BIO: Stuart Allen was born in Lismore (NSW) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Lismore basketball program.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Stuart Allen made his NBL debut with the Newcastle Falcons on 9/3/1984. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

1984
Stuart Allen was called into action during the 1984 NBL season as a training squad member for the Newcastle Falcons. With injuries to Ian Burns and Gavin Kelly thinning the bench late in the year, Allen stepped into the senior rotation, making three appearances for the team during their most successful season to date.

Under new head coach and club legend Dave Ankeney—Newcastle’s all-time leading scorer—the Falcons reshaped their roster and pushed toward contender status. The team replaced imports George Morrow and Donnie Cruse with dynamic forward Jerry Dennard and powerful inside presence Jim Bateman, while continuing to build around breakout guard Michael Johnson.

Newcastle launched the season with five straight wins, including a 91–80 victory over the previously unbeaten Brisbane Bullets (6–0). They battled for Eastern Division supremacy alongside Brisbane and Coburg across the regular season and finished with an 18–6 record.

Though his playing time was limited, Allen registered 0.7 points across his three games and provided valuable depth when required. His inclusion reflected the strength of the club’s development pipeline and readiness to reward training players with court time when needed.

The Falcons would defeat Illawarra 108–101 in the elimination final before falling 132–109 to Coburg in the semi-final. Despite the abrupt end, the 1984 campaign was a milestone year for Newcastle—and gave Allen a brief but memorable taste of top-level basketball.

1985
Stuart Allen made his NBL debut during Newcastle’s most successful season in franchise history. Head coach Dave Ankeney retained the core group from the 1984 playoff team, with the only major change being import forward Scott Horrell replacing Jerry Dennard.

Newcastle opened their campaign with a 121–102 win over Sydney. While stars like Jim Bateman (47 points, 16 rebounds), Ian Robilliard (23 points, 5 assists, 5 steals), and Michael Johnson (20 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) led the way, Allen remained on the bench and did not appear in the game.

Allen saw limited action throughout the season, appearing in 13 games and averaging 0 points, 0.2 rebounds, and no assists. He played a supporting role on a team that started the season 10–2 before a late-season slump saw them fall to 16–10 but still qualify for the playoffs.

He did not appear in either of Newcastle’s playoff games—a 103–97 win over Nunawading and a heavy 151–103 semifinal loss to Adelaide. While his on-court contributions were minimal, Allen was part of the only Falcons team to ever reach the NBL semi-finals.

Stuart Allen played four seasons the Newcastle Falcons..

Dan Boyce (836 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.