‘Late fight, no bite’: Experts slam Taipans’ timing

NBL commentators have taken aim at the Cairns Taipans after tempers flared following their heavy loss to the Perth Wildcats.

Admiral Schofield, Lat Mayen and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. exchanged words and shoves before being separated by teammates and coaches after the Wildcats’ 32-point win at the Cairns Convention Centre.

But according to Andrew Parkinson and Damon Lowery, the show of aggression from the Taipans came far too late.

“This ain’t the time to fight. The time to fight was earlier. This don’t count, none of this counts,” Lowery said as players nearly came to blows.

“Everybody just walk away. None of this counts.”

Parkinson agreed, saying the Taipans missed their chance to show genuine resistance.

“When they made that run during the third quarter and you thought they were coming, that’s the time when you get into someone and show a little bit of fight,” he said on NBL Now.

“Far too late when the siren sounded, and you look up at the scoreboard and it’s 110 to 78.”

The defeat marked Cairns’ fourth loss of more than 30 points this season, a sobering result after a much-hyped “all in” recruiting drive.

Injuries have hurt Adam Forde’s side, but Parkinson believes the optics of the post-game clash were poor.

“I don’t mind seeing a little bit of that, but it would have been nice if they had a dust-up during the game,” he added.

“It doesn’t look good from the Cairns side of it, you’re showing fight when the game is over.

“It was a home game; if they’d shown that kind of edge earlier, it might have lifted the crowd and sparked something. Seeing it at the end just didn’t sit right.”