NBL1 West 2023: Long bus trip to Geraldton awaits for young South West Slammers

The South West Slammers men’s team will embark on their toughest road trip of the 2023 NBL1 West season on Saturday night against the Geraldton Buccaneers. Like clockwork, Shane Goff’s men will leave the Eaton Recreation Centre bright and early in the morning for their seven-hour, 591km bus trip to the Mid West. A passionate advocate for player welfare, Goff has made sure his side will travel straight back to Eaton following the match, in order for the players to spend all of Sunday with their families at home. “We will hang around for half an hour or so,” he said. “The boys will be able to get changed, have something to eat and spend some time with people from the Buccs. “Basketball is all about putting it on the court and leaving it on the court. So we will be able to have some fun with their boys before jumping on the bus and heading back home. “We should get home around 4.30am on Sunday morning, all going well. I would prefer this, because we have a short break due to playing Mandurah Magic on Easter Thursday. “If we did not leave staight after the Buccs game, we would leave around 8-9am on the Sunday and would not be getting back into late on Sunday afternoon.” The Slammers coach is excited for this game in many ways. Aside from his young squad getting the chance to impress in front of the biggest home crowd in the league, the opportunity for the Slammers’ bigs to make plays against Buccs icons Aaron Ralph and Mat Wundenberg is too good to pass up. “Wundenberg has been a legend of the league for more than 17 years — and the most dominant centre during this time,” Goff said. Buccs coach Dayle Joseph praised his Slammers counterpart for his development work and knows his side will need to make a statement on opening night. Although his side lost last season’s grand final 91-79 to the Rockingham Flames, the Buccs boss has not needed to mention the outcome leading into Saturday night. “I haven’t pushed it at all — I don’t think we’ve even spoke about it,” Joseph said. “There was obviously hurt after the game for everyone, along with myself.” Buccs fans will get their first opportunity to see Zac Gattorna suit up in blue and gold after the Sydney Kings recruit touched down on Wednesday. “We showed interest in Zac last season but the timing wasn’t quite right for him,” Joseph said. “But when we reached out this year while putting our team together, he showed interest and we were quick to get pen to paper for him. “Hopefully it is a win-win for both of us. Zac is a young guy wanting to go to bigger and better places, so hopefully his environment here will help.”