NBL EXPERIENCE

Clint Reed made his NBL debut with the West Sydney Razorbacks at 24 years of age. He scored two points in his first game.

Following their 2004 NBL Grand Final appearance, the West Sydney Razorbacks underwent significant roster and coaching changes. After six seasons in charge, head coach Gordie McLeod was replaced by longtime assistant Mark Watkins, who stepped into the role after receiving player backing. Off the court, financial troubles for the club’s owners, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, added further instability. The Bulldogs were fined $500,000 and stripped of all 37 NRL premiership points due to major salary cap breaches, further impacting the Razorbacks’ financial situation and offseason decisions.

West Sydney saw key departures heading into the new season, including leading scorer John Rillie (to Townsville) and key bench contributors Russell Hinder (to Hunter) and David Pennisi (to Europe), while Brad Williams retired. These losses left noticeable gaps in the lineup, forcing the team to rely more heavily on returning players and young talent.

Among the key returnees was Scott McGregor, who had missed the previous season due to injury. His return brought valuable experience and frontcourt stability. Reigning NBL Rookie of the Year Steven Markovic also returned, stepping into a larger backcourt role to help fill Rillie’s void. To bolster their offense, the Razorbacks signed Nick Horvath (via Duke University) as their import. Horvath (20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks) quickly established himself as the team’s top scoring option.

Defensively, Simon Dwight (15.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 3.2 blocks) continued to be a dominant shot-blocker and rebounder, while team captain Sam MacKinnon (14.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.2 blocks) provided his usual all-around contributions. Scott McGregor (12.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists) balanced the team’s offense, playing a key role upon his return.

Rookie Clint Reed earned a place in the rotation through his energy and defense off the bench, contributing 4.7 points and 2.0 rebounds across 29 games.

West Sydney’s season began with a 97–120 loss to Perth on October 2, 2004, as the team struggled to find cohesion with their new lineup. They responded with a dominant 106–75 home win over Brisbane in Round 2. Shortly after, they edged out Brisbane 113–111 on the road, with Horvath (23 points, 17 rebounds) and McGregor (26 points) leading the way.

Their early momentum was short-lived, however, as they suffered a four-game losing streak, falling to Melbourne (97–105), Adelaide (85–102), and Perth (90–101). The team’s struggles to replace Rillie’s perimeter shooting became evident, as West Sydney lacked a consistent outside scoring threat beyond Horvath.

The Razorbacks bounced back in Round 8, securing a 96–82 win over Wollongong, with Horvath (29 points, 14 rebounds) and MacKinnon (22 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists) leading the charge. Another tight contest saw West Sydney defeat Cairns 87–84, with Markovic (18 points, 6 assists) stepping up in the backcourt. Despite these promising performances, the team continued to struggle with inconsistency and failed to string together multiple wins.

West Sydney’s season took a turn for the worse when they endured a seven-game losing streak from January 2 to January 29, 2005. This stretch included a 123–89 blowout loss to Sydney and a 112–85 defeat to Sydney on February 19, effectively ending their playoff hopes. Defensive lapses and the lack of a consistent second scoring option behind Horvath continued to be the team’s biggest weaknesses.

The Razorbacks managed to find some success late in the season. They snapped their losing streak with a 103–76 home win over Hunter on February 2, where McGregor (21 points, 7 rebounds) provided a crucial spark. Another strong performance came on February 11, when they defeated the Hawks 117–95, showcasing one of their best offensive outings of the season. Clint Reed contributed valuable minutes off the bench in these late-season games, using his energy and physicality to give the team a boost.

Despite flashes of promise, the Razorbacks finished the season in ninth place with an 11–21 record, missing the playoffs just one year after reaching the Grand Final. Although Horvath, MacKinnon, and Dwight posted strong individual numbers, the team’s lack of depth and scoring balance ultimately led to their downfall.

2005/06
After two shocking seasons in a row, the Razorbacks were forced to build after losing a number of players. The major blow coming from promising youngster Steven Markovic walking out on the club to play in Europe just a few weeks before the start of the season, the forced retirement of Simon Dwight due to a chronic knee injury and Sam MacKinnon heading to Brisbane. This left Scott McGregor, who was named team captain, as the sole remaining player from the Grand Final loss to Sydney (2004).

Coach Mark Watkins recruited James Harvey (via Perth) to the team to replace some of the outgoing firepower but was then forced to fill the remainder of the roster with low-budget players with financial issues beginning to impact the team.

Pero Vasiljevic and Rhys Carter, who weren’t even playing in the NBL the prior season, were added to the roster, alongside Graham Dann, Cameron Rigby and Miles Pearce, who were struggling to get minutes with other NBL team’s. Nick Horvath would return as a import player, and Jermaine Blackburn was later added as the team’s second import.

West Sydney’s season wasn’t only hampered by financial issues. Horvath sustained a knee injury in the first game, which sidelined him for the season. Harvey (21.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3 assists) led the team in scoring but managed only 11 games due to injuries, while import Jermaine Blackburn (18 points, 5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.5 steals) was never able to fit in with the squad and was sacked midway through the season.

The team cycled through a number of low producing imports to finish the season, Casey Frank (6.3 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assists) and Joel Cornette (10.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals) among them, but the team was never competitive and finished dead last with a 5-27 record. Reed would appearing in all 32 games, averaging 12.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2 assists.

2006/07
With the team still struggling financially, they continued to make the most of their low cost roster but were boosted by the return of a healthy James Harvey, who missed the majority of last season through injuries. Coach Mark Watkins was able to convince young big man Julian Khazzouh to turn down a college scholarship in favour of a spot in the full-time roster. He later signed Justin Bailey and Cheikh Ya Ya Dia as the team’s imports.

The updated roster did little when it came to West Sydney’ fielding a more competitive team. Behind another poor showing, the Razorbacks finished in last place (5-28) for the second straight season.

There weren’t many moments to celebrate, but West Sydney beating Wollongong and breaking their 20-game losing streak against them was one of few. Six games after that, the Razorbacks thumped crosstown rivals, the Sydney Kings (106–75) at the Pig Pen, a game which saw Kings coach Brian Goorjian make history for coaching the most games in NBL history.

It was around this time the Razorbacks team owner, Canterbury-Bankstown Rugby League Club, withdrew its financial support with Tri Media Group later taking over the running of the club, which had almost folded. It also was around this time that Watkins was axed and replaced by Cal Bruton.

Harvey (20.5 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists) would lead the team in scoring for a second year in a row while promising young forward Liam Rush (14.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) won the league’s Most Improved Player award. Khazzouh (9.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 0.6 assists) finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting behind Joe Ingles (South Dragons). Reed endured two knee surgeries within a six month period prior to re-joining the Razorbacks this season and would only appear in three games, averaging 5.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists.

2007/08
By the 2007/08 season, the Razorbacks were in the midst of a multitude of financial problems. Under new ownership, the team chose not to re-sign coach Cal Bruton, who was hired mid-way through the previous season and added Rob Beveridge, a unproven young coach who was the former head coach of the junior men’s national team. The financial instability of the team saw leading scorer James Harvey and club veteran Scott McGregor both sign deals to play for Gold Coast. To replace them, Beveridge recruited two of his former junior players, University of Loyola Marymount graduates Damian Martin and Matthew Knight. Liam Rush was named team captain, and Darnell Hinson and Troy De Vries were later signed as import players.

a injury to Damian Martin during the pre-season saw him miss the first half of the season, forcing the team to rely on Hinson (20.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.1 steals) and De Vries (16.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists) to carry the offensive load and the ball carrying duties.

West Sydney struggled to be competitive most nights with its young roster, but there were still odd nights that they could squeak out a win if a number of players had big games. A win over the South Dragons (116-106) where Devries (31 points), Hinson (26 points), and Knight (23 points and 14 rebounds) all fired at once or the back-to-back wins where Hinson put up big numbers in wins against Gold Coast (32 points and 8 rebounds) and Cairns Taipans (31 points) but there were highlights for the Razorbacks across the season.

The team’s young frontcourt of Knight (12.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists) and Khazzouh (11.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) showed promise and was able to double the team’s number of wins from the previous season from 5 to 10.

Reed would appear in 20 games, averaging 4.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 0.8 assists.

SYDNEY SPIRIT
2008/09
After struggling through the 2007/08 as the Razorbacks, West Sydney changed their name to the Sydney Spirit for the 2008/09 NBL season. The change was influenced by the Sydney Kings folding in 2008 and the Razorbacks ownership hoping to rebrand to Sydney in a effort to capitalise on the Sydney market.

The Spirit struggled to be competitive during the first half of the season, partly due to Damian Martin (5.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists 1.9 steals) playing through a broken wrist he suffered in the pre-season. To make things even worse, it became clear the club was in dire financial straits with attendances at the State Sports Centre rarely selling more than 2,000 tickets. A game against the Cairns Taipans in Round 21 made history when only a paltry 920 fans showed up, the lowest NBL attendance since the early 1980’s.

As a solution to keeping the team afloat and the NBL season alive, the Spirit’s ten contracted players and three coaches, including head coach Rob Beveridge, all agreed to live off just $150,000 between them to keep the franchise going—roughly $700 per week for Reed. With half the season still remaining, team captain Liam Rush (15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2 assists), Julian Khazzouh (15.1 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.1 blocks) and import Derrick Low (18.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists) would all leave for better deals overseas.

Despite the setbacks Reed would average 5.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.8 assists as whilst the Spirit finished in eighth place on the ladder (11–19), missing the playoffs before exiting and leaving Sydney without a NBL team.

Clint Reed played five seasons the West Sydney Razorbacks. This included the West Sydney Razorbacks. He averaged 7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 112 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (833 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.