Hooley "Concerned" For Phoenix Following Broekhoff Injury

“Devastating”. That’s the word Peter Hooley has used to describe Ryan Broekhoff’s potential season-ending groin injury, and it’s hard to disagree with the sentiments of ‘The Professor’.

After dropping 22 points in a first-half masterclass during South East Melbourne’s do-or-die clash with Perth on Sunday, Broekhoff was forced to hobble off in the third quarter with an apparent groin injury.

Broekhoff missed three weeks earlier this season with another groin injury – although he only missed one game on that occasion due to the November FIBA window.

<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/47aMCS718Fsrl7uULcGhRS?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="152" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>

Crucially, he was also absent through injury in the Phoenix’s capitulation at the end of NBL22 that saw them miss finals.

“Before scans reveal how long it’s going to be or how bad it is, just that reaction from him on the bench says more about the fact he can’t catch a break,” Hooley said on NBL Today.

“He was balling out. He was just in a groove and he was talking at half time to ‘Copes’ (Lanard Copeland) about how good he felt – to be able to see him perform at that level, it’s devastating.

“It does concern me for the Phoenix. They’ve got other talent, there’s no doubt about that, but you think back to when he got hurt last season and they fell apart.

“There’s certain players in every team you can’t replace, and I’m not talking about the superstars like Mitch Creek – he’s obviously irreplaceable, I’m talking about those guys whose presence really calms the team.

That’s Ryan Broekhoff and his leadership, so it’s going to be interesting to see how they try to replace him.”

Broekhoff’s injury could mean South East Melbourne’s win over the Wildcats could prove to be even more crucial.

It was off the performance of the former Dallas Maverick that the Phoenix built their platform for victory, before Alan Williams and Mitch Creek steered the side home.

The Wildcats currently sit fifth on the ladder having played two games less than Melbourne and the Phoenix – who sit in the two spots behind them.

Perth’s three-game winning run was built off of the introduction of Tai Webster to the group and a drastic shortening of the rotation. So much so that NBL veterans Todd Blanchfield and Mitch Norton were struggling to get onto the court.

“I think it was always going to catch up with them,” Hooley said of the Wildcats’ loss. “They’ve been short of their rotations, they’ve played a lot of games, the schedule coming up is tough, they’ve had a lot of travel, and they had that epic game as well.

“They juts ran out of legs and, typical Phoenix, they continued to run and really rest that.

“The Phoenix know they’re playing desperate, and sometimes when you play desperate you can rise to the occasion and they did that.”

South East Melbourne next play on Wednesday, January 25 when they host Cairns at the State Basketball Centre.