NBL

Jersey debate

RKS NBL

Over the last couple of days, we’ve seen the Tigers jersey back in the NBL and well it looks nice but it just isn’t completely right.

Even though it has been almost four years since United’s arrival, it is still considered terrible that Melbourne United use retired Tigers numbers.

Those jerseys and their numbers were retired for a good reason, to celebrate six champions who done so much for the sport at least in Melbourne itself.

United use the numbers so there is no preference for the Tigers and not upset the Magic, Giants, Dragons, Saints and other ex Victorian team fans.

But if you scrape away the paint of Melbourne United you will see Tigers colours and United shows off the four championships won by the Tigers and the six retired jerseys that live just off plain sight on their home stadium.

Like it or not, Melbourne Tigers is the heritage of Melbourne United, its proud history deserves to stand taller than the rest in Victoria because simply put without the Tigers history, Melbourne United would not exist.

United should not feel embarrassed,  ashamed or feel politically correct  or fair to bury the Tigers success, the success gave them the launchpad to be where they are today.

Think about it this way, despite the unity, where are the Saints banners, the Giants banners, Magic banners and the Dragons banner?

Why should the six Tigers have their legacy brushed aside because they were part of the club that managed to survive all the upheaval the NBL went through?

Mr Kestelman and Mr Slepoy could always just be nice people and give the SEABL club the rights and let them maintain the history and the two of them could just skip off into the sunset with United free of complications but they decide to keep it for some unknown reason.

Personally, this Tigers fan wishes the above would happen so we could all get our teams to where we want them to be with the Tigers aiming to go from SEABL to NBL and United want to be #1 in Victoria when a new Victorian team comes along.

Retiring jerseys is the ultimate compliment for any sports player, they should of stayed retired as a gesture of gratitude for the players services to the club and sport despite the name change.

Sign the petition calling on the re-retirement of Tigers jerseys by clicking here.

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United picks Tigers 2007/8 look

RKS NBL

January 11 2017

It turned out that Melbourne United is wheeling out the Melbourne Tigers look for their Heritage game.

The 2007/8 look is the choice and it was modeled for the fans to gawk at today.

As usual a Tigers jersey looks very nice but the corporation/sponsors era is in full swing with the logo and number way down the jersey just like the SE Melbourne Magic one last year.

Last year the word ‘Magic’ was so low you’d think it was referring to a certain part of the male anatomy if it went any lower.

Will we see retired numbers parked for the night? Probably not which kills the whole heritage deal because they aren’t going the whole hog.

But never fear Tigers fans, SEABL season starts in just under three months time and we can see our jerseys play every week through Autumn and Winter.

Speaking of Tigers news, the SEABL draw was released yesterday, mark your calender’s for April 8, get down to Oakleigh at 1pm and watch our Tigers play Nunawading.

Also the Tigers announced their new assistant coaches and they are Jayson Lomer and David Crowe.

Yep it sure feels good to be getting Tigers news again, see you next time fellow Tigers fans.

Thoughts on Tigers possibly used for Heritage Week/Round

RKS NBL ,

January 10 2018

Today we were given a clue on what Melbourne United will wear for Heritage Round (Month).

It is from 2007/08 and that narrows it down to the Tigers and Dragons, a further clue is that five teams including United will wear a jersey design that was used in a championship year and the Tigers won a title in 2007/8.

So what is this Tigers fan’s thoughts on the matter?

I wish there was a way we could turn the situation if it happens to our (Tigers) advantage.

We need more ex NBL Tigers fans to support the current Melbourne Tigers, while it is true that SEABL is not the NBL and it does put people off, it is still a league that is fiercely contested and has quality.

We have a lot going for us coming into the 2018 SEABL season, our Women’s team has Monique Conti who not only features on the SEABL fixture guide but is used in Melbourne Boomers promotions in the WNBL as well.

Louella Tomlinson will be in for the full season too and her introduction halfway through last season brought a change in form for the Tigers too, Louella has also been doing her bit for the Melbourne Boomers too.

Daryl Corletto will be a full season player in the Men’s team and so we’ll have a season that is not disjointed as we had struggled with have a consistent lineup in the past two seasons.

We have a new set of coaches and assistants, they are highly qualified and the teams are backed by the deep depths of talent the YCM and YCW teams have.

We’re playing our games in Oakleigh and we’ve had our successes there, we get better attendance there and there’s a better crowd atmosphere too.

Fans may be upset that we have moved from MSAC but it is a matter of survival, we were MSAC’s guests, we paid to setup there and pack it up, our fan base in 2016 and 2017 was just too small to make a profit.

Personally, the original idea of Melbourne United is dying, an introduction of another Melbourne team will kill their stated mission to be for all Victorians so they can wear the Tigers colours but the tribute would be just a symbol or token at best, they have our four championships (technically they have just two), they have our retired jersey numbers but they don’t keep the numbers off the court and they celebrate their birthday in May and say they’re almost four and almost 34.

For a brief moment it will be fantastic to see the Tigers colours on an NBL court but then the reality will pop up that it isn’t us out there and will just shrug and think of the day the SEABL season starts or the monumental task of getting back into the NBL which won’t be easy thanks to Larry Kestelman co-owning the rights of United and Tigers (the hushed up conflict of interest).

They’re not us and we’re not them but we have survived and we’ll get bigger over time, it just takes time, money, fan support and dedication.

In just under three months time the city will be ours again for a couple of months Basketball wise, lets enjoy it.

Not much happening

RKS NBL

October 7 2017

Not much is happening for Tigers fans at the moment but that is not too unexpected because it is the NBL’s time in the spotlight.

We can always watch the Gaze and Copeland show when the Sydney Kings play and they coach hopefully Andrew will bring some of his Kings back to the Tigers in 2018.

The wait for SEABL ’18 does not get any easier, the Tigers with their strong end to 2017 makes us wish the off season never had to happen but it had to and so we must wait for 2018 to come.

No doubt the Tigers will have little bits and pieces during the off season to keep us intereste in what is to come while it is still some distance away, many of the SEABL teams are shopping for talent and no doubt the Tigers are also compiling their shopping list.

We’ve been busy playing the latest NBL 2K Ultimate MOD additions in particularly putting the NBL Tigers against various teams especially Melbourne United and it took some trying but the ’93 Tigers overcame the ’17/18 United side thanks to a lot of three’s from Andrew Gaze whilst Robert Sibley popped up to score his five points in the last to give the win.

Got a couple of ideas in the mind when it comes to interactive activities, not sure if it is inspired by NBL 2K Ultimate or listening to ‘The Very Best of Chicago’ in particular songs like ’25 or 6 to 4′, ‘Colour My World’, ‘Make Me Smile’ and more.

We’ll be back.

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Number 5 is Alive!

RKS NBL

It has now been two weekends in a row that the Tigers have had maximum success in SEABL and it is a wonderful feeling to see people happy that the Tigers have treated fans to new success.

The Men’s playing record of 2016 has been well and truly shattered this year and the Women have had a great debut season with five wins so far, a testament to the Tigers ability to compensate for late player departures and also the shrewd choice to back Tigers players who joined the SEABL team from either from the SCW (2016) and YCW (2016 & 2017) ranks.

This weekend the Men take on our old NBL pals the Geelong Supercats on their home turf, last year the Supercats had a sizable home win in a very high scoring match and earlier this year they were lucky to leave MSAC with a win.

The Tigers can beat any team, anywhere if they make the most of their shots and don’t allow the opposition to get a run in any stretch of time.

On a personal note, Tigers membership came in the mail today and the club included a letter of apology for the lateness and added two shirts and maybe a cap to the order, it was an unexpected but well appreciated gesture and it shows that the club cares for its members and supporters.

So fans who were on the fence this year should get a membership next year with confidence the team will look after you in all matters.

Looking forward to Saturday nights game, may us fans be blessed with it being streamed.

The treasured articles

RKS Melbourne Tigers, NBL, SEABL ,

Aussie Hoopla published a story on the Melbourne Tigers (read the story here) and it is exactly what the Tigers needed.

It talks about the possibility of the Tigers making it back to the NBL but the most important part of the piece was that it talked about the Tigers efforts in SEABL which is good for the Tigers because a reader who doesn’t know about the SEABL team might now become very interested.

Getting newspapers interested in the Melbourne Tigers doesn’t seem to be easy, most if not all SEABL teams get their news reported on by newspapers that are not capital city based but the Tigers being in Melbourne have to get their sports news printed by the big two The Herald Sun and The Age.

Many would think being in the city is an advantage, city papers are read by hundreds of thousands more people than what a local newspaper gets but it is of no advantage if they rarely write about you.

The Tigers do have their own website and club news is printed often particularly previews and recaps of SEABL, YCM and YCW matches and they are usually read 100+ times per piece.

The Tigers are also on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and are steadily growing in popularity by the week.

Back to the Aussie Hoopla piece, The journey to the NBL will be complicated, the IP issue has to be dealt with and then you got the complication that the head honcho of the NBL is the same guy who took the Tigers away from the NBL three years ago.

In all seriousness, the future of the Melbourne Tigers is in so many hands, fans have to watch games at MSAC, have to comment on stories and tweet thoughts as many times a week as possible, the team has to provide results on the court and the media has to be really interested in the club.

So at the end of the day, the story published in Aussie Hoopla is something that is treasured and hopefully other publications will make their own pieces of treasure for the club and the road to the NBL gets easier.

Tigers Quick Facts

RKS Melbourne Tigers, NBL, Uncategorized
  1. The Melbourne Tigers aren’t dead
  2. The club in operation is the original Tigers (est. 1931)
  3. The NBL club known as United is pretty much the son of the club
  4. Andrew Gaze is head coach of the Mens SEABL Club
  5. Tigers also have a Womens team in SEABL from this year (2017)
  6. Home Games are mostly played at MSAC and some are played at Oakleigh
  7. The Tigers Junior Program is thriving
  8. The Tigers won the YCM and YCW titles last year
  9. The club is active on social media from Facebook to Instagram
  10. The club will have 2017 memberships available soon
  11. SEABL season starts for the Tigers on April 1
  12. Tigers play the Spectres and Supercats this coming SEABL season
  13. Before playing with the Kings, Bo Liu plied his trade with the Tigers
  14. Brian Goorjian is a Tigers supporter having played for them before coaching various clubs
  15. Kevin Bartlett is also a Tigers supporter and promotes them when possible
  16. Tigers fans hope United gives the club their professional IP back

Tigers Roundup (11/1/17)

RKS Melbourne Tigers, Melbourne United, NBL, SEABL

Retro round is coming up again in the NBL and the Melbourne Tigers are again not the team of choice for Melbourne United.

Melbourne United has gone for the SE Melbourne Magic look and it’s an interesting choice considering United were the Tigers and Magic fans probably think of United as Tigers in different packaging and the Tigers and Magic never sang from the same song sheet.

Meanwhile the Tigers are preparing for their second SEABL season on the Mens side and the debut season of the Womens side.

The word is that training resumes for the SEABL teams next Friday and more news will be coming from the Tigers soon and everyone loves news from the team they support and the trickle of news will become a torrent as signings and more are announced.

In player news, Former (and hopefully future once again) Tigers player Jock Perry was spotted on the bench during a St Marys Gaels game that was broadcasted around the world, he has not been used on the court so far in his first college season but there is plenty of time for the Gaels to use him.

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Monique Conti has played 11 games for the Melbourne Boomers so far this WNBL season and averages around 4 minutes a game and every game is no doubt a great educational experience for her as she climbs her way up the ladder of Basketball.

Rhys Carter and Daryl Corletto are both having great seasons for the Plymouth Raiders in the British Basketball League as their team marches towards making the playoffs.

Daryl scored in more than 50% of his shots from beyond the arc in December and Rhys picked up six assists a game during the month.

Stay tuned for further news Tigers fans as it comes to hand.

Tigers fans answer to Dragons fans comments

RKS BigV, CLB, Melbourne Tigers, Melbourne United, NBL, rivalry, South Dragons

Dear Dragons Fans,

We the fans of the Melbourne Tigers thank you for your wonderful post on picknroll.com.au, it had many great points.

Tigers fans love rivalry in the great city of Melbourne, it’s a lot of fun particularly when titles are on the line and NBL history is filled with battles for the city of Melbourne.

After the Victoria Giants in the early 2000’s folded the city was a very lonely place, some may say it started getting lonely back in 1998 when North Melbourne and SE Melbourne merged to become the good yet not so interesting Victoria Titans and then the Victoria Giants (think of once tasty leftovers fried by leaving it in the microwave too long).

It was wonderful when the Dragons came along although at first it did not look like the Dragons could fly let alone breathe fire and then you had to hire our Bogeyman known to the world as Brian Goorjian.

Isn’t it ironic that the man who caused the Tigers so many problems from the 1990’s on was a Tigers player in the 70’s and 80’s, it was a gift to Melbourne basketball that kept on giving and not often to the Tigers.

You won that 2008/09 title fair and square despite Chris Anstey’s efforts to whack your boys senseless and out of the NBL finals, too bad the NBL back in 2009 couldn’t fight it’s way out of a wet paper bag forcing the Dragons to leave and the Tigers to briefly do the same, in hindsight Tigers fans wish it was permanent because Larry Kestelman would never of appeared.

To get back into the NBL, South Dragons have to please Mr Kestelman the man who brought and killed off the Tigers and now is top of the NBL chain, but it may be a problem because the guy didn’t like the Tigers having the city to themselves and so he created Melbourne United to get 100% market share instead of promoting the need for a second team.

Melbourne United, a team that’s supposed to be for you and for us but most of us aren’t interested because they’re selfish, more selfish than the Tigers apparently were in the eyes of Larry Kestelman, how can people support a team that wants the whole city for themselves and takes everyone’s history while blatantly using retired jersey numbers that are hanging above their heads.

We should add that apart from a video pre-game and a paragraph or two in the history section (they can’t even get the link right) there’s nothing concrete that proves Melbourne United is for every fan from all the teams that died or suspended operations.

Even if they are truly for the state, they wear a blue that looks like it is black and their name and logo looks like something from a soccer club and what is on the jersey looks like a sign from a Las Vegas casino.

Tigers fans who don’t want to be with United would love the Dragons to defeat United if the Tigers can’t do it themselves, some say we should move on but why move on when there was nothing wrong with the Tigers and the Dragons and there was still plenty to achieve for both sides in the NBL.

But if it doesn’t work out with the NBL Dragons fans, there is always the BigV because we Tigers fans have teams there and we would gladly take you on in the battle for Victorian dominance, maybe we can take the rivalry to the CLB that’s coming and take on the NBL together, it would be so much fun.

We’re waiting Dragons, come play.