Taipans trials draw big numbers

The Cairns Taipans are leaving no stone unturned in a bid to improve their roster, with more than 40 NBL prospects attending an ultra-competitive trial this week.

Former and current NBL-rostered players, G League and NBL1 hopefuls attended the session, with coach Adam Forde searching for athletes “desperate for an opportunity”.

“What we thought was going to be maybe 15, 20, became 30, then became 40,” Forde told the Cairns Post.

“We wanted to create a pressure environment to really challenge and see who rose and who didn’t.”

Forde said the club was trying to find a “diamond in the rough”, as it looks to improve on its eighth-place finish from NBL24.

In just eight hours, an initial group of 40 was trimmed to 14, with more sessions in the coming weeks to determine who is worthy of a prized roster spot.

Among the players to push their case, Adelaide 36ers free agent Keanu Rasmussen, former Phoenix and Brisbane player Koen Sapwell and Melbourne United alumni, Dillon Stith.

Stith would qualify as a local rostered player, after obtaining Australian Citizenship last year.

Forde highlighted Stith, Tad Dufelmeier, Alexander Higgins-Titsha and Callum Dalton as standouts in the trials, with special mention for South East Melbourne Phoenix free agent, Kody Stattmann, saying he “competed like his life was on the line”.

To read more about the trials and the big names involved, read the full story here