Go Buccs: Geraldton Buccaneers one win away from taking home third championship after up-and-down season

Making a grand final is the ultimate goal for every sports team. Getting there can be the toughest of tasks, but the Geraldton Buccaneers have done it twice in a row. After claiming the 2022 minor premiership, the Buccs fell 12 points short of victory against the Rockingham Flames, and now they are back for redemption when they take on the Joondalup Wolves in this year’s grand final. Reaching back-to-back grand finals is a tall task, and the entirety of Geraldton is behind their team, with some fans even heading to Perth to be there in person for the big game. The Buccs have endured an up-and-down season, in which they have shown plenty of growth. Here is the Buccs’ story so far in 2023, with one more chapter left to write. MALIK MAGIC While they opened the season with a 61-point win against the Slammers, the team was slow to get going with a 1-2 record after their first three games. Being based in Geraldton means that the club can struggle to get preseason games, while all Perth teams can freely play against each other to get match fitness in. “We’re a bit slow to start, we don’t get to play scratch matches . . .so we’ve got to be trying to prepare ourselves for that,” coach Dayle Joseph said. “We’ve probably been a little bit off the mark at the start of the season more with our intensity.” While the team took time to find form, star player Malik Meunier wasted no time, stepping up and coming out the gate with a red-hot start and leading the team to a big win against the Cockburn Cougars with his 33-point effort, putting Geraldton back to a 2-2 record. After having two set of back-to-back games in a span of a few week, the team was able to be grounded at home for three games straight, including the grand final rematch against the Rockingham Flames. The crowd was a sell-out and the intensity was high. After coming right down to the wire, it was none other than Meunier who hit two free throws with 0.4 seconds left on the clock to win the game. GATTORNA GETS GOING During the off-season Geraldton lost two keys players in Cameron Coleman and Mathiang Muo, who filled essential roles in the team that made it to the 2022 grand final. About midpoint of the season, staff evaluated the roster and weighed up whether to add an import to the mix. “At the start of the season we put the team together, we thought we’d leave a spot open possibly for Cameron Coleman to come back if he became available,” Joseph said. “We reassessed and thought should we get someone else to fill in that role, in reflection we looked at what we had and we backed these guys in to get the job done.” Buccaneers general manager Andrew Horstman added: “We were still considering bringing in a second import at the halfway point of the season. . . but we were keen to go with what we’ve got and try to maximise our current players.” The decision to stick with their guys paid off and the highly anticipated recruit Zac Gattorna started to get going. He had been in and out of the line-up because of other commitments, but once he rejoined the team fully and gelled with the team, Gattorna became a force to be reckoned with. “Bringing in Zac, a young, athletic, exuberant young guy into our team gave us a little bit of a different look as far as maybe our speed goes and our defensive structures,” Joseph said. “He’s taken a little while to find his feet and fit into the system a little bit, but huge credit to Zac for zoning in over the last month or so he’s got it right and he knows what his role is and he is all in on helping us win a championship here in Geraldton.” Once he was fully comfortable in the system, scoring seemed to be second nature for the former Sydney King, averaging 27.25 points over a four-game period from rounds 15-18, including 39 points against the East Perth Eagles. SIXTH MAN TO STARTER Coming off their fourth series of back-to-back games and a fifth and final loss of the season, the NBL1 West’s consecutive sixth man of the year solidified his spot in the starting line-up. Hometown hero and explosive scorer Johny Narkle had been filling different roles throughout the season, coming off the bench and starting when other guys were out. With only a few weeks left in the regular season, Narkle had played his way into the starting five, showing massive growth over the season. “It was something we looked at changing early. He played a couple games early when we had guys in and out. . . having that impact of Johny off the bench was always a bonus,” Joseph said. “Trying to get some scoring early on in our games and Johny came in and did that. “We have nine guys that contribute, whether they’re starters or coming off the bench, they have impacts and make contributions, and they make sacrifices for what the team needs.” THE HOME FORTRESS The Buccs finished their regular season with a 17-5 record which earnt them second on the ladder, but the most talked about point of the season was their undefeated record at home. Activewest Stadium became a fortress during the season, with the Buccs posting an average winning margin of 19.3 points at home, and Geraldton fans came out in droves. “We’ve had sellout crowds and really healthy community support all season, and not just necessarily the build up to this weekend, but I don’t think I have seen his type of support in the 20 odd years I’ve been around the club,” Horstman said. When asked if the team has ever been undefeated at home before, Horstman wasn’t sure. “I don’t know the answer to that. . . if it’s not the first time then there wouldn’t be too many,” he said. “I don’t remember it ever happening in my time being here.” With all the stand-out players on the roster, playing the team first game is what the players believes gave them the best winning chemistry as the Buccs put up 10 different starting line-ups throughout the season. “Everyone knows their role within the team, it’s like every team, towards the end of the year you start to know what each other is doing so I think we’re heading in the right direction,” captain Aaron Ralph said. “I think everyone has had their patches during the year but I feel as a collective we’re all growing at the same time and at the right time of the year. Joseph added: “It’s a bit of mutual respect and trust in each other that’s come with playing together for 20 odd games.” Although they were playing the team first game, many players had individual success with Meunier selected to the NBL1 West first team, Joseph winning his second straight coach of the year and Narkle also taking home a consecutive sixth man of the year award. OVERCOMING THE ODDS Many athletes dream of retiring at their pinnacle, walking away with a win and one Buccs veteran has the chance to do just that. But Joseph said it was up in the air if veteran Mat Wundenberg would finish his career after the big game on Saturday night. “I’ve probably said this for about four years about Mathew Wundenberg, but he still keeps his body in great shape. . . he is probably fitter this year than he has in the last couple of years,” Joseph said. Saturday will be the ninth grand final that the Buccs will play in, going back to their first one in 1989, but they have only won the championship twice, in 2000 and 2019. The Buccaneers are tied with the Wolves for second most grand final appearances at eight, but are tied at seventh for number of wins in the grand final at two. This season also marks the first time since 2000-2001 that Geraldton have gone back-to-back in grand final appearances. The game takes place on Saturday, August 12 from 7pm at Bendat Basketball Stadium. THE ROAD SO FAR Geraldton Buccaneers 106-45 South West Slammers W Geraldton Buccaneers 80-96 Perth Redbacks L Joondalup Wolves 96-90 Geraldton Buccaneers L Cockburn Cougars 87-124 Geraldton Buccaneers W Geraldton Buccaneers 92-82 Warwick Senators W Geraldton Buccaneers 97-63 Eastern Suns W Mandurah Magic 98-128 Geraldton Buccaneers W Perry Lakes Hawks 86-75 Geraldton Buccaneers L Geraldton Buccaneers 120-98 Willetton Tigers W Geraldton Buccaneers 92-91 Rockingham Flames W Geraldton Buccaneers 101-86 Lakeside Lightning W Goldfields Giants 86-100 Geraldton Buccaneers W Geraldton Buccaneers 74-67 Joondalup Wolves W Eastern Suns 91-98 Geraldton Buccaneers W Warwick Senators 95-94 Geraldton Buccaneers L Geraldton Buccaneers 118-97 East Perth Eagles W Geraldton Buccaneers 94-82 Mandurah Magic W Lakeside Lightning 90-95 Geraldton Buccaneers W Perth Redbacks 97-88 Geraldton Buccaneers L Geraldton Buccaneers 99-89 Perry Lakes Hawks W East Perth Eagles 96-115 Geraldton Buccaneers W Willetton Tigers 81-89 Geraldton Buccaneers W W/L record: 17-5 Geraldton Buccaneers 87-86 Willetton Tigers (qualifying final) W Geraldton Buccaneers 119-83 Perth Redbacks (preliminary final) W