As part of our weekly Article of the Week Cash Giveaways, the boys from @MelbTigersFansWeekly have delivered an in-depth analysis on the additions and subtractions to the Melbourne Tigers roster and what to expect for season 2012/13 behind new coach Chris Anstey.

The Melbourne Tigers finalised their playing roster for the 2012/13 NBL Championship season by signing the last piece to their puzzle which is point guard Kevin Braswell. We decided to look at who has come and gone this year within the Melbourne Tigers HQ and look at what’s in store for the season ahead.

TIGERS ADDITIONS

The Melbourne Tigers finalised their playing roster for the 2012/13 NBL Championship season by signing the last piece to their puzzle which is point guard Kevin Braswell.

Kevin Braswell is well known to Aussie Hoops fans from his time at the New Zealand Breakers where he delivered one and a half seasons of great play and toughness while leading them to their first-ever NBL Championship. Rumours of Braswell signing with Melbourne have been doing rounds for weeks and were highly dependant on him obtaining New Zealand citizenship which would have made him a local player instead of an import.

Kevin Braswell joins fellow American Seth Scott who was named as the Tigers first import signed for the season. Seth Scott is a 6’10 forward who has played in France and Mexico where he recently averaged an impressive 22 points and 8 rebounds per game. Scott’s signing results in the departure of Ron Dorsey who despite averaging 11 points per game last year was only in the first of  what was a two year deal in Melbourne. Replacing Ron Dorsey at the shooting guard spot is new signing Chris Goulding who became available after the Gold Coast Blaze folded from the NBL. Goulding is another great pickup for the upcoming season as he is very athletic and a great shooter who will fit in well with the Tigers new roster.

Rounding out the Melbourne Tigers are Bennie Lewis and Matt Burston who have both been solid parts of the Tigers core playing group for the past few seasons. These two return to the squad after a very solid 2011/12 season and add depth to the Tigers bench. Burston is a great option to have as a backup centre role in this league and Bennie Lewis is a player you never want to leave open from the perimeter because he will knock down triples all day.

Adam Ballinger and Nate Tomlinson were announced as having signed with Melbourne months ago and both are solid pickups who will also fit in very well with the Tigers game style. Tomlinson is a 190cm guard straight out of college after having a reasonable career at the University of Colorado. Adam Ballinger is a first-class signing and is a proven Big Man in the NBL where he has dominated as a member of the Adelaide 36ers from 2007 until 2011. Ballinger went down last season with an ankle injury but is ready for another MVP like season.

These new Tigers signings join the returning players from last year’s squad which includes Liam Rush, Tom Greer and Lucas Walker which hopefully will equate into a playoff-bound roster that will surprise a lot of other teams in the NBL.

TIGERS SUBTRACTIONS

First to leave was Cam ‘Trigger’ Tragardh and Daniel Dillon who asked to part ways with the Tigers at seasons end. As stated before, Ron Dorsey agreed to part ways after Seth Scott was signed. Myron Allen was also not required after joining Melbourne mid-way through last season to replace Ayinde Ubaka.

The Tigers coaching team was also changed in a massive offseason for the club which saw the team part ways with Trevor Gleeson and introduces Chris Anstey as their new head coach. NBL and Tigers Legend Darryl ‘Dmac’ McDonald was announced as his assistant.

The Melbourne Tigers have had 2 pre-season games so far in the lead up to the 2012/13 season one against Washington State University and the second against The University of Northern Colorado. In the first game against Washington State the Tigers went down 75 to 74 on a Brock Motum game-winner. The game saw the Tigers go in with 4 rostered players who were Tom Greer, Chris Goulding, Nate Tomlinson and Matt Burston they all had respectable games. Chris Goulding had 20 points and Tomlinson had 14 points to lead the Tigers.

In the second game the Melbourne Tigers defeated Northern Colorado 90 to 60. The Tigers had 5 rostered players play in this game which included Tom Greer, Seth Scott, Chris Goulding, Nate Tomlinson and Adam Ballinger. Once again the entire Tigers players were impressed, Ballinger had 23 points and Goulding 25 points 6 assists and 6 rebounds to be the major contributors. The Melbourne fans can look forward to seeing the team play 7 of 14 home games at Hisense Arena, which can hold a lot more then ‘The Cage’, this is a great step in the right direction for the club.

Now that the Tigers have finalized their roster its time to look toward the season, which is fast approaching, the Tigers begin their season against the Adelaide 36ers on October 7th.