not happy about being in the bottom half of the league. If we want to go higher, the key element is funding and getting the right players on board.’’
If the Jets had more money in their pocket, they could be more competitive. Mctamney is signed for next year.
The Palmerston North City Council gave the Jets $15,000 in sponsorship.
The Whanganui District Council hosted the the Jets twice this season. Although they were given free use of Springvale Stadium for two of their three games last season, they had to pay this year.