Former West Sydney Razorbacks coach Mark Watkins joins the podcast to take us through the incredible highs and crushing lows of the franchise’s journey in the NBL. Watkins was with the Razorbacks from their inception in 1998 as an assistant coach and eventually took the reins as head coach in 2004. Across nearly a decade with the club, he witnessed the Razorbacks’ rise from expansion team to Grand Final contenders before financial struggles ultimately led to their demise.
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Watkins shares behind-the-scenes stories from building the team’s inaugural roster, recruiting NBL greats like Simon Dwight and John Rillie, and the franchise’s memorable Grand Final appearances in 2002 and 2004. He also opens up about the difficulties of losing key players like Sam MacKinnon and Steven Markovic, the challenges of coaching on a budget, and the struggles that led to his departure mid-season in 2007.
- Building the Kilsyth Basketball program and the differences between coaching men and women (2:00)
- The early days of the Razorbacks – How the team was built from scratch (10:30)
- The first NBL season and how the club improved in Year Two (17:30, 29:00)
- Losing and gaining Sam MacKinnon in the same season (35:00)
- The 2002 Grand Final run against Adelaide (43:00)
- Moving on from foundation stars Derek Rucker and Bruce Bolden (57:00)
- Another shot at a title in 2004 and the Grand Final series against Sydney (102:00)
- Watkins takes over as head coach in 2004 – the challenges of replacing Gordie McLeod (105:00)
- Financial struggles begin to cripple the club – The impact on recruiting and roster decisions (108:00)
- Steve Markovic refuses to play and leaves for Europe (113:30)
- Building a team on a budget while trying to stay competitive (1:19:00)
- Watkins is axed mid-season in 2006 and replaced by Cal Bruton (123:00)
- The final season for the Razorbacks and the franchise’s eventual collapse (127:00)
- Lessons learned from the Razorbacks that Watkins now applies to Kilsyth Basketball (1:30:00)
- The biggest hurdles and most difficult moments from his time in the NBL (1:31:30)
All of this and a whole lot more…
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.
