Leadership crisis as Covid-19 cases batter Breakers

Head coach and chief executive among those laid low by the virus as season tip-off approaches.

The New Zealand Breakers are battling a major leadership crisis just days out from their scheduled NBL season opener, as the Covid-19 outbreak among their travelling party continues to bite hard.

Among those afflicted by the Covid-19 virus that has derailed the Kiwi club’s pre-season preparations, according to sources close to the team, are head coach Dan Shamir, chief executive and owner Matt Walsh and general manager Simon Edwards.

The trio are the crux of the team’s off-court leadership and Shamir’s absence, in particular, compromises the Breakers’ ability to prepare for their scheduled season opener against the South East Melbourne Phoenix next Saturday night on anything resembling a level playing field.

The NBL also announced yesterday that the Breakers are not the only club dealing with Covid19. The Illawarra Hawks have returned a positive case, who attended training earlier in the week, and have cancelled their final pre-season game against the Sydney Kings.

Hands-on Breakers owner Walsh, the spiritual driving force of the club, had not been among the eight confirmed positive tests as of Friday, but it is understood he has been unwell since speaking to the media on Tuesday and has since been confirmed as the ninth member of the group to come down with Covid-19.

The club on Friday announced eight members of their extended travelling party of 39 – a group that includes club staff and family members and who are all doublevaccinated – had tested positive for Covid-19 since the start of the week. The Sunday Star-Times understands this group includes three players, all of who would normally be relied on to play regular

minutes. On top of that skipper Tom Abercrombie is recovering from an oblique strain that is set to keep him out for the first three weeks of the season.

The Covid outbreak places the Breakers in an invidious position as the season tipoff looms, and the NBL in an awkward spot as it weighs its only New Zealand club’s difficulties.

Last year the Breakers played 29 straight road games and spent 154 days in Australia as they were effectively stuck that side of the Tasman, only returning home for their final seven fixtures – by which stage their playoff hopes were in tatters.

The Kiwi club battled through three lockdowns, tight restrictions over movement and nine shifts in base, with the anxieties caused by their everchanging circumstances captured in a documentary titled #UNBREAKABLE that is set to air on Sky Sports next week.

However, through all the challenges of last season, they never had to deal with a positive Covid test, which puts them in new territory.

And that’s where the NBL has a big decision to make around the scheduled opener against the Phoenix at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena.

The league will be reluctant to postpone a game this early, and will also be loath to set a precedent for rescheduling because of positive Covid tests.

But it is also sympathetic to the Breakers’ plight, especially after what they went through last season. And it will understand how destabilising it would have been losing their head coach, owner, and a trio of players for the final week of preparations.

If the Breakers do take the court in Melbourne, it would have been a full fortnight between games, with their final pre-season clash against the Illawarra Hawks last Thursday having to be cancelled.

There might be some wriggle room if the NBL does elect to give the Breakers extra time to negotiate the outbreak. Their second game is also scheduled against the Phoenix at the same venue on Friday, December 10, with a visit to Adelaide on December 12.

Adding to the club’s woes is the likelihood that they will now not be able to return to New Zealand to start their run of home games in early February, as slated, after the government unveiled its latest border plan.

The tight restrictions on entry through until at least April look certain to torpedo plans for the Breakers and Wellington Phoenix to stage home games over the back part of their seasons, as well as put a major spanner in the works of Super Rugby.