Wife gives Petrie a nod
AFTER a handful of preseason games with the Gold Coast Rollers, NBL stalwart Anthony Petrie asked his wife one question before he dried the ink on his latest basketball contract.
“I asked her, ‘do you think I can still contribute?’” he said.
“She said ‘yes’ and so we went from there.”
After retiring from the NBL in early 2018 because of a persistent knee niggle, Petrie thought his professional basketball career was over but after playing in the Gold Coast Wednesday night competition last year, it wasn’t long before the Rollers approached him about a comeback.
“I just love the game,” said Petrie, who lined up in last night’s men’s QBL seasonopener against Mackay.
“It was an itch I had to scratch and I thought if I could still contribute to the team, then why not do it at the highest level I could and do it for the best team on the Gold Coast.”
After missing most of the pre-season grind, the 35-yearold said he would have to wary of his body which has already withstood 13 NBL seasons.
“I have to be realistic,” the one-time Gold Coast Blaze star said. “In my last season I was just getting through training but I felt like I was still playing well.
“I want to come straight in and contribute but I’ll probably be at my best coming into the middle third or end of the season.”
After finishing seventh last season, Petrie hopes an injection of experience will propel the Rollers to greater heights.
“Everyone says at the start of the season that they want to be champions,” he said.
“Realistically, I think top four is achievable while still putting the pressure on ourselves so hopefully we tick that off and see what happens.”