The Perth Redbacks men were burnt by 43 points in their season opener against the Rockingham Flames on Saturday night. The undermanned Redbacks outfit ran into a well drilled Flames team missing import Chris Stephens who arrived late in the country due to family reasons. The Redbacks looked lost without the service of Jarrad Prior, restricted player Sami Driss, and potentially a couple more starters.

The Redbacks got off to a slow start to the game both defensively and offensively, giving up 37 points while managing just 20 of their own in the first quarter. Ex Redback Anthony Exeter led the way for the Flames in the first stanza hitting 13 points. Ryan Neill was the sole light for the Redbacks connecting on 4 three pointers to keep the Redbacks score line respectable.

With the game already seemingly out of reach for the Redbacks after just 12 minutes of play the Flames came out even harder in the second. The Flames again outscored the Redbacks 22-31 to increase a 17 point lead to 26 points at the main break. The Redbacks were outdone in every statistical category at the break with the Flames pulling in 15 more rebounds for the half. The Flames managed to grab 5 steals while having just 3 turnovers, compared to the Redbacks 2 steals and 10 turn overs. As a result the Flames put up 56 shots compared to 44 from the Redbacks, the only shining light for the Perth outfit was Ryan Neill who put up just under 50% of the Redbacks shots for the half. The Redbacks also went to the line just 4 connecting on 2 while the Flames managed 12/13 attempts from the line.

Ryan Neill had an impressive game high of 21 points, including five threes, however the next highest scorer was ex-Wildcat Paul Pochintesta with 5. Ryan De Glanville worked hard on the boards for the half pulling in 6 rebounds, more than double any of his team mates. Joel Wagner led the charge offensively dishing out 4 assists but had 5 of the Redbacks 10 turn overs.

For the Flames Exeter had 17 points at the half, he was backed up by 3 other players in double figures. Anton Lyons had 13 points and 9 rebounds, Steven Watson had 11 points and Travis Moor returned 10 points and 3 rebounds. Perhaps the most impressive of the night was 17 year old Ryan Godfrey, who in his first SBL game the night before returned totals of 15 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists. In his second game he was again a contributor in the first half with 5 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. The Flames were shooting 48% for the half with the only poor statistical category being their three point percentage where they connected on just 2/8 from outside, just 25%.

With a 26 point deficit at the main break, the Redbacks needed to get some pride back into the score line. However, even while coach Utley rested his best players and experimented with different line ups, the Flames still increased the lead. While they slowed down their offensive output to just 22 points for the quarter, they continued their defensive pressure, restricting the Redbacks to just 15 points for the term. With a 57-92 score line at the last break, the Redbacks were yet to equal the score of the Flames, who had 68 points in the first half.

The last quarter saw the lead blow out to a massive 50 point deficit at the hands of the young Flames bench. After stepping off the gas pedal for the first time in the game in the final minute, they only managed to increase the gap by 10 points, the final score line being a 74-117 win to the Flames. The Flames chose to rest their starters in the second half, resisting the urge to set a record blow out.

The Redbacks Ryan Neill was one of just two Redbacks in double figures for the game, nailing 29 points, including 6-15 threes (40%). The only other Redback player to cause any sort of pain for the Flames was solo big man Ryan De Glaville who finished with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds. Young Redback Joel Wagner also finished with 9 assists. The Redbacks connected on just 28/83 from the floor for the game (just 33.7%) and 7/26 from the 3 point arc (26.9%). The Redbacks who are desperately short in the big man department managed 45 rebounds for the game, yet the Flames pulled in 26 more rebounds, finishing with an unbelievable 71 boards.

It was former Redbacks MVP Anthony Exeter who started the damage for the Flames, he added 11 more points from his first quarter total of 11 to finish with 24 points. Travis Moore had 13 in the second half, he finished with 23 points and 5 rebounds. Import Anton Lyons managed 17 points, 15 rebounds (10 offensive) in just 22 minutes of play. Steve Watson was the fourth player in double figures, finishing with 14 points. Young rising star Ryan Godfrey also had 9 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists (with just 3 turn overs) in 25 minutes of play.

The Redbacks bench was also significantly outplayed in the game, getting outscored 21-55, the Flames bench contributing an impressive 47% of the total score. The Flames managed to put up 22 more shots for the game, connecting on 49/105 shots (46.7%). Their only inferior statistical category was their 3 point shooting percentage, they connected in just 22% (4/18).

The Redbacks are now left to lament their 43 point mauling at the hands of the Flames with the league general bye this weekend. They then face up against former coach CJ Jackson’s Cockburn Cougars outfit who won their first up game against Mandurah. With French restricted player Sami Driss and young gun Jarrad Prior still to be added to the team a much improved Redbacks outfit should step onto the floor at home against the Cougars.

The team had a tough pre-season which saw the resignation of head coach Nik Lackovic two weeks before the season due to work commitments, as well as paper work and injuries prohibiting players from playing and training respectively. Head coach Graham Frey is also in America for 3 more weeks, leaving assistant David Harris as the sole coach to start the season. It’s now off to Belmont on the 14th of April where the players look forward to seeing all of our members, junior players and fans to get down and support the guys in a very winnable game.