Lessons learnt as Forde looks ahead

As he builds his sixth roster as Head Coach of the Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans, Adam Forde has taken lessons learnt from past campaigns to give his latest lineup the best shot at reaching the post-season.

Already known for his thorough research when recruiting players, including in-depth character checks and extensive film analysis, Cairns’ Head Coach notes that he’s learnt to be more selective in his focus.

“We’ve done a really good job this off-season of narrowing our focus and also the people that we want to work with, and we’ve been really particular with who we trust with information and what type of information we get back," said Head Coach Adam Forde.

“So rather than casting a wide net, we’ve been really specific in areas that we want to target.”

With roster construction well underway for Forde, he’s already able to see the results of his adjustments as the pieces slowly come together.

“I had high expectations of what this recruiting group would look like this off-season, and what we’ve been able to do already is quite remarkable. And that’s a massive testament to Mark Beecroft and what he’s been able to do with the Board.”

Also looking outside of Cairns, he’s kept an eye on the strategies used by other teams over the years, most notably Sydney’s decision to keep an import spot up their sleeves and focus on their local lineup, which Forde is aiming to utilise for the upcoming season.

“We want to have a very strong local contingent. There’s an element where we talk about availability of players and player management and keeping guys on court, but you still have to prepare for a rainy day.

“So, what does that look like? We’re going to keep one, potentially two import spots up our sleeves, so if we’re going to go 'We’ve got these spots that we're not going to fill with Americans straight away', that then requires high level marquee Australians to fill those spots.”

Previously using the likes of Sam Waardenburg, Bul Kuol and Keanu Pinder as his marquee players and with Jack McVeigh already secured for next season, Forde is looking for more marquee depth, but also how to handle any injuries picked up by his stars.

Missing Waardenburg for 25 games last year, and with McVeigh also missing a handful, Forde is already planning on how to keep his team operating without their stars.

“With Waardenburg who we lost with free agency, not only do we have to fill the void with what he was able to do on court, but I think we saw last season the void that was left when he also wasn’t available.

“It’s not enough to just say, 'Hey, we need to replace Waardenburg' but we actually need a third level marquee local as well to fill the void if one of the other two marquees go down. And so, building out virtually what you can refer to as like a big three is important, and then depth in the roster.”

Filling out his roster with high-level Australians also allows him to keep import spots free, with it potentially being a key tool in making mid-season changes to his lineup if the Taipans are dealt heavy injury blows again.

“If we do have a run of injuries again, and I think of Waardenburg from last year, when he wasn’t available for an extended stretch it’s virtually impossible to replace him with another local.

“So, if we have a marquee level player go down for an extended stretch of the season, then we have that import spot to get someone that is available internationally.

“And you’ve seen the success of that the last couple of seasons with multiple teams, and most recently the Sydney Kings, and that can really make or break a season, and we’ve been on the break too much.

“It’s about time that we put ourselves in a position to make it... which we feel like we’re definitely in front of the eight ball with.”

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