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The panic button hasn’t been hit, but home truths have helped SEM Phoenix refocus after recent fadeouts put their NBL finals hopes in jeopardy, injured star Ryan Broekhoff says.
Injured South East Melbourne star Ryan Broekhoff says the Phoenix entered practice this week with a “bad taste in their mouth” after a stunning capitulation against Melbourne United.
After surrendering a double-digit lead late to their cross-town foe, Broekhoff says his teammates used an honesty session to quickly put the loss behind them and focus on Thursday night’s clash with Illawarra.
“Unfortunately that’s been a couple of important games this season where we have put ourselves in a really good position and not been able to execute and finish off,” Broekhoff said.
“It’s something we addressed with video and some open discussions so hopefully we have learned from that and don’t have those lapses going forward.
“The leaders within the team have always stressed that it’s an open safe environment for people to be able to speak their mind and share their opinions and that’s what it was, talking through what we were trying to achieve.
“It was very constructive, a lot was brought up and discussed and it’s important to have a culture like that where you can speak and really delve deep into what we’re doing and not feel like it’s personal attack or guys revert back into themselves, being afraid to talk up or pissed at being called out.
“Everyone left a little bit lighter and Tuesday’s session was very upbeat and they’re very excited for the challenge coming up.”
That challenge involves a trip to Wollongong without Broekhoff, who will miss a month with an injured shoulder joint after he clattered into fellow Boomer Matthew Dellavedova. Scans, on Monday, revealed a grade 2 acromioclavicular (AC) joint strain.
“We collided and I had trouble lifting my arm immediately after,” he said.
“I was hoping it was just a stinger where it goes a little bit dead and then comes back but I didn’t have any strength to lift it up.”
The timing of Broekhoff’s injury couldn’t be worse for a Phoenix side left smarting after a pair of losses knocked them down to fourth on the NBL ladder.
In tough times, though, hope springs, with Broekhoff confident swingmen Reuben Te Rangi and Cam Gliddon can step up to fill the gaping void left by a man who was leading the Phoenix in rebounding and arguably its best wing defender.
Losses to the Hawks Thursday and Sydney Saturday would tip the Phoenix out of the four and leave them in danger of missing the finals. The Hawks are fifth, while the Kings, winners of seven straight games, leapfrogged South East Melbourne into third on the weekend.
But Broekhoff said no one in the Phoenix camp was hitting the panic button.
“It’s two important games in the scheme of things, given they are against two teams who are similarly placed to us right now,” he said.
“But it’s been preparation as per usual, with a focus on making sure that we are learning from our mistakes from the last few games and rectifying those.”
