NICKNAME/S: Greta

FAMILY: Steve’s son Shane Breheny also played 1 games in the NBL.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Steve Breheny made his NBL debut with the St. Kilda Saints at 22 years of age. He scored four points in his first game.

During the league’s first season, Breheny averaged 13.3 points for the St Kilda Saints, who finished the season with a record of 12-6. The Saints lineup began that first season with a 3-3 record but proved they were the best team by finishing the season on a 12-game winning streak.

To crown the first champions of the national league, only the first and second team’s progressed into the postseason, which saw St Kilda (1st) defeating Canberra (2nd) in the Grand Final match.

Cal Stamp (23.8 ppg) was one of three imports on the Cannons roster, the other two being Herb McEachin (23.8 ppg) and Jerry Lee (8.9 ppg). St Kilda, however, had decided to play with a all Aussie lineup, relying on Sengstock (17.6 ppg), Tony Barnett (22.3 ppg) and Danny Morseau (15.8 ppg).

Larry Sengstock (33 points) delivered a career high scoring night while his counterpart Cal Stamp (32 points) top scored for the Cannons, illustrating just how much of the game came down to the centre position in those days. Trailing by one point against Canberra in the NBL’s first Grand Final, Robbie Cadee threaded a super pass to a cutting Peter Vitols for a easy basket and St Kilda became the league’s inaugural championships (94-93). To date, St Kilda is the only team to ever win a NBL championship without any import players.

1980
After winning the inaugural NBL title in 1979, St Kilda looked to back it up in 1980. Key talent Tony Barnett, Danny Morseu and Larry Sengstock would all return from the championship winning squad, and import Rocky Smith was added to inject some additional scoring power.

As the team battled it out with West Adelaide for the top position throughout the season, with five rounds to go, the Saints (10-3) added import Mike Slusher (12.3 ppg) would play the team’s last nine games of the season. Adding Slusher to the offensive brilliance of first year import Rocky Smith (33 ppg) and veteran Danny Morseau (18.5 ppg) ensured the Pumas would finish the regular season right alongside West Adelaide, with the team’s facing each other in the final game of the season to decide who would finish in top spot.

West Adelaide rode the offensive talents of Ken Richardson (31 points) and Rick Hodges (21 points) to defeat St Kilda, 88-90, resulting in both team’s ending the regular season on 17 wins and 5 losses. The Bearcats’ win equalled the team’s head to head record (1-1) but with St Kilda having won their first encounter by ten points, they retained first place on the ladder as they headed into the playoffs.

Rocky Smith, who finished the year as the league’s leading scorer, notched up 32 points in the team’s semi-final game to defeat Nunawading (101-77). In the opposite bracket, Rick Hodges (31 points) led the Bearcats to a win over Brisbane (101-94), setting up a grand final matchup with both St Kilda and West Adelaide on one win a piece.

The Grand Final resulted in a blowout, with the Saints fuelled by their end of the regular season loss and controlling the scoreboard (53-39) heading into half-time. Hodges (27 points) and Richardson (20 points) would then do everything they could for West Adelaide, but a well-balanced offensive attack saw Rocky Smith (26 points), Danny Morseu (19 points), Mike Slusher (18 points), Larry Sengstock (16 points) and Tony Barnett (14 points) all finish in double figures, making it impossible for the Bearcats to stop the Saints from scoring.

St Kilda would claim back-to-back NBL titles, winning the Grand Final 113-88.

Danny Morseu was named to the All-NBL First Team, but in a surprise move, Rocky Smith was not, even though he claimed the league’s Most Valuable Player award on the same night. Breheny would play a supporting role from the bench, appearing in only 14 games and averaging 6.7 points.

1981
Having won the back to back titles during the NBL’s first two years, the Fighting Saints would lose one of their primary offensive talents, Tony Barnett (to Geeling) and then faced rumours all off-season that Olympians Danny Morseu and Larry Sengstock were planning to leave the Pumas for another team as well. Head coach Brian Kerle was able to change their minds however and both would return to St Kilda and attempt to win the NBL championship for a third year in a row.

St Kilda then entered 1981 clear favorites, even coming out on top of a pre-season poll of the league’s coaches and administrators who were asked to predict the order team’s would finish. Kerle would roll out a starting lineup consisting of Morseu, Sengstock, Steve Breheny, the team’s leading scorer from last season Rocky Smith and import Mike Slusher, who joined the team mid-season the year prior.

After missing two seasons with injuries, Andy Blicavs would return to action for the Saints and Ken Burbridge, would be the key players from the bench.

With Smith (28.8 ppg), Morseu (20 ppg), Sengstock (14 ppg) and Slusher (11.9 ppg) leading the team offensively, St Kilda finished on top of the NBL ladder (17-5), three games ahead of the nearest opponent (Launceston Casino City).

As the league prepared to hold their 1981 NBL Finals, St Kilda informed them that they would chose to participate in the 1981 FIBA Club World Cup in Brazil instead. There, they finished sixth behind winners Real Madrid (Spain), Sirio (Brazil), Clemson (USA), Atletica Francana (Brazil) and Ferro Carril Oeste (Argentina). Having won the title back to back already, and feeling there were no strong contenders for the title this season, they forfeited their place in the playoffs and were replaced by Brisbane.

Second place team Launceston Casino City would eliminate Brisbane (71–69) in the semifinals and then convincingly defeat Nunawading (75–54) in the Grand Final game. Rocky Smith and
Danny Morseu were named to the All-NBL First Team at the end of the year.

In what was supposed to breakout year for Breheny, after earning a spot in the team’s starting lineup, injuries kept him out of the majority of the season. He would appear in only 7 games for the season, averaging 10.7 points.

1982
During the 1982 season Breheny averaged 16.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.1 assists and helped the Puma’s finish the regular season in a sixth place (17-9).

1983
During the 1983 season, Breheny averaged 13.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists and was a part of the Puma’s squad which finished in eighth place (12-10).

1984
In 1984, Breheny averaged 18.8 points and 4.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists, and helped guide the Puma’s finish with a 9-14 record.

GEELONG CATS
1985
In 1985, Breheny averaged 8.0 points and 3.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists, as the Cats finished in seventh place (15-11).

COBURG GIANTS
1986
A dismal result in the previous season saw coach Owen Hughan replaced with former player Les Riddle. This move also saw Ray Borner (to Illawarra), Chuck Harmison (to Bankstown), Steve Davis (to Nunawading) and Benny Lewis (to St Kilda) all leave the club for opportunities elsewhere. Riddle and the Giants made efforts to find replacements for them, the key moves being imports Willie Simmons and Jim Foster joining the team and adding a young David Graham to fill the void. Losing the majority of the team’s core however, proved too much and the Giants missed the playoffs for the first time since 1981.

Breheny averaged 5.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists as the team struggled to remain competitive and finished in eight place (14-12).

Missing the playoffs again and increasing financial difficulties saw the Giants leave Coburg and re-brand to the North Melbourne Giants. This included a move into the CBD to play out of the much larger Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre (The Glasshouse).

Steve Breheny played eight seasons across three NBL teams. This included the St. Kilda Saints, Geelong Cats and Coburg Giants. He averaged 11.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 148 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (823 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.