The Townsville Crocs’ future is in disarray after the club announced it will be handing its licence back to the league. The Crocs join growing list of basketball clubs that have folded citing financial reasons.
The moving truck is in and the Crocs are out
Last year, the Crocs board indicated that it couldn’t handle another season making a loss, the combined loss for the last six season totals $2.5m.
Whilst talent such as Peter Crawford, Todd Blanchfield and Jacob Holmes could find work with another club and Luke Nevill could look overseas for employment we feel for the players who miss out on getting another NBL gig, effectively ending their NBL careers prematurely.
Whilst the Crocs have never won a title the place known as ‘The Swamp’ has provided the town with countless hours of on court entertainment. Players just as Sam Mackinnon, Robert Rose, Rimas Kurtinaitis, Ricky Jones, John RIllie, Brad Newley, Clarence Tyson and Derek Rucker have plied their trades above and below the ring.
The withdrawal of the Crocs brings the number of teams in the NBL to seven. The next few months will indicate how this affects the league in going forward.
What was your favourite Townsville Crocs moment? Tell us in the comments section below. For us, it was watching John Rillie hit 10 three pointers and eliminating the Perth Wildcats in a sudden death playoff game in Perth.
