Phoenix Game Almost Postponed

Injury, Covid and illness almost stopped the South East Melbourne Phoenix from being able to take the court on New Year's Day, coach Simon Mitchell has revealed.

Speaking to Newscorp, Mitchell said the second-placed Phoenix had seven players in doubt earlier in the week.

“It was very much a possibility,” he said. 

“We’ve been on the road all week, in each others’ pockets and, when one Covid positive comes back and guys come down with all the symptoms, there’s a chance of a breakout in the group.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">? ??? ????? ?? ????! ?<a href="https://twitter.com/alantwilliams?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@alantwilliams</a> returns tomorrow for our clash against the JJ&#39;s. ?<br><br>More details ??</p>&mdash; South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix/status/1608968699469529088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Dane Pineau tested positive to Covid, while Trey Kell and Anzac Rissetto had symptoms, but returned negative tests. All have now recovered and are expected to play against Tasmania. 

Alan Williams (ankle) and Junior Madut (foot) have both been given a clean bill of health, with only Ryan Broekhoff (back training) and Gary Browne (three weeks) the only players unavailable, after Zhou Qi recently returned home to China for family reasons recently. 

Broekhoff is considered a chance to return on Wednesday against Sydney. 

The Phoenix face off against the JackJumpers on Sunday Hoops from 2pm AEDT, with the game live and free via 10 Peach and 10play. All games are available live on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel. 

Read the full story here >> South East Melbourne avoids postponement of New Year’s Day match