NBL1 West 2023: Aiming for final flourish

The 2023 NBL1 West season might be ending for South West Slammers men’s team on Friday night against Willetton Tigers at the Eaton Recreation Centre, but for coach Shane Goff, his role is far from finished. Before taking a well-deserved rest for a few weeks, the Slammers boss will continue discussions with imports Buay Tuach and Ben Stevens regarding their desire to return next season. “I’ve definitely been speaking to them both about their futures here and what they want,” he said. “I know Ben will hop on a plane shortly after the season finishes so he can go and see his family in Canada, while I think Buay will hang around for a couple of weeks before his next gig. “He’s got some things to do in the US, including some trials. No doubt he will be snapped up by one of the NBA G-League teams and train with those guys like he did last year. “The great human beings that both of them are, they’ve made it clear they love the club, town and enjoy playing with the teammates they have. “In speaking to them, both have shown great interest in coming back and help grow this team into one in contention for the playoffs.” Friday night’s game has been brought forward to 6.30pm, in order for the Tigers players to be able to return home and prepare for their Saturday lunchtime game against the Geraldton Buccaneers. The Slammers dented the Cockburn Cougars’ hopes of playing finals last week — and Goff’s mantra for the Tigers, boosted by the services of former Slammers coach and Australian Boomers legend Mark Worthington? “What we are looking to do is to be competitive against them and make things as hard as possible,” Goff said. “We are aiming to finish our season strongly. I know we had a couple of weeks there where our form wasn’t so great — but the boys did a bit of soul searching and credit to them all, they’ve come back out and bounced back well.” Scouting report Men: (Tigers) League position: 4th. Last round: defeated Mandurah Magic 101-87; top performer - Gorjok Gak (16 points - 8/14 field goal attempts, 0/3 three-point attempts, 0/0 free throw attempts, 12 rebounds, three assists, zero steals, one block).