Newley Re-Signing Made With World Cup in Mind

Melbourne United’s re-signing of veteran forward Brad Newley has come with one eye on the upcoming FIBA World Cup according to United head coach Dean Vickerman.

While Newley’s days of representing the Boomers look to have finished – he earned Commonwealth Games gold medals with the side in 2006 and 2018 – the veteran influence the 38-year-old will have on the roster in pre-season will provide crucial guidance in the absence of some of the side’s stars.

Speaking on RSN, Vickerman slated August 1 as a rough date for when the side will come together in preparation for NBL24, while the FIBA World Cup will begin on August 25.

“We just signed Brad Newley which was an important part of juts having one more veteran on our team, because potentially we may have Chris (Goulding), Jo Lual-Acuil Jr [and] Shea Ili away with the World Cup,” Vickerman told RSN.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">RE-SIGNED ??<br><br>Brad Newley is set to play an 11th season in the NBL, after re-signing with <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MelbUnited</a> for NBL24.<br><br>Read more: <a href="https://t.co/T1rLou7I7s">https://t.co/T1rLou7I7s</a> <a href="https://t.co/LbXyliRmyA">pic.twitter.com/LbXyliRmyA</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1650319508949831680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“Newley was really important to have as that veteran head through the early part of the year.

“What’s going on with all of these guys going to the World Cup, their preparation is going to start around that same time so is there a window in July where we can actually get the boys together?

“Mid-July into August is when we’ll start to get into it.”

United captain Chris Goulding is currently playing in a competition outside the NBL for the first time since an off-season stint in Italy in 2016.

The sharpshooter was a part of the 2018 Commonwealth Games squad alongside Newley, but also added an Olympic bronze medal to his trophy cabinet as part of Australia’s Tokyo Olympic squad.

With a deep guard pool available for selection that could include the likes of Josh Giddey, Patty Mills, Dante Exum, Josh Green and Dyson Daniels, Vickerman says Goulding is attempting secure his place on the plane while playing for Paris Basketball.

“He’s in a preparation to try and make this World Cup team,” Vickerman said of his captain. “And I think continuing to play at a really high level.

“In some ways he’s filling a bit of a role the Boomers require – to come in and have a scoring impact.

“He’s doing a great job with Will Weaver’s team over there in Paris.”