Coach Tweedy burns for basketball

Neal Tweedy loves talking about basketball and the Rockets.

Allan Reinikka

TALKING to master coach Neal Tweedy it is hard to believe he and his Rockhampton Stadium Nightclub Rockhampton Rockets team is into the build-up for this weekend's finals.

The relaxed Tweedy has, of course, been through all the excitement and tension before as the Rockets are no stranger when it comes to success in the Queensland Basketball League.

Despite that, the coach is not taking anything for granted when meeting with Gold Coast at Hegvold Stadium tomorrow evening even though he is aware of what it takes when it comes to playing at this stage of the season.

As a player Tweedy was around the courts for close to a decade and has spent a further 12 years as the head coach of the Rockets. Over the past five years the Rockets have developed into the QBL benchmark but Tweedy points out that the club have had to put in the hard yards.

“The Rockets have got a lot of history and we've had our ups-and-downs over the past 25 years,” he said.

During his time as player and coach he has seen the QBL become stronger and attract bigger players in the process.

The biggest development came about 10 years ago when the NBL season shifted to a summer program.

“A lot of players were able to play both seasons, they now play all year round,” he said.

Consequently the QBL has been successful in attracting players who would not have been available before.

“No other sport (in CQ) is attracting that quality of player, there is not a massive gap between the NBL and QBL,” he said.

Tweedy knows what he provides is not just a successful sporting team but a great entertainment package that keeps the fans flocking to Hegvold Stadium.

He said the nature of the game, and its playing environment, make basketball so attractive to the paying public with spectators within touching distance of the action.

The coach is reluctant to say where the 2010 team stand when it comes to the best Rockets teams he has put on court as each has been a little different.

“To go 16-2 (win-loss) is one of the best records,” he said.

“We have had some very good teams over the past 10 years.”

Despite having a good squad Tweedy admits the Rockets have been lucky as they have been able to keep key players on court for the majority of the season.

When the team lost Reggie Golson through suspension, the side lost two of the three matches during the spell.

“No team has the depth to replace key players,” he said.

“Luck and injuries play a major part of every season.”

The luck the Rockets gained this year came with the losses by Mackay in its two final games to prevent them from gaining the home venue for the finals.