Heritage Round | Slammers celebrate stunning 90s run

As the South West Slammers celebrate the 30-year anniversary of their 1996 championship that Jason Chalk shared with James Fitch, the pair now take great pride in their daughters playing NBL1 West and they hope the current men's team see what's possible.

The Slammers were the powerhouses of the SBL back in the 1990s playing in six Grand Finals and winning championships in 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999 – and really they weren’t far off making it a remarkable five in-a-row.

Chalk was a key part of that success and Fitch was a superstar of the team and Chalk to this day will die on the hill that he's the greatest ever SBL player and that it's a travesty he never won a league MVP trophy.

After celebrating the 30th anniversary of the 1995 championship last year, it's the turn of 1996 this time around there's no better time than Heritage Round for Chalk to take a step back memory lane to reflect on not only that triumph, but the incredible run right through the 1990s.

As good as the championships of 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999 were, Chalk and his Slammers teammate of the time will always have that great what if about could it actually have been five in-a-row which is a feat that would never be matched.

In the end, Chalk knows they only have themselves to blame.

"There's a funny story about that and it's really our fault that we cost ourselves a chance. We played Rockingham in the last game of the season and all we had to do was beat them to get home court advantage and they were down the bottom at the time," Chalk said.

"We went out for a team dinner the night before and a few of us decided to have a few beers and maybe we shouldn’t have had those beers, and we ended up losing to Rockingham.

"That cost us home court advantage and in the semis the Buccs beat us because we had to play two up in Geraldton and they were pretty fired because we beat them the year before.

"Whether we would have gone on or not who knows, but I do know that after losing that one it drove the 98 teams.

"I sat in the bar with Wade Bennett after we got knocked out by Geraldton up there and we discussed it and thought we were pretty lucky to have won two, but also really angry that we lost the chance to win three in-a-row.

"There's pros and cons for it, but if we had won that won, maybe we wouldn’t win the next two, who knows."

Meant a bit extra to beat Buccs in 1996

Focusing in on that 1996 championship for the Slammers, they knew that the Geraldton Buccaneers would provide stiff competition come Grand Final night and Chalk was certainly nervous coming up against them.

But in the end, they proved too strong winning 103-86 to go back-to-back after beating the Goldfields Giants in two in a best-of-three series the year before and it meant the world to Chalk.

"The 96 one was really good because we had a really strong rivalry with Geraldton and Buccs, and that's not only from SBL but also stretches into Country Week and things like that," Chalk said.

"I even went away to nationals with the state team with the likes Greg Brown, Justin Patten and those sort of guys and they had a bit of the wood on us for that season and the one before.

"We really struggled to beat them so to play them the Grand Final and it went back to a standalone game that year, and we felt we were probably more chance than if it was a best-of-three.

"Everything fell together for us on the day and we got the win, and playing with Fitchy and now coaching with him, I like to joke with him I finally am getting to tell him what to do.

"Because all the time we were playing it was him telling me what to do and I played with my cousin in that side, Glenn Gibson was our assistant coach and he's one of my inspirations for playing from my younger days for Tornadoes in Bunbury."

Being a professional, committed group

What stands out above everything else for Chalk when he reflects on that team that had such great success right through the 1990s, was how hard they worked, how hard they pushed each other and how committed they were.

Riccardo Boyd was the icing on the cake of that 1996 team as an addition from 1995 but that core of Jason and Damien Chalk, Fitch, Paul Craig, Wade Bennett, Luke Edwards, Jason Moir and Luke John Pari all remained key pieces of that local core.

"We were a family on that team and we spent so much time together off the court and that group of guys in particular, I look at the recovery and sports science and everything together, we really pushed ourselves," Chalk said.

"It didn’t matter if we were coming off a double header and most of those were on a Sunday or what, we still trained Monday, Tuesday, Thursday no matter what the weekend before had done.

"We'd train for two hours and we came there and our training sessions were so physical and there were arguments, there was fights because we were so passionate about what we were doing. But as soon as the drill or the session finished, we moved on to the next one."

Fitch the most underrated player ever

Speaking of Fitch, for somebody who famously shrunk on the flight to Australia and was several inches shorter than the height that the Slammers were expecting, he sure put together a career more than making up for that lack of height.

Fitch would go on to play 315 with the Slammers from 1990 up to the end of 2001, and along the way averaged 27.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.2 steals.

He might not have won an MVP award any season but was Grand Final MVP three times and Chalk has no question he's undervalued whenever the greatest players in SBL/NBL1 West history are ever discussed.

"I'll argue with anyone, but to me it's one of the greatest travesties in our league that he never won an MVP. I believe he's the best player that's ever played in this league and I know I'm biased," Chalk said.

"We had Steve Eyl come in for 1991 and as far as individual goes for the Slammers, Steve probably had more than James, but what James had was longevity and he did it over a long period of time," Chalk said.

"He turned down plenty of offers and I know he had a big offer from Willetton at one point, and this is a guy that is listed as 6'6 but he's nowhere near that. To average over 10 rebounds in this league just shows his desire and when he won his Finals MVP, he never wore that medal.

"He took it straight off and it was all about team, team, team and that's how he was. He could still be a mongrel to play with and he would let you know if you weren’t doing what you should, but because of the respect he had, you would take it the right way.

"There's even the story that when he landed he was supposed to be 6'8 and then they saw him and they thought about sending him straight home. But next thing you know, he scores 64 points against the then WAIS Warriors and everyone thought he'd be alright.

"He also played at the Tornadoes here in Bunbury and our daughters have grown up together, and it's just a bond that goes beyond the court between me and him, and him and a lot of people because of the respect that he's earnt."

Seeing daughters carry on Slammers legacy

Not only do Chalk and Fitch share that history of being championship winning teammates and having that bond to last a lifetime, but they are also good friends and now proud fathers.

Javene Fitch and Bree Chalk are now both leaders and key players on that team, and helping to set up the culture for a group now on the improve having snapped a 52-game losing streak to start 2025 to now be currently sitting in a playoff position.

"You can add in the Edwards in there as well because we played with Aaron and Luke, and now their daughters are coming through, and it is very special," Chalk said.

"I know how much work they've done and obviously I know what Bree puts into it. The year I coached the women she was riddled with injuries and I know she's said that I was pretty hard on her and that we got into arguments, and we did, but that's how I was brought up to be harder on her so people can't ever say she's getting anything because of you.

"But to see both Bree and Javene carry the legacy through is pretty special for both myself and James. I think Javene's 21 and Bree's about to turn 20 in a few weeks and being so young and playing so much, I like watching her play but I get so nervous at the same time.

"You just want your kids to have success and for that team to have already won the three games, they've both been there through the hard yards and have done it tough, and they've copped some serious, serious beatings, but they are two of the players that have stuck there.

"They are two of the first players too that if the club needs something done off the court, they'll put their hand up too."

Building towards something now

As for the current Slammers team of 2026, Chalk is in his first season as coach of the men's team after a previous stint with the women and he's finally getting the chance to do something that he has always wanted to following his 172-game playing career.

While the wins haven’t come so far that Chalk hoped with the Slammers beating the Goldfield Giants in Kalgoorlie in the season opener but now having lost 10 straight since.

But he always knew it would take time but he is trying to build something based around a core group of local young players including a young captain Pharell Keats.

"We know where we stand as a financial club in comparison to some of the other clubs and we want to make sure that we provide pathways for our juniors and locals," Chalk said.

"That's been a big focus of ours to put a lot of work into them and if you look at our team at the moment, our oldest Australian is 22 years of age so we've got a great young core and it's our job, and my job in particular, to keep them together and keep them positive."

Trying to build a team similar to 90s

While the Slammers of the 1990s did have some superstar imports, what Chalk takes great pride in upon reflection was the core group of local players they had throughout the whole stretch.

That's what he wants to try and build now with this current team and create something long-term around the likes of Keats, Eythan House, Rivar Evans, Gavin Deacon, Riley Hall, Cooper Metcalfe, Harry Watters, Jack Flynn, Devan Craig and Jordan Wayne.

"I obviously love the club because it's where I played all my juniors but I go back to a lot of the things that we did in the 90s – 95, 96, 98 and 99 especially when we were lucky enough to win the championships," Chalk said.

"We had all local players other than the imports and I even remember back in 98 and 99, old Fitchy was basically playing for nothing because he loved the club and I just thought that's where we need to go now.

"It's hard for us with our location and people don’t necessarily want to move two hours' south, but it's a long haul just to drive down for practice and that sort of stuff.

"I loved what I saw with our locals coming through and we have got a good bunch of under-18s coming through as well and it's how I've always been as a coach. I don’t care if anybody else wants to do it, but I like to coach a team and build a team rather than go out and recruit so that's what we're doing."

Trying to beat Magic in Heritage Round

Now as for this weekend as part of Heritage Round, the Slammers are on the road on Saturday night against the Mandurah Magic which just happens to be the other team that Chalk has coached previously in the men's competition.

There's no shortage of star power that Mark Utley has at his disposal with Jock Perry, Michael Christmas, Lachlan Bertram, Michael Dupree, and if healthy, Matt Kenyon, but Chalk will have his Slammers ready and it does bring back some memories for him.

"It would be good to beat them obviously but Mandurah was the club that gave me my first opportunity to coach at this level and I'm forever grateful for the people at Mandurah that gave me a chance," Chalk said.

"I always hated coaching against the Slammers when I was with Mandurah because it was pulled on the heartstrings because of what the club meant to me.

"And I actually applied for the Slammers men's job two other times before now when I was a lot younger and didn’t get it.

"It's always been a goal of mine to coach the Slammers men's team, but I still remember when I was coaching Mandurah and how much I enjoyed those Taylor Mullenax and Clive Weeden battles.

"That was something to be seen with those two, it was just two, good old-fashioned post players just banging against each other. It was magnificent."