Geraldton Buccaneers injury news: Captain Aaron Ralph out for season as team counts toll

The Geraldton Buccaneers have lost another senior figure.

Buccs coach Dayle Joseph said captain and 400-gamer Aaron Ralph was out for the season after treatment of a knee complaint turned up an ACL issue that put his long-term ability to play at risk.

He said while the loss of another senior player was a blow, it also represented an opportunity for players to step up to another level, and said the aim was to keep the side competitive in a transitional period with the NBL1 West competition replacing the State Basketball League and US imports mostly unavailable.

“Ralphie has a knee injury that probably rules him out for the rest of the season,” Joseph said.

“He had to make a pretty tough decision of whether to play on or not, and his season has come to an end.”

He said by the time Ralph had surgery and recovered, the issue might rule him out for next season, too.

The side also lost Liam Hunt last season due to a severe leg injury.

James Paringatai, another on-court leader who won a 2019 State Basketball League ring alongside Hunt and Ralph, has moved to Queensland, while accomplished players like Marcus Alipate and Brendan DiNardo left at the end of the championship season.

Brayden Inger also shifted back to New Zealand before this season, and the Buccs have struggled to replace senior players.

On the plus side, players like 16-year-old Tom Dobson and Harry Evans have got court minutes alongside experienced players such as ex-Perth Wildcat Mathiang Muo, veteran Mat Wundenberg, and Central Maine alum and ex-Essington Cannon Elijah Barbour.