Simon Mitchell on all things South East Melbourne Phoenix – releasing Mike Kelly, Sam Mackinnon’s job, how they got Josh King and then he discusses loving Bul Kuol’s meanness, Trey Kell’s toughness, faith in Tasmania JackJumpers thanks to defence, admiring NZ Breakers.

Given Simon is current GM of basketball at the Phoenix and the club’s inaugural coach, it’s only natural South East Melbourne dominate a lot of this week’s show including the breakthrough Throwdown win against Melbourne United.

Simon also discusses how telling Mike Kelly he would no longer be coach is one of the toughest things he’s ever done, how Josh King ended up being appointed coach despite having a job in Turkey, and why he is such a good fit for this Phoenix group and his style will be exciting for the NBL.

Simon Mitchell gives his Sports Card World Player of the Year votes topped by new leader Kendric Davis from the Adelaide 36ers with Bul Kuol getting top votes in Damian Martin’s Best Defensive Player award as Simon talks about how much he loves he imposes himself, and his meanness.

We then talk about the Perth Wildcats now having to live without Bryce Cotton in the short term and why Simon expects players on the team to relish the challenge, including Tai Webster and Ben Henshall as guards, and Izan Almanza and Keanu Pinder up front.

While Simon doesn’t expect the New Zealand Breakers to be his Phoenix in Christchurch this Thursday, he can’t help but admire how they are holding up despite now passing 51,000km travelled the past six weeks and things they deserve more respect for that.

We then look at why the Illawarra Hawks are the NBL’s best team right now and why Trey Kell III is such a key to that and Simon talks about the recent revelation that he actually had an undiagnosed leg fracture in his season at the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

Simon also talks about why others might be concerned about the Tasmania JackJumpers scoring, he is sure they will find more points and he continues to be amazed by how good their defence is anchored by the world class shot blocking of Will Magnay.

The Adelaide 36ers can now work on their massive line-up with Jarell Martin joining Isaac Humphries and Montrezl Harrell with Simon talking about how exciting and potent they are, he knows they must improve defensively.

We then wrap up this week’s show with a preview of Round 6 in the NBL, whether Shea Ili or Taran Armstrong are missed more by Melbourne United or Cairns Taipans, and Simon talks about his admiration of how Sam Mackinnon has shown leadership over the past week.

All made possible thanks to the support of Hoops Heaven (www.hoopsheaven.com.au) and TABtouch (www.tabtouch.com.au).

Hoops Heaven's Basketball Hustle – #NBL25 Episode 6

Tatum was right but deserved fine, Goulding didn't flop this time, no Adams, no Sydney Kings and doubt over Oliver future, brave Perth Wildcats & NZ Breakers, exciting Adelaide 36ers, big shoes for Josh King, smart move by Brisbane Bullets, TABtouch Preview.

We look back on Round 7 of the NBL season with Cody Ellis struggling to get too enthused about the action we're seeing on the court with team's offences seemingly falling off a cliff and he's not sure exactly why, but he hopes it soon changes.

We then get our votes from Damian Martin in the #TheDamo Best Defensive Player award and from Simon Mitchell for the Sports Card World Player of the Year award with Will Magnay and Montrezl Harrell earning top billing respectively.

We then look at two teams who had courageous and gutsy wins against the Sydney Kings in #NBL25 Round 7, the Perth Wildcats and NZ Breakers.

Keanu Pinder inspired the Wildcats to a gritty win despite horrible shooting and the absence of Bryce Cotton and Tai Webster before the Breakers shook off missing four players and travelling 51,000km already this season with Next Star Karim Lopez delivering a breakout performance.

First segments wraps up with talk about the exciting Adelaide 36ers led by Montrezl Harrell and Kendric Davis, and how good it is to see a coach like Mike Wells willing to spray his players, and for his players to respond in the right way.

It's then time to discuss the most dramatic and finishes between the Illawarra Hawks and Melbourne United where Chris Goulding was again accused of flopping, Justin Tatum received a technical for a player that never actually ended up counting, and things got even more interesting post-match.

Cody Ellis gives his thoughts that while Tatum was right in everything he said and he had every reason to be upset in the officiating, he still deserved a fine for his post-match comments.

We then look at the Sydney Kings who just look a totally disjointed line-up in the absence of former MVP Jaylen Adams while Brian Goorjian's fatigue excuse doesn't wash, and Cody Ellis has raised doubts over Cam Oliver seeing out the season if things keep tracking how they are.

Talk turns to the South East Melbourne Phoenix and why Sam Mackinnon is unlikely to have not kept the role and why Josh King has big shoes to come in and fill, but why it's going to a fun ride to watch how it unfolds.

Emmett Naar has now joined the Brisbane Bullets replacing Sam McDaniel and Cody Ellis is a big fan of the move before we wrap up this week with a full preview of Round 7 in the NBL.

All made possible thanks to the support of Hoops Heaven (www.hoopsheaven.com.au) and TABtouch (www.tabtouch.com.au).

Hoops Heaven's Basketball Hustle – #NBL25 Episode 7

Horrors of social media exposed with Cody Ellis adding insights as an NBL player along with Chris Goulding's 46, Rob Loe's 30, Melbourne United's offence, South East Melbourne Phoenix's defence, can Adelaide 36ers hit the road, Jaylen Adams/Cam Oliver at Sydney Kings and TABtouch Preview.

The unfortunate dark side of social media was brought to light by both Scott Roth and Keanu Pinder last week. Clearly something needs to be done but there are no easy answers as to how to put the worst of society back in the hole they crawled out of, and Cody Ellis draws on his own experiences as a player on social media.

Melbourne United dominated the Sports Card World Player of the Year votes this week from Simon Mitchell with Cody Ellis offering insights as to why he wanted Chris Goulding to get to 50 and then what made him so happy to see Rob Loe put up 30 to set a career high.

Melbourne United's offence was mighty impressive with 226 in wins against the Brisbane Bullets and the Perth Wildcats, but conceding 200 at the same time means that despite sitting in top spot, they have plenty of work to do at that end of the floor.

The Adelaide 36ers continue to play almost unstoppable and insatiable basketball at home but now their big test is to take that energy with them especially defensively onto the road and Cody sees no reason why they can't do it.

The Cairns Taipans continue to have a horror injury run, but have self-inflected wounds too after both Rob Edwards and Jonah Antonio have lost their cool with the officials to end up costing their team.

The South East Melbourne Phoenix defence again gave up 74 points in both their Round 8 games and with their full court pressure, they are doing it in a very different way that has Cody super excited for along with the impressive Josh King even if some questioned his instructions to not foul in the dying seconds when down five.

The Sydney Kings look so much better with Jaylen Adams as their point guard and he makes everyone around him better, but things don't seem to be working out with Cam Oliver with Cody thinking he's either given a clearly defined role or maybe it's time to move on.

The Tasmania JackJumpers had an emotional week, but rediscovered some freedom offensively and it all came down to loosening up and now they can look forward to continuing to rise with the pending returns of Will Magnay and Sean Macdonald.

We wrap up the show with the TABtouch Preview that includes Cody's two former teams the Illawarra Hawks and Sydney Kings locking horns and then including a fascinating Sunday battle between Melbourne United and the Adelaide 36ers.

All made possible thanks to the support of Hoops Heaven (www.hoopsheaven.com.au) and TABtouch (www.tabtouch.com.au).

Hoops Heaven's Basketball Hustle – #NBL25 Episode 9

The bipolar Adelaide 36ers, Josh Adams to Brisbane Bullets, Cam Oliver on the outs but Sydney Kings new import, self-inflicted Parker Jackson-Cartwright blow but NZ Breakers win, Illawarra Hawks, South East Melbourne Phoenix & Casey Prather all shining in NBL25.

There's no shortage of topics for us to catch up on in the NBL on Hoops Heaven's Basketball Hustle with Cody Ellis back after spending a week in Melbourne, a week in Sydney and reporting back from what he saw from two games he attended in each city.

We open up by talking the big talking points including Parker Jackson-Cartwright's suspension, the Cam Oliver drama at the Sydney Kings as they prepare to bring in a new import, Josh Adams has joined the Brisbane Bullets and then the Adelaide 36ers going from imploding to best win of the season.

The best way for us to catch up on everything that has been happening is to run through team by team beginning with the Illawarra Hawks who Cody sees as the team to beat right now with their consistency and having all the pieces.

Then there's Melbourne United who are still second but have been a bit all over the place lately but are still legit and have put themselves in a good position.

The Tasmania JackJumpers have now won eight straight to be up into third but to be genuine threats of defending their championship they do need to get Will Magnay back.

Focus then is on the Sydney Kings who appear to be fractured as a group, Cam Oliver isn’t being given a chance to contribute and now they are about to bring in a new import guard at the last possible moment.

The Perth Wildcats have done well to win three of four games so far on the road with Keanu Pinder making such a difference when aggressive and Izan Almansa and Dylan Windler are coming up big.

The South East Melbourne Phoenix round out the top six and are emerging as genuine contenders with a roster perfectly fit to play the pace that Josh King now has them playing at.

The Brisbane Bullets have been playing some impressive basketball as well despite never being full strength with Casey Prather putting himself in the MVP hunt and now with Josh Adams about to join.

The Adelaide 36ers lost three straight games by 20-plus points and looked set to completely implode before hitting back for a big win in Sydney but now the key is to show that wasn’t just a one off.

The NZ Breakers have now played their first of five games without Parker Jackson-Cartwright and won for the first time with Tacko Fall but face an uphill battle to keep themselves in the mix.

Then there's the Cairns Taipans who have lost 15 straight and Cody can't see where they get another win for the rest of the NBL season.

We wrap things up with a TABtouch Preview of Round 15 highlighted by the highly anticipated first rematch between the Adelaide 36ers and Melbourne United after their scuffle got out of hand last time.

All made possible thanks to the support of Hoops Heaven (www.hoopsheaven.com.au) and TABtouch (www.tabtouch.com.au).

Hoops Heaven's Basketball Hustle – #NBL25 Episode 14

The NBL run home and we predict the final six, no stopping Illawarra Hawks, Melbourne United's stagnant offence, unpredictable Adelaide 36ers, decimated Tasmania JackJumpers/Brisbane Bullets, could be brutal Cairns Taipans finish, on fire Perth Wildcats/South East Melbourne Phoenix.

Cody Ellis is back for Hoops Heaven's Basketball Hustle and we start off with a follow up on the passing of Darryl Pearce with Mike Ellis passing on a tribute and his shock at the passing of his long-time rival.

We open up this week's show wrapping up all the happenings in the last week of the NBL including the hot Hawks, struggling United, Phoenix continuing their charge, Kouat Noi sparking the Sydney Kings, the Wildcats enjoying their home coming, not knowing what to get from the 36ers, injuries hitting the Bullets and JackJumpers, and the fun race to come in the run home.

We get an update on our awards with Bryce Cotton still leading Simon Mitchell's Sports Card World Player of the Year but Kendric Davis still in contention while Wani Swaka Lo Buluk still leading #TheDamo Best Defensive Player despite Dylan Windler's three votes.

This week's dissection begins at the Taipans who put in a fifth straight poor home performance against Adelaide with Adam Forde letting his players know about it afterwards. Cody's not sure if he will stay in Cairns beyond this season and sees Sam Waardenburg as being a hot target.

The Bullets are dealing with a brutal injury run and trying to win without their best two players, Casey Prather and Tyrell Harrison, was a bridge too far in Illawarra and it might have been enough to put them out of genuine top six contention.

The 36ers lost in Perth and won big in Cairns after another dramatic week but they do appear to be a playing group enjoying playing together and who are dangerous even if their defence still needs some work.

The JackJumpers have been struck with three season-ending injuries they could least afford and while it's hard to still see them holding onto sixth spot, you never want to write them off.

South East Melbourne are fun to watch, they are playing well at both ends of the floor and covering well without Derrick Walton Jr with captain Nathan Sobey playing some of the best team basketball of his career.

Melbourne is struggling offensively and they need to find another genuine offensive weapon to take the pressure off Chris Goulding, and Ian Clark does need to be that person but he needs help to get some better shots.

With three rounds to go, we take a look at the run home for all the teams left in contention to make the top six with Cody settling on Illawarra, Perth, South East Melbourne, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

We then preview a monster Wednesday night double-header with the Phoenix hosting the Kings, and then the Wildcats at home to United before the TABtouch Round 18 Preview highlighted by Sydney playing Adelaide on Friday in a must-watch affair.

All made possible thanks to the support of Hoops Heaven (www.hoopsheaven.com.au) and TABtouch (www.tabtouch.com.au).

Hoops Heaven's Basketball Hustle – #NBL25 Episode 17

No surprise if Adelaide 36ers or South East Melbourne Phoenix reach NBL Championship Series, Perth Wildcats could be derailed, bravo Cairns Taipans, stop fouling Bul Kuol, Melbourne United ominous, TABtouch #PrideRound Preview.

The teams in the top six might appear set, but it's anyone's guess how those teams will finish with injuries unfortunately derailing hopes of Tasmania JackJumpers/Brisbane Bullets while the Phoenix/36ers emerge, United hit back, Wildcats/Hawks slip up and Kings are the great mysteries.

The Player of the Year award with votes from Simon Mitchell sees Bryce Cotton only leading Kendric Davis by a single vote while Wani Swaka Lo Buluk is just clinging to his lead over Shea Ili in #TheDamo Best Defensive Player from Damian Martin.

The Cairns Taipans beat the top two teams coming into Round 18 in the space of 48 hours with the league's biggest road trip in between and full credit to coach Adam Forde and the players led by Sam Waardenburg.

The Adelaide 36ers are an imposing team right now with Montrezl Harrell leading that intimidation factor and there's no question now that they look locked in to make the top six that they are going to be mighty dangerous come finals time.

The South East Melbourne Phoenix continue to shine and it's by committee with the likes of Joe Wieskamp coming up big as he shows he has plenty to offer in the NBL.

The Perth Wildcats suffered two losses at home in Round 18 and now have slipped all the way to fifth position and it could very well derail their championship prospects with Bryce Cotton having an uncharacteristic inefficient two performances.

Melbourne United had an impressive weekend with Ian Clark starring while their late game execution has them a standout as they now return home for the last two games for the first time in 2025.

The Sydney Kings had another mixed weekend where there was a lot of reliance on Jaylen Adams who had the ball in his hands an almighty amount while Bul Kuol has just refused to learn how to not foul with his aggressive defence.

The Illawarra Hawks had another slip up in Cairns against the Taipans with the quirk that their starters were terrible, and it was their bench that gave them a chance which isn't a recipe for championship success.

The New Zealand Breakers only have two games left in their season and we might not see Parker Jackson-Cartwright again after his rib injury, and we might not see him in the NBL again either.

We then wrap up this week's show with a preview of NBL Pride Round thanks to TABtouch highlighted by a pivotal Sunday double with the Sydney Kings v Perth Wildcats, and then South East Melbourne Phoenix v Adelaide 36ers.

All made possible thanks to the support of Hoops Heaven (www.hoopsheaven.com.au) and TABtouch (www.tabtouch.com.au).

Hoops Heaven Basketball Hustle NBL25 Episode 18

Farewell Kevin Braswell, Taran Armstrong to Golden State Warriors, Justin Schueller transitioned out of Brisbane Bullets, full TABtouch NBL Playoffs preview with Melbourne United v Perth Wildcats, Illawarra Hawks v South East Melbourne Phoenix.

Before getting stuck into the NBL Playoffs, we talk about the sad passing of 2011 NZ Breakers championship winning guard and former head coach Kevin Braswell.

We then also look at how frustrating it is to have this FIBA break before the Playoffs and talk about Taran Armstrong gong from the Cairns Taipans to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA, and why Justin Schueller appears hard done by to be let go by the Brisbane Bullets.

We then get stuck into previews of the two Playoff series starting with Melbourne United against the Perth Wildcats. History is with Melbourne and so is home court advantage, but there's so much to watch out for including if United's veterans or the Wildcats youth shine.

Then can Bryce Cotton finally break the shackles of Shea Ili, do Melbourne have an answer for the explosive Keanu Pinder and who prevailed in the battle of the two fastest paced teams in the NBL.

Then there's the Illawarra Hawks trying to shake off a three-week break when they take on the South East Melbourne Phoenix in the other series.

The Hawks look to have all the weapons with Tyler Harvey and Trey Kell III in the back court, and Sam Froling, Lachlan Olbrich and Mason Peatling up front, but the Phoenix have a big threat with Matt Hurt and also welcome back Derrick Walton Jr.

Josh King is also yet to lose to Justin Tatum and the Hawks since taking over as coach at the Phoenix while whether or not South East Melbourne can force Illawarra into turning the ball over 10-plus times will be a crucial factor.

To then wrap up this week's show we take a look at the coaching vacancies at the Cairns Taipans and Brisbane Bullets with Cody pinpointing Kerry Williams as the likely appointment at the Snakes and potentially Chase Buford returning to the NBL at the Bullets.

The Adelaide 36ers became the most fascinating story to watch in #NBL25 too and we look back on what they did and why if they can bring back the majority of that eight-man rotation that worked late in the piece they will be tough to deal with next season.

All made possible thanks to the support of Hoops Heaven (www.hoopsheaven.com.au) and TABtouch (www.tabtouch.com.au).

Hoops Heaven's Basketball Hustle – #NBL25 Episode 21

Darren Barker (@djbdarren) from the NBL's digital media team makes his pod debut to help round up a big week in the Australian basketball news cycle.

On this episode, Kyrie Irving expresses his desire to play for Australia at LA 2028, Taran Armstrong signs with the Golden State Warriors, strong form for both Dyson Daniels and Josh Giddey, Victor Wembanyama's season ending blood clots, the struggles of the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns, and an NBL Finals preview.

Find the Beyond the Fence podcast on Spotify, Apple, Soundcloud, Google Podcasts and Stitcher. Read more content at beyondthefence.com.au and follow the podcast on Twitter @BeyondTFence.

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Kyrie wants in on the Boomers and Taran Armstrong joins the Golden State Warriors

NBL must find a way to fix block/goaltend calls, Chris Goulding MVP of stunning Melbourne United-Perth Wildcats series, why John Rillie had to sit Keanu Pinder, excitement for Illawarra Hawks from player in their last Championship Series in 2017.

We open up this week's show with Cody Ellis talking about how proud he is of the Illawarra Hawks for what they have achieved so far in NBL, the way the community has got behind them and his reflections on being part of their last Championship Series in 2017.

We then turn our attention to the two Playoff Series where the Hawks dominated the South East Melbourne Phoenix in Game 3 after two tight games while Melbourne United and Perth Wildcats played out an all-time classic over three matches.

While Melbourne and Perth had a standout series, it wasn’t without drama and a lot of that surrounded some controversial calls late in the game including an unacceptable missed goaltend that was counted as a block from Marcus Lee on Ben Henshall with scores tied and 2:30 left.

That wasn’t the only call the Wildcats deserved to feel hard done by about and we look at them all including what appeared a flop from Lee on Jesse Wagstaff, a clear travel from Ian Clark and that was all in the last 2:30 of Game 3.

Away from the controversial, we look at Chris Goulding being the MVP of the series on the back of making 22 three-pointers while Ian Clark made the difference in Game 3 with 38 points and Jack White had a torrid time at the foul line.

From a Wildcats point of view, John Rillie deserves enormous credit for the changes he made from late in the third quarter of Game 2 onwards to give his team a chance and that included benching Keanu Pinder, but Cody Ellis talks about why he was left with no choice.

Then as for the other series, Trey Kell III and Tyler Harvey starred in the Game 1 and 3 wins for the Hawks while Todd Blanchfield came up huge and Derrick Walton Jr didn't quite return for the South East Melbourne Phoenix how he hoped and Matt Hurt's form wildly fluctuated from Wollongong to Melbourne.

With those Playoff Series out of the way, we look ahead to the Hawks-United Championship Series where there is all sorts of match ups to look forward to but might well be veterans Todd Blanchfield and Ian Clark who hold the key for their respective teams.

All made possible thanks to the support of Hoops Heaven (www.hoopsheaven.com.au) and TABtouch (www.tabtouch.com.au).

Hoops Heaven's Basketball Hustle – #NBL25 Episode 22

Breaking down Illawarra Hawks-Melbourne United NBL Championship Series, fingers crossed for Shea Ili, not good enough from Jack White, Adam Caporn perfect Boomers choice, Andrew Bogut's first step to coaching Sydney Kings, New Orleans Pelicans on the way.

Plenty of other things to discuss along with the Championship Series beginning with Adam Caporn being appointed the Australian Boomers coach and Cody sees him as the perfect choice for the role moving forward.

We then also discuss if Keanu Pinder's social media posting was a farewell to the Perth Wildcats, if Josh Bannan is now the hottest free agent commodity and if Andrew Bogut being a Sydney Kings assistant coach might be his first step towards being head coach.

We also look at the New Orleans Pelicans coming to Melbourne in October with Zion Williamson to play a couple of NBA pre-season games against Melbourne United and South East Melbourne Phoenix.

We then break down Game 1 of the Championship Series in what was the perfect example of a game of two halves with the Hawks having things on their terms in the first half before United turned things on its head for the win.

Melbourne's experience and physicality came to the fore in that second half with Marcus Lee playing a huge role while the back court of Shea Ili and Matthew Dellavedova helped ensure that Trey Kell III and Tyler Harvey had tough starts to the series.

We then turn our focus to Game 2 in Melbourne and the Hawks were in control of a lot of it but there was a lot to dissect in the last 10 seconds with Ian Clark's go ahead foul shots, Tyler Harvey's massive three and then Chris Goulding's three rattling out.

Also in Game 2, the Hawks won the physical battle and going big with Lachlan Olbrich and Sam Froling worked while Harvey and Trey Kell III fired with Jack White not good enough for Melbourne United but Tanner Krebs showed his value.

After wrapping up the first two games, we take a look at the TABtouch odds for Game 3 and then the rest of the series, and Cody is going with the Hawks to win Game 3 and to take the series 3-2 from here.

The WNBL championship has been decided with the Bendigo Spirit led by Sami Whitcomb winning and while the league has a strong on-court product, it needs a big boost in promotion to boost the profile which should begin happening under the NBL banner.

We then rapidly run through some free agents with Cody giving his thoughts on the future of players in the NBL including Bryce Cotton, Keanu Pinder, Kendric Davis, Montrezl Harrell, Tacko Fall, Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Jaylen Adams, Derrick Walton Jr, Milton Doyle and Jordon Crawford.

All made possible thanks to the support of Hoops Heaven (www.hoopsheaven.com.au) and TABtouch (www.tabtouch.com.au).

Hoops Heaven's Basketball Hustle – #NBL25 Episode 23

Beyond The Fence is hosted by Ben Quagliata with various guests. Our podcast covers whatever is happening in the world of sports, including NRL, basketball, cricket, soccer, motorsports, trading cards, sports in popular culture, and much more.

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