Vickerman vows to find the ‘spark’ ahead of Adelaide clash

Following a double-loss weekend of games, Head Coach Dean Vickerman said he is committed to helping his players find the spark that saw them start the season so well.

Exiting the FIBA Window Break with a league-best 13-2 record, two losses from our pair of Round 11 games has seen the team fall to second on the Hungry Jack’s NBL26 table.

Speaking after Throwdown 31 on Sunday evening, Vickerman outlined the faults he saw across the two losses, and what he wants to see change moving forward.

“Some teams come out of the FIBA Break rejuvenated and with a different gameplan… Right now on the two performances we’ve had, I'd say it’s been the opposite for us,” he said.

“It felt like we were lacking some synergy on the floor, lacking some discipline in some areas and I thought the physicality of Perth and South East, we weren’t up for the physicality challenge as well.

“There was a spark with this team early in the year, so we’ve got to show some resilience right now, we’ve got to create our own energy and celebrate the things we’re doing well.

“We knew these three games; Perth away, Phoenix here and going to Adelaide, three away games in a row, was going to be the toughest portion of our season and right now we haven’t been good enough.”

Round 12 presents a couple more huge challenges for us, starting on Friday evening with a road clash against the Adelaide 36ers, which would determine who occupies first place on the ladder heading into a battle with the Sydney Kings at home on Sunday 14 December.

Tickets to the game remain available here.