Nothing would top title with Flames for MVP

Featured image: Drew Molodstov | @thedrewmedia

Isaac White has won two MVP awards since joining Rockingham Flames, but it's an NBL1 West championship he craves and after being seconds from NBL glory only months ago, he is desperate to lift the trophy at RAC Arena on Saturday night.

Had the Adelaide 36ers been able to close the deal ate in Game 5 of their NBL26 Championship Series against the Sydney Kings earlier this year, obviously it would have been a career highlight tough to top for White.

However, at NBL1 level it's different. When he led the Mackay Meteors to NBL1 North glory in 2024, he was the captain of that team with Joel Khalu as coach, and having that sort of a key role on court and with the leadership makes the success mean more.

That's how he feels on this Rockingham team in the NBL1 West and while he's not the captain and Travis Durnin is doing a fine job with that, he is the focal point of everything the team does and what makes success mean just as much as what an NBL championship would.

Clearly White is desperate for that NBL title and hopefully for his sake it happens this coming season with Trevor Gleeson on board as coach, but with a team featuring the likes of Bryce Cotton, Zylan Cheatham and Flynn Cameron, less responsibility rides on his shoulders.

But White thrives on the responsibility he has at Rockingham and he's more than delivering, but it also means he puts pressure on himself to help the Flames to success and in turn, if they happen to beat the Geraldton Buccaneers at RAC Arena on Saturday night, it would also mean everything to him.

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Even though White has spent the week back in Adelaide for pre-season training with the 36ers in preparation for NBL27 following Saturday night's preliminary final win over the Cockburn Cougars, he can't hold back his excitement for his first NBL1 West Grand Final.

"I'm about as excited as you can get and look I haven’t won an NBL championship, and obviously I'd like to have both, but now that's in the past earlier this year, this is just as important to me as an NBL championship," White said.

"I'm not even talking shit when I say that, I have such an influence on the game at this level and I take a lot of accountability for that so I ride the emotions pretty hard when we win or lose.

"Obviously I take responsibility on court, but also from a leadership standpoint I think I've invested a tonne into the group and them into me as a turn.

"It doesn’t matter the level, anytime you get an opportunity to finish a season with a championship it means a lot and on this stage especially, it definitely does heighten things a little bit.

"I couldn’t be more excited for the game and I wish it was here already to be honest with ya."

Achieving goal of reaching Grand Final

There was great fanfare last year over White moving West to join Rockingham along with Emmett Naar, Tevin Jackson and Laquinton Ross to play under Ryan Petrik, but the truth was my preliminary final night that was a 50-50.

They were on the road to a Warwick Senators team featuring Elijah Pepper, Todd Withers, Mitch Clarke, Cody Ellis and then Cooper Creek who hit the game winning three-pointer and who also just happens to now be playing for Rockingham's Grand Final opponents in 2026, Geraldton.

But White has felt greater expectations on Rockingham especially internally that after getting so close in 2025, it would have been a let down to not at least make a Grand Final in 2026.

They've now achieved that after being neck and neck with the Buccs over top spot all season long and now that's who they will lock horns with in that Grand Final at RAC Arena.

"It's very exciting to have made it and last week the moment after beating Cockburn was when it hits you that now we get to go to the big stage," White said.

"That was probably my best moment over the last two years at Rockingham and last year going into the prelim against Warwick, there might have been a bit less expectation but at the end of the game we were one shot away winning it.

"So that was super devastating but this year we probably came in with all of the expectations and there's been a few bumps along the road, which being real, make you check yourself about if you're actually going to get there.

"But just getting to this game is the goal and then the exciting part is getting to play in the Grand Final.

"It's hard to be purely excited and not let any of the doubts or weight of it all creep in, but I'm just trying to focus on the fact that this is what I signed up for and the fun part is going out and figuring out who the better team is on the night."

Grand Final with Buccs that was destiny

No disrespect to the other teams in the competition and certainly Cockburn and Joondalup did tremendous jobs to win qualifying finals on the road to earn home preliminary finals, but it did feel like Rockingham and Geraldton were always on a collision course.

They were jostling over top spot most of the season, they each beat the other on their home floors along the way and you can throw in the added intrigue of Devondrick Walker now in Geraldton having won two MVP awards, a championship and Grand Final MVP with the Flames.

It does feel like it's the decider to find out once and for all who the best team of 2026 is and that's exactly how White is looking at it.

"I think us both losing on that same night to start the finals was almost a sign and that's God doing his work there, I think we were just destined to meet each other," White said.

"Obviously if Joondalup had beaten them and we played them, then I wouldn’t have had a second thought about it, but now that it has happened, it does feel like it's probably right.

"We got them at our place, they got us at theirs and there's been so much back and forth where I think this is just how it's supposed to be.

"I think we're two of the best teams on paper and also a product in consistency so that probably deserves this game to decide it."

Another battle with Verle

Another aspect of Saturday night's Grand Final that is going to be fascinating is seeing White's one-on-one battle for a lot of the game up against his long-time rival Verle Williams.

The pair first played against each other as eight-year-olds, went on to play underage tournaments against one another with White for South Australia and Williams for Queensland, and then even more recently played one another in the NBL1 North.

They have now renewed those battles in the NBL1 West and even more so this year with Williams taking on a bigger role on the Buccs team of 2026 as the starting point guard all the way through.

Williams earlier this season admitted to how much he lifts for those battles with White and while he knows he can't stop him, he does his very best to wear him down and make his life challenge.

White himself embraces that history the pair have and is looking forward to doing battle on the biggest stage they have done so yet.

"They're fun battles and it's actually funny, I didn’t real clock how much history we had until we played up in Gero and I said to him that I've seen too much of him over the years," White said.

"It is true we played up in Darwin when I was probably eight years old and we've seemed to cross paths every year, and now we've been in the North and the West at the same time.

"It's a little bit eery, but he's a high-quality player and one thing I'll give to him, he's developed his game and his presence at the defensive end at his size is not easy to have.

"It starts with his speed, but he just gets up under people's limbs and elbows, and gets himself in vulnerable positions where he can get calls.

"He can provide you with a little bit to think about, but I'm excited for that challenge for sure and at the same time, whoever is out there for both teams and whatever match up there'll be, everyone's really deserving to be there. I really can't wait to see what happens."

Looking for new challenge after Mackay

When Joel Khalu moved on from Mackay following their dominant 2024 NBL1 North season to move full-time to Wollongong with the Illawarra Hawks, the majority of that Meteors team was on the move too.

That includes White who was looking for a new challenge in terms of the NBL1 upon returning home to Adelaide to play in the NBL with the 36ers.

He was open to listening to offers from anywhere in the country, but it was the combination of what Ryan Petrik was doing on court with the Flames in the NBL1 West and then how much he liked the idea of living in Rockingham that got him over the line.

Emmett Naar was quickly on board too and now two years later, the rest is history.

"To be honest in Mackay we had a good thing going and we'd just won it and it was no secret they have great money and resources, so if Joel had stayed coaching there I probably never would have left," White said.

"But he obviously has taken some steps forward in his career and then that year at Nationals when we were at the Sunshine Coast, I was just watching our team play and the Rockingham women were there too.

"Georgia Pineau is good friends with Emmett and I've also known her for a little while through Dane (brother) and the West is probably the only other conference at the time that interested me because it was so unknown.

"I knew a lot of the guys in the North, East and South pretty much, and Central was home, but Georgia was the one who told me and Emmett that we should talk to our coach (Petrik) and at the time I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be doing the next year.

"But I told her to tell him we would be interested and then it was when we were in Perth for HoopsFest and Petrik came to talk to us at the hotel, he gave us the pitch and we went from there.

"There was a number of factors but the biggest one was wanting to see a different situation but they were also able to accommodate and provide Emmett with a great situation too, and I love living with him and getting to work with him on and off the court with him.

"So it was a bit of a perfect storm I'd say."

Enjoying the change in Rockingham

Rockingham might be only half an hour or so out of Perth, but it does feel like it's only little separate country town and that's exactly what White likes so much about it.

It's still close enough to the city where you can head up to Perth when need be, but the whole local community on top of the basketball association is something that he's fully embraced and enjoyed over the last two years.

"I've loved living here and I try to use basketball as a vessel as much as possible to experience the world and life and whatever, and I think instead of being in smack bang in the middle of the city, I was kinda looking for somewhere a little bit different," White said.

"That was how I ended up in Mackay a couple of years earlier but I knew Rockingham was a little bit out of the way and it's honestly surprised me. I figured like everything here would revolve around Perth and I'd just be a little out of the way, but I've set up shop here real well.

"We've got Secret Harbour only 15 minutes away where there's good waves to surf and to go swimming or whatever, and my little radius of gym, my mates houses, the practice facility, the beach and I really don’t have to leave a 5km radium to get everything done.

"Then obviously Perth's sprinkled in there one or two times a week if I went to go up there for something or if the Crows are in town or something, but it's been really nice.

"Like anywhere, the people make the place, but there's such a cool group of locals and staff and stuff like that at the club too. And some NBL level guys might just come in and take their money, but I just want to be happy and I'm sweet with what I've found here and I couldn’t be happier where I am."

Starting a new era in Adelaide

It's been a hectic last couple of weeks too for White not only with the NBL1 finals but also with the start of pre-season training back in Adelaide with the 36ers during the week under new coach, five-time championship winner Trevor Gleeson.

He has been travelling two and from Perth and Adelaide to train and then be back in time to play finals, and it's been the same story this week with him returning on Thursday in time to prepare for Saturday night's Grand Final.

But with how close the Sixers were to a championship last NBL season and with the majority of their squad back, and with a legendary coach at the helm, he is excited to get back to Adelaide for good next week and fully get stuck into those preparations.

"It's been a lot honestly and we haven’t had the full squad out in Adelaide just yet and there's still a couple of pieces to come, but I've been flying back and forth with half my week out here and half in Adelaide," White said.

"It's been a little bit tolling I would say physically more than anything and just trying to get on top of two systems at the same time can be a little bit of a challenge too.

"But Trev has an awesome energy and I've got so much trust that he will hopefully get us that step further, but it will get better under him for sure. He takes no prisoners and he really demands a high level of work rate and I'm really excited to work under him.

"I've got no idea what it's going to look like on the floor with role or anything like that, but from the competitive standpoint, going to battle under him will be really good for us, and for me individually too."