Cairns Marlins

Cairns Marlins
League	NBL1 North
Founded	1987
History	Cairns Marlins 1987–present
Arena	Trinity Ford Stadium
Capacity	730
Location	Cairns, Queensland
Team colors	Deep sky blue, orange, white
President	Mark Beecroft
General manager	Graham Burns
Ownership	Cairns Basketball Inc.
Affiliation(s)	Cairns Taipans Cairns Dolphins
Championships	9 (1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2016)
Website	Cairns Basketball
Home Away

The Cairns Marlins are an Australian basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Marlins compete in the men's NBL1 North and play their home games at Early Settler Stadium. The team is affiliated with Cairns Basketball Inc. (CBI), the major administrative basketball organisation in the region. CBI's women's team is the Cairns Dolphins.

Team history

Entry into the QBL

After operating a successful basketball program in Cairns, Queensland, Cairns Basketball joined the Queensland State Basketball League in its second season in 1987. ^[1] They fielded two teams, the Cairns Marlins in the men's competition and the Cairns Dolphins in the women's competition.

Expansion to the NBL

Between 1993 and 1998 the Marlins won four championships, prompting calls for Cairns to join the Australian National Basketball League. The Cairns Taipans joined the NBL for the 1999–2000 season, with Marlin's head coach Rod Popp coaching the team. ^[1]

Since the Taipans' entry into the NBL the two teams have remained very close, often sharing development and training players over the NBL off-season and the QBL season.

Championship dynasty

The Marlins are the most successful team in the QBL, holding nine championships since the team joined the league. They also make regular appearances in the playoffs, making 19 appearances over 26 seasons since 1993. ^[2]

Transfer to NBL1

After a successful first season in 2019, in 2020 the NBL1 expanded into Queensland and replaced the QBL. After this change, the Marlins transferred to the NBL1 North. ^[3]

Season by season

Season	League	Regular Season					Post-Season	Head Coach	Captain	Club MVP
		Position	Played	Wins	Losses	Win %
Cairns Marlins
1987	QSBL
1988	QSBL
1989	QSBL
1990	QSBL							David Ingram
1991	QSBL							Peter Pendle
1992	QSBL			4	22 [4]			Brian Vincent
1993	QSBL			16	8 [5]		Champions in Final against Burdekin Wildcats	Rod Popp	Alan Christie
1994	CBA	1st		27	4 [6]		Lost in Final to Ballarat Miners		Ben Johnson
1995	CBA			15	9 [7]
1996	CBA			16	8 [8]				Billy Ross
1997	CBA			24	2 [9]		Lost in Final to Suncoast Clippers
1998	ABA			34	2 [10]		Champions in Final against Townsville Heat		Lucas Agrums
1999	ABA						Lost in Final to Southern Districts
2000	ABA	6th	18	7	11	.388		Mark Beecroft
2001	ABA						Champions in Final against Brisbane Capitals
2002	ABA	2nd	20	14	6	.700	Lost in Final to Brisbane Capitals
2003	ABA	1st	20	15	5	.750	Lost in Final to South West Metro Pirates
2004	ABA						Champions in Final against Townsville Heat, 103–94
2005	ABA	1st	18	15	3	.833	Lost in Final to Southern Districts Spartans, 90–85
2006	QABL							Aaron Fearne
2007	QABL						Champions in Final against Gold Coast Goannas, 135–94
2008	QABL
2009	QBL						Champions in Final against Rockhampton Rockets, 113–81
2010	QBL	4th	18	12	6	.667	Did not qualify
2011	QBL	7th	18	10	8	.556
2012	QBL	4th	16	11	5	.688	Lost in Elimination Finals to Mackay Meteors, 106–75
2013	QBL	2nd	16	14	2	.875	Lost in Elimination-finals to Townsville Heat, 86–99	Jamie Pearlman
2014	QBL	3rd	16	13	3	.813	Lost in Elimination-finals to Mackay Meteors, 83–63
2015	QBL	7th	17	10	7	.588	Did not qualify		James Mitchell
2016	QBL	5th	17	11	6	.647	Champions in Final against Brisbane Capitals, 2–0			Damon Heuir
2017	QBL	4th	17	11	6	.647	Lost in Semi-finals to Townsville Heat, 79–77
2018	QBL	6th	18	10	8	.556	Lost in Final to Townsville Heat, 2–0	Jamie O'Loughlin		Anthony Fisher
2019	QBL	4th	18	13	5	.722	Lost in Elimination-finals to Rockhampton Rockets, 79-90		Anthony Fisher
2020	NBL1 North	Season cancelled
2021	NBL1 North	5th	13	7	6	.538	Lost in Grand Final to Mackay Meteors, 2–0	Kerry Williams	Anthony Fisher

Current squad

Cairns Marlins roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. G 3 George, Deba 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) G 4 Ahwang, Curt G 5 Đerić, Mirko 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 82 kg (181 lb) G 7 Fisher, Anthony  (C) 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 78 kg (172 lb) G 10 Stattmann, Ky 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) F 12 Ware, Marshall 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) F 13 Deng, Majok 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 84 kg (185 lb) F 14 Farmer, Aron 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) C 15 Jawai, Nathan 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) 140 kg (309 lb) G 20 Hutchinson, Tysei 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 82 kg (181 lb) F 21 Gamble, Nick 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 83 kg (183 lb) C 23 Ellis, Sam G 31 Beecroft, Jaylon 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)	Head coach Kerry Williams Assistant coach(es) TBA Legend (C) Team captain (IN) Inactive (I) Import player Injured Roster Updated: 19 June 2021

References

1. "History – Cairns Basketball Association". SportsTG. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
2. "QBL State Champions & Award Winners | QBL – Basketball QLD". Basketball QLD: QBL. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
3. "NBL1 Expands To North And South Conferences". NBL1.com.au. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
4. "Cairns Taipans - Coach". Archived from the original on 16 November 1999.
5. "Cairns Taipans - Coach". Archived from the original on 16 November 1999.
6. "Cairns Taipans - Coach". Archived from the original on 16 November 1999.
7. "Cairns Taipans - Coach". Archived from the original on 16 November 1999.
8. "Cairns Taipans - Coach". Archived from the original on 16 November 1999.
9. "Cairns Taipans - Coach". Archived from the original on 16 November 1999.
10. "Cairns Taipans - Coach". Archived from the original on 16 November 1999.

External links

• Cairns Basketball's official website