Phoenix Building Winning Culture

In a recent episode of the NBL show Overtime, the Phoenix were lauded for the peak behind the curtain they give their fans.

Commentator Cam Luke said the club was the best in the league at letting fans into the inner sanctum.

But even with all of that behind-the-scenes access, there are some things the fans don’t see.

They don’t see the work Mitch Creek puts into his body during recovery; they don’t see the toll a game takes on his body after an injury-interrupted pre-season.

They don’t see him on the sidelines at training concentrating on making sure his body is ready to go again when the fire explodes in the fire pit, and the ball goes up.

They see the 31 points, seven rebounds and three assists; they see the effort, the desire, the passion, and that’s just how the Phoenix co-captain likes it.

“Everyone is playing a little bit hurt, and everyone is playing with little niggles and injuries, and not everyone will be 100 per cent,” Creek said. “I look around, and Gary (Browne) has had a bit of a sore knee from his rehab, Zhou Qi has come in a bit out of shape, Alan has been trying to make his way back into the team and get himself 100 per cent healthy. Everyone is going to go through different things, and any step back we have, you just wash it away because the fans don’t care.

Gettyimages 1435512445 (Creek celebrating the Phoenix win against the Bullets in Round 4.)

“They don’t go, ‘oh, you have a sore foot, so it’s okay to lose this game; well, it’s not okay. Our fans come out, they work their arses off all week long, they take care of their families, they cheer us on, and then we go, ‘I’m a bit sore, so sorry, guys and girls, but we can’t win this one, it’s not acceptable.

“You go out there, put yourself on the line, play your arse off and do everything you can, and then worry about the consequences afterwards. I’m not worried about any soreness or little niggles; I’m just going out there to play my absolute socks off and hopefully keeps resulting in the team having success and all of our players succeeding together,” he said.

After injuries cruelled the team’s start to the season, the Phoenix is starting to look like a team that can make some noise in the playoffs. While many pundits in the media are still sitting on the fence, Creek feels something exceptional is growing within the group.

“You get a bunch of guys together, you start flowing, and then suddenly there’s one injury, two injuries, three, four; Zhou Qi is in late. Then you get everyone back, and everyone is a bit out of shape, and the flow is not there. But all of a sudden, it clicks, and we saw it in the New Zealand game, and we all looked at each other after the New Zealand game, we weren’t even excited or anything,” Creek said. “It was like, holy shit, we’re onto something pretty cool here. And then, coming home and playing against Brisbane, who are 0-4, we knew they were on a mission to get that win; they made some huge plays down the stretch. To grind out a win like that with some of our guys not playing exceptional the entire game was a positive sign, especially with the talent Brisbane have.”

Creek, who plays his 300th NBL game on November 6 against Melbourne United, has been part of some special groups in his time; he rates the current Phoenix group among the best he’s been a part of, both on and off the court.

Tt 9451 (The Phoenix are creating a winning culture, on and off the court.)

“It’s the trust you form off the court which enables you to have it easily on the court. Rowdy works his tail off; he is so hard on himself and sacrifices so much, not just for us as a team but his family, his young one Jack. He does so much as a family man and a good person at this club; he is the absolute pin-up poster for what an athlete should be,” Creek said.

After Broekhoff made a pivotal steal late in the game to put the Phoenix up four points, guard Gary Browne sensed it was Rowdy’s moment.

“Gary came into the time out and said, ‘hey straight away we are running this action for Rowdy, Rowdy be a gangster’ Alan, myself and Gary have talked about just being gangsters and just making big plays, and Rowdy went out there and was the biggest gangster of them all.

After he made the shot, Creek celebrated as hard as he would have had his number been called.

“I banged him so hard on the chest I reckon he had a bruise for the next two days. You love to see it because we all want to feel that from people; if you are pumping someone else up, it’s going to be infectious,” Creek said.

Kt 8445 (The energy from the bench is infectious and helps spur the rest of the team on during the game.)

“It’s going to be a trickle-down effect. I mean, who doesn’t like being told they’re incredible, they’re amazing, they’ve done such a good job when you have done something that deserves that.

“And being told that being reinforced by not just me, Anzac Rissetto on the bench, everybody down the line, the coaches, that’s infectious, and that’s what winning culture is, we want more of that. At the same time, we’re expecting some big plays like that and him showing up, ‘hey boys; I’m back; I’m ready to rock and roll’.

Next for the Phoenix is a Friday night’s game trip to Perth, followed by the 36ers at home on Sunday.

Tickets for Sunday’s game are selling fast; purchase yours now!