Geraldton Buccaneers grand final heartbreak after a historic comeback season

The coach of the Geraldton Buccaneers says his players should not lose sight of a successful season despite their heartbreaking NBL1 West grand final loss.

The “Buccs” pulled off one of their strongest seasons in history,  hailed as a stand-out regional team in the NBL1 West competition.

The side finished the season as minor premiers and regularly draw hundreds to cheer for the blue and gold.

Head coach Dayle Joseph said the Buccs’ performance on the night did not reflect their efforts for the year.

“As much as we lost the grand final, we had a very successful season, we won 24 games, lost four and it just so happened we lost that last one,” he said.

The Buccs proved their on-court dominance in their two finals, thrashing the Cockburn Cougars by 31 points and the Joondalup Wolves by 26 points.

“I think you’d say that’s a successful season, it just didn’t end up being a championship season,” Joseph said.

For the love of the crowd

The club was bolstered by a number of changes this year, including full capacity crowds where seats to home games became hot property.

Operations manager Nerolie Gerreyn acknowledged the ongoing support from dedicated fans, who grew louder and stronger in numbers throughout the season.

“For the finals rounds we would sell out, we were up in the thousands for home finals,” she said.

Ms Gerreyn said the positive atmosphere had empowered the team and the rest of the organisation.

“We have an amazing team on and off the court, they’re great basketball players but they’re great people too,” she said.

The Geraldton team also welcomed US imports Shaun Stewart and Cameron Coleman, who were pivotal in the team’s charge to finals.

“We had various issues pretty much the last two seasons really … it was probably the lack of imports and recruits that we rely on to come and help our younger guys out,” Joseph said.

Last time together

Joseph said he recognised some senior players were weighing up their future before the game.

He said he reminded his players the grand final could be their last opportunity to play all together.

“It’s rare for your whole squad to turn up at the start of the next season and start again,” he said.

“If they want to have a crack at it next year, success is just around the corner, so you know a lot of things have to align for that to happen.”

Flames strong finish 91-79

Opponents the Rockingham Flames were too consistent on grand final night. 

While they trailed Buccs by 10 points at half time, they snatched the lead in the final five minutes of the game.

“We got off to a pretty good start and we we’re playing reasonably well for probably three quarters of the game,” Joseph said.

But foul trouble forced captain Mat Wundenberg and elite scorer Mathiang Muo onto the sidelines for an extended period.

Rockingham outscored the Geraldton side in the fourth term, putting 25 points on the board to the Buccs’ 9, to win their first championship.

Basketball WA also confirmed it was the first NBL1 West grand final where the Australian National anthem was sung in Traditional Language.

Remarkable recovery

Stepping back onto a basketball court was an achievement for Liam Hunt after he severely injured his leg against the Rockingham Flames in 2020.

The Buccs player was dubbed a “miracle” by orthopaedic surgeon Pete D’Alessandro, who played a role in Hunt’s recovery.

Hunt underwent surgery to piece his knee back together and had to learn to walk again.

Named personality of the year, Hunt also delivered an emotional speech at the game.

“He never thought he’d be back playing in a grand final and possibly a lot of people sitting there thought he would never be back,” Ms Gerreyn said.

“But he had that much determination and support, that for him to be back was amazing.”

What happens next season?

The Buccaneers expect veteran and captain Aaron Ralph to return next season after being sidelined with an ACL injury.

Joseph said he was looking forward to welcoming back the 400 gamer.

“Aaron’s being doing a lot of shooting and training, so I think he’s really looking forward to what happens after Christmas,” he said.

The club will wind up their season at an awards night next Friday.