Don’t call it a comeback because he never really left. Just Better Care Roller Hawks Head Coach Brett Stibners has answered his own SOS and is prepared to suit up to ensure his side gets off to a positive start when the 2026 NWBL season tips off on June 12. 

 

“Yeah, maybe. I'm going to take my chair to Brisbane, and if I'm needed, I'll get on court and fill the minutes that we need, but I am not coming back to play a major role or fill a position. I'll be there as a backup only,” said Stibners.

Despite being on the playing roster last season and never officially ‘retiring’, Stibners did not hit the court in 2025, opting to take a back seat as coach and allow Jontee Brown to have a starting role. Brown is currently playing in Türkiye and will miss the first two rounds of the new season but Stibners said he had plenty of talent in his squad to cover Brown’s absence.

“Huss (Shawn Russell) will be playing major minutes in those first two rounds, Ethan Hallak has come along a lot for the two years he's been with us, and I'll be looking to use him a lot more this year. And Steve (Elliott) will fill that role as well.”

Lessons Learnt From Rookie Season

Speaking recently at the RGK exhibition at the ATDA Independent Living Expo, Stibners has taken plenty of lessons from his first season at the helm of the Roller Hawks, one he admits was disappointing with the team suffering a heavy defeat in the grand final. 

“I'm very competitive. No one likes losing. And it made me go away and think really hard about how I went about my job last year.” 

“I didn't want to come in with a heavy hand last year, and I wanted the guys to play with their natural skills and their natural ability, whereas this year, I really want to focus on working on their strengths and how they can help the team. And the structure that we've implemented this season, or this preseason, will really help us and get the most out of each player individually.”

Key to that change will be the arrival of Aussie Roller Phil Evans, who joins the club from Perth.

“Phil's an all round player. He works extremely hard. He's fast. He can shoot. But the main thing about Phil and what's gonna be really important for our team, he works for everybody, and it's going to really improve what we want to do.”

“We’ll be able to get up the floor with him, with Steve, and Tristan, Huss, Popes, Jontee, all of them. 
So, he's really gonna improve what we're doing already.”

New Look League, New Look Competition

Just as Stibners has taken stock of his strategy for 2026, the competition will now look completely different with the departure of the Darwin Salties. The reigning champions returned their licence to the league at the start of the year following the demise of the Darwin Basketball Association. 

Many of the Salties players have found homes at other clubs, setting the stage for a wide open title chase. 

“There's no clear favourite this year, with the National League, in the previous years, you kind of knew who, we're gonna at least be the two top teams. But this year, we're very competitive.”

“There's probably three teams, maybe four, that can win, and on any given day, you don't know who's going to win.” 

“Red Dust is going to be very, very good this year with Jaylen (Brown) going there and Yannik (Blair) from Darwin, and Manly as well, our competitors up the road. They're gonna be very, very competitive this year. Tom O'Neill-Thorne's gone there to play for them. So, I reckon, Manly will probably be the favourites leading into the competition, but we'll wait and see who gets to the back end.”

The Just Better Care Wollongong Roller Hawks begin their season in Brisbane against the Southern Districts Spartan on 12th June, before their first home round against the Perth Wheelcats from June 19th.

 

EARLY SEASON DRAW FULL FIXTURES go to www.rollerhawks.com.au/draw or wba.net.au 

ROUND 1 – vs SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS

Southern Districts Basketball Association, Queensland

Friday 12 June 6:15pm – 3x3 7:30pm – 5 on 5

Saturday 13 June 2:15pm – 3x3 3:00pm – 5 on 5

Sunday 14 June 10:00am – 5 on 5

 

ROUND 2 – vs PERTH WHEELCATS

Shellharbour City Stadium (*Sunday @ The Snakepit)

Friday 19 June 6:15pm – 3x3 7:00pm – 5 on 5

Saturday 20 June 2:15pm – 3x3 3:00pm – 5 on 5

Sunday 21 June* 9:00am – 5 on 5