NBL1 West 2022: The good, the challenges and the ugly for both South West Slammers programs this season

While the South West Slammers will not compete in the NBL1 West finals for another year in either men’s or women’s, it was not all doom and gloom at the Eaton Recreation Centre. Justin Fris takes a look at how the Slammers teams fared in 2022. The good Without question, the best on-court moment for the Slammers this year was the women’s team breaking through for their first win in nearly three years. Before their gripping 84-82 road win over the East Perth Eagles in May, the women’s program had not won a game since June 2019. However, the arrival of Perth Lynx recruit Alex Ciabattoni, coupled by the hard work of American import Tylinn Carter, ensured the Slammers enjoyed a thoroughly deserved triumph. During her brief stint with the team, Ciabattoni provided a new dimension to the offence, with her polished outside shooting taking some heat off the teenage players.. The men’s program might have ended the campaign with more wins, however, from a development standpoint, there were plenty of positives. Aside from Caleb Van De Griend being crowned NBL1 West men’s youth player of the year, the Slammers matched it with several playoff teams for lengthy periods, while Buay Tuach’s athleticism routinely left the Slammers fans buzzing. Shane Goff (Slammers men’s coach) take: “Offensively and defensively, I think they learned every week. Their ability to challenge the best teams was great and their work-rate was exceptional. “Whether they started or came off the bench, I know every player who took the court gave 100 per cent — something I know for a fact.” Robyn Vogel’s (Slammers women’s coach) take: “Our players were young, but every single one of them went out there and had a crack at it. “When you are a 15 or 16-year-old kid coming up against a 27 or 28-year-old, it is pretty daunting. But these players were of the mindset that if I put them on, they would have a go. “I believe this is a credit to them.” The challenging Goff’s take: “Managing COVID-19 cases and losing players to the injury list was a challenge. “Every week, we had an injured player, so we never really had a full contingent to pick from. Despite a 15 to 18-strong squad, I had to pick the 12 fit to suit up.” Vogel’s take: “Players need to know where they fell down and where they made mistakes. The thing is to not only let them know where the mistakes were made, but trying to give them information in order to improve on it.” The ugly Despite Vogel doing an exceptional job on and off the court after replacing Peter Nalder as coach, the women’s program collectively at times looked a long way off NBL1 West standard. While was team was extremely young and suffered the tough situation of Ciabattoni departing after five appearances, there were times during matches — especially during the 111-22 home loss to Cockburn, 87-56 loss against Goldfields Giants and 105-65 home loss against East Perth — when some players appeared visibly disinterested in hustling at both ends. The men’s program struggled at times from beyond the arc, which proved to be an Achilles heel at times against top-four opposition — an issue which Goff is keen to smooth out over the off-season. Goff’s take: “The ability (to shoot better outside) is there, it is just how we go about it. Looking back at the tapes where we did hit outside, the movement off the ball was more catch and shoot.” Vogel’s take: “Definitely fitness over the off-season will help. If you look at a number of these games, we were in contention until about half-time. “However, we ran out of steam, when we ran out of fitness. “Also looking at recruiting will help. The whole league stepped up this year, with a number of quality imports coming in.”