Tigers Favourites, Taipans Dark Horses in NBL Player Poll

In the second annual National Basketball League (NBL) Players’ Choice Poll, the Melbourne Tigers have confirmed their runaway favouritism to win the title while the Cairns Taipans have been tabbed as a possible dark horse team to take out the 2006/07 Philips Championship.

The League office conducted its annual players’ opinion poll to get their perspective on a variety of questions related to the Philips Championship in categories as diverse as ‘Best Shooter’, ‘Best Crowd’ and ‘Championship Dark Horse’. In all 82 players responded to the poll, which was open to all players who had at least one year’s experience in the Philips Championship.

Defending champions Melbourne where tagged as Championship favourites with an astonishing 63 percent of the votes, finishing well ahead of Brisbane (17%) as the second most popular choice. The Sydney Kings meanwhile were picked as the team most likely to see a decline in their fortunes in season 2006/07.

The Cairns Taipans, who last season progressed to the Semi Finals of the Philips Championship, polled 31 percent of the votes to finish on top of the ‘Dark Horse’ category ahead of the New Zealand Breakers (19 percent) and the Townsville Crocodiles (12 percent).

Crocodiles import Larry Abney received glowing acknowledgement from his peers being named as the Premier Athlete, Best Rebounder and as Best Dunker in the Philips Championship.

NBL veterans Mark Bradtke (Brisbane) and Darryl McDonald (Melbourne) couldn’t be separated as the most intimidating players to play against, both finishing with 17 percent of the votes, with Sam Mackinnon finishing third with 10 percent.

Perth’s Challenge Stadium - ‘the Jungle’ – polled 25% of the vote to narrowly beat Townsville’s ‘Swamp’ (21%) and Adelaide’s ‘Dome’ (15%) as the Philips Championship’s Toughest Venue to play in.

Below are the top finishers in each of the Players Poll categories.

Who is the best shooter in the league?
John Rillie (Townsville) 37%, Brett Maher (Adelaide) 27%, Gary Boodnikoff (Cairns) 6% & Mat Campbell (Wollongong) 6%

Who is the best defender in the league?
Darnell Mee (Cairns) 35%, Sam Mackinnon (Brisbane) 15%, Darryl McDonald (Melbourne) 12%

Who is the best passer in the league?
Darryl McDonald (Melbourne) 75%, Darnell Mee (Cairns) 12%, Mike Helms (Singapore) 4%

Who is the best rebounder in the league?
Larry Abney (Townsville) 48%, Mark Bradtke (Brisbane) 15%, Chris Antstey (Melbourne) 12%

Who is the best sixth man in the league?
Stephen Hoare (Melbourne) 37%, Mick Hill (Brisbane) 14%, Oscar Forman (New Zealand) 10%

Who is the best athlete in the league?
Larry Abney (Townsville) 20%, Cortez Groves (Wollongong) 19%, Sam Mackinnon (Brisbane) 17%

Who is the best dunker in the league?
Larry Abney (Townsville) 23%, Cortez Groves (Wollongong) 17%, Pero Vasiljevic (Singapore) 11%

Who is the toughest player to guard in the paint?
Mark Bradtke (Brisbane) 22%, Chris Antstey (Melbourne) 21%, Nick Horvath (West Sydney) 17%

Who is the toughest player to guard on the perimeter?
CJ Bruton (Brisbane) 24%, Cortez Groves (Wollongong) 18%, Willie Farley (Adelaide) 16%

Which player is the most intimidating to play against?
Mark Bradtke (Brisbane) 17%, Darryl MacDonald (Melbourne) 17%, Sam Mackinnon (Brisbane) 10%

Which player is the best sportsman (fairest) in the league?
David Stiff (Melbourne) 14%, Brett Maher (Adelaide) 13%, Mat Campbell (Wollongong) 13%

Which player talks the most trash of any player in the NBL?
Lanard Copeland (Adelaide) 43%, John Rillie (Townsville) 16%, Frank Drmic (South) 7%

Which current NBL coach (other than your own) would you most like to play for?
Phil Smyth (Adelaide) 34%, Al Westover (Melbourne) 21%, Joey Wright (Brisbane) 15%

Who is the most versatile player in the NBL (talented in multiple positions)?
Sam Mackinnon (Brisbane) 49%, Dave Thomas (Melbourne) 18%, Darnell Mee (Cairns) 8%

Which current NBL player constantly improves himself the most, year in year out?
David Barlow (Sydney) 18%, CJ Bruton (Brisbane) 8%, Jacob Holmes (South) 8%, Mick Hill (Brisbane) 8%

Which current NBL player would you pay to see?
Cortez Groves (Wollongong) 21%, Darryl MacDonald (Melbourne) 19%, Willie Farley (Adelaide) 10%, CJ Bruton (Brisbane) 10%

Which is the toughest venue to play in (other than your own)?
Perth (25%), Townsville (21%), Adelaide (15%)

Which is the best venue to play in (other than your own)?
Townsville (39%), Adelaide (25%), Cairns (10%), Melbourne (10%)

Which team has the most vocal fans in the league (other than your own)?
Townsville (37%), Cairns (21%), Perth (17%)

Which team has the most knowledgeable fans in the league (other than your own)?
Adelaide (39%), Melbourne (15%), Townsville (13%)

Who is the favourite to win the championship this season?
Melbourne (63%), Brisbane (17%), Adelaide (8%)

Which team do you look at as a possible dark-horse for the title this season?
Cairns (31%), New Zealand (19%) Townsville (12%)

Which team has improved themselves the most in the 2006 off-season?
New Zealand (37%), Brisbane (31%), Townsville (14%)

Which team will see their fortunes decline the most in 2006/07?
Sydney (44%), Perth (10%), West Sydney (10%)

Who is the best referee in the league?
Scott Butler (67%), Campbell Craddock (5%), Michael Aylen (5%)

Which team has the best mascot in the league (other than your own)?
Cairns (39%), Townsville (33%), Sydney (16%)