Captain Aaron Ralph celebrates 450 games as Buccaneers sweep road series with Johny Narkle returning to side

Captain Aaron Ralph capped off his 450th game celebrations with back-to-back wins as the Geraldton Buccaneers swept their sixth double-header this season. The celebrations for the Buccaneers didn’t end there as grand final MVP Johny Narkle made his return to the lineup after last playing on April 20, nearly two months away. With the side already at the top of the ladder, the addition of Narkle helped jet Geraldton past Rockingham 116-94 on Saturday. Narkle was eased back into the side, coming off the bench as Geraldton stuck with the starting lineup of Nik DeSantis, Josh Braun, Ralph, Josh Keyes and Liam Hunt. The rematch of the 2022 grand final went in Rockingham’s favour early, with the side taking the lead in the first quarter. A slow first quarter picked up early in the second, as a Braun three put the Buccaneers ahead and Narkle drove to the basket for a score, following up with a block at the other end. Geraldton went on a late run to take a five-point lead into half-time, and they started to pull away with the game after dropping 33 points in the third quarter. As the game went on, the Buccaneers were firing in the first match with the side at full strength as they picked up the 22 point win. It was the Hunt show in the win with the big leading the side with 24 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Narkle had no trouble scoring off the bench with 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Ralph had 13 points and two rebounds while Junior Garbrah had his best day scoring so far with 13 points. With little time to rest, it was onto the Perry Lakes Hawks and the captain’s milestone match on Sunday, which they capped off with a 116-99 win. A familiar face in the opposition was champion Harry Evans, who was on the Buccaneers NBL1 West grand final side last year but has since moved to Perth and was in a Hawks uniform on Sunday. Both sides flew out the gate as it was raining points, with the first quarter score finishing at 31-30 as Keyes dropped 14-points in the opening period. However, Perry Lakes couldn’t keep pace with Geraldton as the Buccaneers continued to find the basket with ease. The Hawks managed to cut the lead to just three at the end of the second, but a Ralph deep shot increased it back to six at the main break. It was all Buccaneers basketball in the second half as they went on to take the 17-point victory. Despite his time off, Narkle reminded the competition of how lethal a scorer he is, with 34 points off the bench with 10 rebounds and five assists. Braun had 27 points and seven rebounds, along with Keyes dropping 22 with seven rebounds and seven assists. In his 450th Ralph sunk three deep shots for 12 points with two rebounds and two assists. Ralph now becomes just the eighth player in league history to reach the game milestone, and the third Buccaneer to do so, joining Mat Wundenberg and Greg Brown. The captain is etching closer to having his name in the NBL1 West history books, with Ralph just 38 three-pointers off becoming the league’s all-time three-point leader. Geraldton move to a 15-1 record, maintaining their undefeated streak on the road as they continue to hold top spot on the ladder. After sweeping yet another road double-header, the Buccs come back home to face the Eastern Suns on Saturday at Activewest Stadium.