Geraldton Buccaneers add NBL champion to line-up as Isaac Gattorna returns West

The Geraldton Buccaneers’ biggest signing in the off-season, so far, is expected to touch down in Geraldton on Wednesday as Zac Gattorna returns west after an NBL championship run with the Sydney Kings.

After five seasons with the Perth Redbacks, the exciting forward has decided for a change of scenery and penned a deal with the Geraldton Buccaneers.

“I’m making the move to Geraldton for a few reasons,” Gattorna said.

“Firstly would be the people behind and around their program from the coach Dayle Joseph to the players. I’ve always seen the club as competitive and one of the top sides in the NBL1 West competition.

“Outside of the club’s track record and professionalism, I wanted to move somewhere with little distraction for myself to work on and develop my game for the next level and Geraldton has the facilities for that.”

Gattorna spent the summer with the Kings playing limited minutes across 10 games as they went on to win the NBL championship.

“Spending this NBL season with the Sydney Kings has been unreal for my development - being able to work with players and coaches of such a high calibre,” he said.

The Perry Lakes junior averaged 18.3 points and 6.5 rebounds during last season’s NBL1 West and could be a key player with the Buccs after losing imports Cameron Coleman and Mathiang Muo in the off-season.

Despite a short turnaround until Saturday’s game coach Dayle Joseph expects him to play.

“I’d probably have trouble telling him he’s not playing - he really wants to play and get more court time so I expect him to line up come Saturday,” he said.

As Gattorna is a homegrown talent, the Buccs still have two import slots with Shaun Stewart returning for his third season as the only one currently on the roster.

“We’re still having a look around to see who’s available,” Joseph said.

“But obviously there’s not much time before the start of the season and I’m confident in our line-up for the weekend.”