Waratah League cancelled, but Maloney ready for another crack as coach

The fact most of the Waratah League division two teams meant a season cancellation looked inevitable, and officials finally called it quits earlier this month.

Although the Heat was winless, Maloney said the premature end was disappointing for his young side.

Maloney is now effectively the 'veteran' of the group with a host of senior players retiring after the Heat decided not to compete in 2020, when COVID ensured there was no season anyway.

"Last Sunday was the first Sunday I've spent all day at home in I don't know how long," Maloney said.

"The writing was on the wall given all the cases in Sydney, and Basketball NSW wanted to have the whole competition finished by September.

"That was becoming increasingly hard to do and by the looks of the COVID numbers they (Sydney) will probably be in lockdown."

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The team has been holding competitive scrimmages with some retired senior players to keep developing the young players, and allow them to get a feel for the history of the club.

"It's been good for our boys, for me it was pretty important to get the young players to mingle with the older guys who have been there before for a lot of years, because there has been a big drop off this year," he said.

"Coming through the ranks, a lot of my favourite times were talking to the older vets, I came in as a younger player and there was a lot of senior players around.

"It's not so much they (young players) haven't had to work for their positions, they've just had to slot straight in. It was important for them to understand the heritage of the team and feel a sense of pride and understand what they've accomplished being a part of the team.

"Once restrictions lift here we'll have another week or two of training. The beauty of it is the boys want to do that."

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