Vickerman ready to lean on depth in Ili’s absence

As we look at another period of play without star guard Shea Ili due to injury, Head Coach Dean Vickerman said he has confidence in his group to cover for the two-time NBL Best Defensive Player.

Ili exited Thursday evening’s game midway through the second quarter, forcing the likes of Tyson Walker, Dash Daniels and Malith Machar into larger roles.

Speaking after the game, Vickerman spoke about the faith he has within the rest of the group to do what is needed to build on their momentum.

“The defensive side of it, we’re going to ask a lot of different people,” he said.

“Dash had the job on Harvey today and he’s going to continue to get jobs. We hadn’t played Malith Machar much and he got quality minutes today… Tom Koppens has had some quality minutes into him.

“There’s a few guys that are ready to go. Tom Wilson was really good for us at the start of the season, we’ve just got to make sure that he’s in at the right time of the game, he’s in with the right people, there’s good matchups.

“He’s itching for more minutes and I think what we see on the practice floor, he’s going to get after it. If he can guard Tyson in practice, then he can guard guys in this league.”

We will be back on the court for their final home game in 2025 on Tuesday 23 December for The Open Air Game against the Tasmania JackJumpers from 8pm.

Tickets are nearly all gone, so get in quickly to secure your seat.