W is for Win
17/10/2006
GM stole a few minutes from his courtside commentary role to sneak into the stands and observe Victoria's newest NBL club in action.
Row J seat 1717/10/2006
From where I sat to observe the South Dragons take on the Wollongong Hawks in their first home game at Vodafone Arena they did everything right except; win the game (Which it would be hard to argue against being the most important aspect of the night’s festivities) Sporting parlance offers many truisms such as the classic ‘you win some and you lose some’, which to this point the leagues freshest franchise can only appreciate from the position of conquered. There is however ‘always next week’ which is the perfect sports cliché comeback. With a current record that reads 0&3 despite some impressive moments the South Dragons desperately need to find a W-which may be the only letter of the alphabet they don’t have covered.
When it comes to the letter A (for attitude) the South Dragons as an organization have all bases covered with an approach that is designed to raise the bar both on and off the court. E (for entertainment) is a ‘lock’ as the Dragons ownership wish for fans to experience a night out, not just a game of basketball. The first home game showcased breakdancers, acrobats, cheerleaders and pyrotechnics in a frenzied entertainment program. G is for giveaways which were frequent upon opening night and will no doubt continue throughout the course of the year. However W is the letter that counts and should the Dragons find their first for the season they will need to work diligently behind closed doors. With just 6 days to prepare I’m sure the Dragons will be looking at their help defense, interior presence and rebounding. It is difficult to ‘gel’ as a team overnight particularly when your captain hasn’t been able to play and your coach new to Australian shores but given a good week on the practice court the South Dragons could topple one of the NBL’s great teams in the Melbourne Tigers.
I won’t be missing one of the biggest games of the year on Sunday the 22nd of October when the South Dragons take on the Melbourne Tigers at Vodafone Arena at 5:30pm.
On the eve of the Dragons first home game, the club has been rocked by the news Wazza 'The Volcano' Bromo will no longer be roaming courtside at Vodafone, replaced by former Carlton megastar Glenn Manton.Franchise blues for Warren
13/10/2006
I can’t believe it! I really can’t. This Saturday night the South Dragons will take on the Hawks without Shane Crawford at Vodafone arena and you will be right there in the thick shake of things. I feel at this point I need to emphasize the word thick as I have been a little since I last saw you all at the Australian game against the ‘Tall Blacks’ a month or two ago.
I don’t know if you remember or not or you do but Aussie great Shane Heal asked me personally to become a part of the Dragons franchise, which I thought was a fantastic opportunity for a lad from King Island. Obviously I was thrilled at the idea of owning my own fast food restaurant. I searched for the franchise that Shane mentioned for weeks and weeks. I asked everyone if they knew of the Dragons franchise and what was on the menu. After all I had experience as a teenager back on King Island at Creamy Dreams the local fast food outlet which had nearly two stores in its chain. Creamy Dreams specialized in serving cream in over 34 different ways-it really is unbelievable what can be with a little imagination. Anyway I asked a six foot four red headed clown, a chicken from Spain, an old Colonel who pimped chickens, even a bearded lawn mower called Jim who had clearly spent too much time in the sun about the franchise. No one I spoke with had any idea about the Dragons which was a shame as I had put in an enormous amount of preparation behind the scenes. I had the Hammer Heal hold the veal vegetarian burger, the Shanahan clan family meal deal; even the Frank Drimic which was a strangely named tubular pasta and asparagus filled burger. I named the shakes Bromo’s which people I spoke with such as Ron the clown (lovely guy although he looked quite silly) said was very appropriate.
Finally I gave up after repeated heartache which I think was caused by eating too much of the Colonels sweet and crispy chicken. That’s when I thought to myself that the franchise that Hammer Heal was referring too might just be the basketball team the South Dragons. I know what you’re thinking-that’s wild, I thought that too but I took a chance on a somewhat bloated gut feeling; it was the chicken again. But that’s when it hit me right between the eyes. I could go and work for the Dragons or I could open the first Bromo Burger franchise back on King Island and hit easy street in a big way. As you can tell by my tone or at least the obvious direction of this article I’ve gone for the burgers and buns not to mention the chips, soft drinks and of course the Drimic.
Fortunately I met a bloke at the Aussie game called Glenn Manton who I think could get the job done despite his background playing footy for two of the worst teams ever-I barrack for the King Island Creams which share their name with every other sporting team on the island which makes it kind of confusing especially because all the teams share the same colors which is even more perplexing. Luckily I can explain it all OK! Anyway look after Glenn this Saturday night, have a blast and I look forward to seeing you down south on a holiday or honey moon for a burger or two…or three…maybe four-fours probably enough unless your really really hungry then you could have five…..
Welcome to the big smoke ‘Wazza’21/07/2006
Last seen roaming courtside at the Boomers game on Wednesday, Warren 'The Volcano' Bromo has been personally invited by Dragons Captain Shane Heal to be a roving commentator come the Dragons regular season
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