ROUND 9 of the National Basketball League (NBL) saw plenty of young players having good games. Cairns star,  Melo Trimble proved to the rest of the competition that you can’t keep a good man down, bouncing back to his best. Some young guns such as Finn Delaney and Daniel Grida have made their way back into this list after lengthy delays. Brian Bowen is doing good things during Sydney’s run towards the top of the ladder, and Will Magnay makes his way onto the circuit.


Cairns Taipans – #1 Melo Trimble

Showing us his season-low eight points was just a one-off, he responded well against the Breakers with 23 points. He created so many opportunities for himself (16 attempts) and for teammates (six assists), as he also played his opponents well for three steals. He chipped in with two rebounds as well.

New Zealand Breakers – #3 Finn Delaney

Playing his first game for over a month, Delaneywas back for the Breakers, and was better than he has been. He shot two from six, had three rebounds and an assist in the 21-point win over Cairns.

Adelaide 36ers – #11 Harry Froling

Frolingdidn’t have the best weekend scoring-wise, netting three points – his lowest tally of the season. But his defensive work has been outstanding all season, and it continued to show against the Bullets. He collected six rebounds (all defensive) to now sit at 4.8 a game, as well as an assist.

Illawarra Hawks – #11 Daniel Grida

Opposite to Froling, Gridahad his best scoring output for the season where he scored nine points. He played the longest he had against Sydney (19 minutes), which enabled him to act defensively too, pulling down two rebounds and keeping the pressure on the Kings with a block and steal each.

Brisbane Bullets – #12 Will Magnay

Magnayplayed more minutes on Saturday than the rest of the season combined, where he converted a two-pointer and two free throws to finish with four points. He also contributed to the game, which the Bullets lost, by having one assist and two rebounds.

Sydney Kings – #20 Brian Bowen

Bowen is getting good court time at the Kings, and is getting his hands on the ball. Throughout two games in Round 9 against Perth and Illawarra, Bowen scored four points in each from six and seven attempts respectively. Across the weekend he also clocked up three rebounds, one assists and one steal.

Perth Wildcats – #25 Rhys Vague

Vague was on court for less than a minute against Sydney on Friday night, but an even 10 minutes for Monday night’s blockbuster against Melbourne. His only points came courtesy of a three-pointer, the first score of the final quarter. Vague also had four rebounds throughout the match.
Playing his first game for over a month, Delaneywas back for the Breakers, and was better than he has been. He shot two from six, had three rebounds and an assist in the 21-point win over Cairns.