Two More Seasons for High-Flying Machar

Saturday, June 10, 2023

Melbourne United has re-signed development player Malith Machar for a further two seasons – the second of which has a club option for a promotion to the main roster.

Machar made his professional debut last season, and made a total of six appearances for Melbourne in NBL23.

He is currently playing for Forestville in NBL1 Central, where he has led the team to second on the ladder across the first 12 games of the season.

Machar added 25 points and 19 rebounds in his most recent performance with the Eagles, and is averaging 16 points and nine rebounds over the year so far.

“I’m excited, I feel like this is where I belong,” Machar told the Melbourne United website.

“Being able to work with the guys that have come back to the club like Jo (Lual-Acuil Jr) and Delly (Matthew Dellavedova), as well as all the vets like Chris (Goulding) and Newls (Brad Newley).

“Our roster is stacked from top to bottom. You’re going against the best every day in practice in a super-competitive environment, and that’s the best way to get better.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Malith Machar is a dunking machine ?<br><br>Watch the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL1</a> Game of the Week Live & Free on <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> Freebies ? <a href="https://t.co/8Hj2pBsEH9">pic.twitter.com/8Hj2pBsEH9</a></p>— NBL1 (@NBL1) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL1/status/1642434978427576322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Machar has grown a strong bond with Newley, in particular, with the pair both playing starring roles for Forestville, albeit in different eras.

“Malith is a guy that every day at practice was always providing some sort of highlight, which came on the back of him putting in the work,” Newley said.

“I think he’s got the potential to play in this league for a long time. He can come into a game or a scrimmage and make life hard for anyone.

“He’s earned this opportunity and hopefully we can see him on the court making an impact next season.”

Machar will join Zac Triplett and Campbell Blogg as development players for United's upcoming campaign.