Having decided to end his NBL career on his own terms, Cairns Taipans forward Stephen Weigh couldn’t be happier to be playing his last game on Sunday back in Perth, where he won a championship but has also had some of his career highlights as an opponent.
Weigh has announced that the 2017-18 season will be the last of a career that began in Perth back in 2008-09, having arrived as a highly rated young talent from the Australian Institute of Sport and then the University of Utah.
He went on to play 94 games with the Wildcats, including as a key player in the 2010 championship-winning team.
Following the semi-final loss 12 months later to the New Zealand Breakers he moved to the Adelaide 36ers. That’s where he began to really love coming into the new Perth Arena to play as an opposition player in front of 13,000 fans.
Weigh has actually enjoyed good success inside Perth with both Adelaide and Cairns. The first-ever game in the stadium saw Weigh and the 36ers win back on 16 November 2012.
While Weigh is happy his last game is in Perth, he’s even happier to have decided to retire on his own terms – that is, to start up his own shipping and logistics company based out of Cairns, not because of a foot injury he’s been dealing with.
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“I guess it’s been falsely reported through certain newspaper sources that I’m retiring due to a foot injury. That’s just completely false and not the case whatsoever,” Weigh said.
“Yes, I do have a foot injury, and it has played a factor in me not being able to contribute as much as I would have liked this season on the court. But for the past eight to nine months I’ve been working on a business venture which I’m happy to say I’ll sink my teeth into as soon as the season’s finished.
“I am extremely fortunate and proud that I’m an athlete who’s had a great career, but at the end of it now I get to go out on my terms. That’s the decision I made and it was going to be the case regardless of whether or not the injury played a factor this season.
“I certainly realise how fortunate I am that I can move into something straight after my basketball career’s finished. That’s wholly and solely the reason I’m hanging the boots up, so to speak.”
Now that he is preparing for the 277th and last game of his NBL career, Weigh feels content because it’s his decision, and the chance to finish with consecutive wins at Perth Arena would certainly be fitting.
“Really it’s no different than any other game that I prepare for. I guess your mind just stays with the process of what you’ve got to do to prepare and your mind stays on the job,” he said.
“It’s habitual at this point. I’ve done it for 10 seasons and at this stage it’s just second nature the way you go about things and approach the game. But it will be special once we get out there for the game.
“The fact that I’ve come out and announced my retirement when originally I was going to hold onto that information until post-season gives me the opportunity to take in the atmosphere and what’s happening around me. I’ll just soak that up and enjoy every moment. I’m looking forward to that.”
Given Weigh won a championship with Perth during his 94-game career with the Wildcats, it will always hold a special place in his heart.
But the memories as an opposition player of playing in front of the biggest crowds in the country with plenty of familiar faces make it the ideal destination for his final game.
“I have a lot of memories here in Perth playing for the Wildcats and also playing against the Wildcats,” Weigh said.
“Ultimately it’s probably the premier club within the league, and the fan base and crowd support is certainly second to none, and where else would you rather play your last game?
“I’ve had an opportunity to say my farewells and thank yous in Cairns in my last game. Now getting to play the last official game of my career in Perth is pretty special.”
Weigh has played in four victories in 13 games for the Sixers and Snakes at Perth Arena, including the 2015 semi-final and then last Sunday’s upset two-point win with the Taipans out of finals contention.
He knows as much as anyone how much the Perth crowd can inspire their team, but it also gives the opposition plenty of motivation to come in to quieten that many people and to win on such a stage.
That’s why some of Weigh’s career highlights will be wins at Perth Arena with Adelaide and Cairns. He wouldn’t mind another one on Sunday in his last game.
“For as well as Perth plays at Perth Arena – and I understand when people say it’s an incredibly tough place to play and to come and win – I’ve actually been pretty successful here,” he said.
“I had a couple of seasons in Adelaide where we secured the wooden spoon both seasons but for whatever reason we matched up really well against Perth.
“Then one of the more memorable highlights of my career was getting to go to the grand final series with Cairns Taipans when we had Torrey Craig and Scottie Wilbekin.
“On our way to the grand final we played Perth and beat them at home and then won in Perth and there were a couple of corner threes that went down for me. That really sticks out as a highlight.
“Part of the thing you love about playing for Perth is the great crowd support. But you have to understand opposition teams love coming into Perth to get the opportunity to play in front of 14,000 people. It’s a luxury and burden on Perth at the same time.
“The crowd is unrivalled in terms of their support, but in Cairns the passion our supporters have and their genuine care in a small regional town is special too.
“There’s not a fickle bone in the entire body of that supporting crew, and they love you whether you win or lose by 20 or have a winning or losing season. It’s different in the sense of the pure size of it, but the love and care the Cairns supporters show for our team is incredible.”
Weigh is understandably proud of his NBL career that will finish on 277 games and that included winning a championship and getting to play for the Australian Boomers.
But even more of a sense of pride is that he got to decide when to end his career, having chosen to not seek a new contract when his current deal with Cairns expires.
The fact that he has his future set up too is something that not all professional athletes have the foresight to do. There is no doubt the support of a number of people, notably team psychologist Jodii Maguire, has helped Weigh enormously in having his mind in the right place.
“I’m extremely fortunate and I understand that I’m in a really good position that I can sink my teeth into something else straight away. I’m sure at some point I’ll look back and I’ll miss playing basketball for a living,” Weigh said.
“It’s an incredible way to earn a living and to wake up in the morning knowing what you have ahead. But in saying that, mentally I’ve noticed a shift in myself the last few years that I’ve been ready to move into something else.
“It hasn’t just happened either, but if you shake the tin enough, eventually something’s going to fall out. I kept my ear pretty close to the ground and I’ve done a lot of hard work to know it was coming to that time.
“I’ve just been waiting for something to stick. I certainly acknowledge that I’m in a fortunate situation to be able to move on and have something to move into.”
Thursday
Brisbane Bullets 73 lost to Sydney Kings 90
Friday
New Zealand Breakers 82 lost to Illawarra Hawks 84
Melbourne United 97 defeated Perth Wildcats 85
Saturday
Adelaide 36ers 105 defeated Brisbane Bullets 82
Sunday
Melbourne United vs Illawarra Hawks – Hisense Arena, 3pm
Sydney Kings vs New Zealand Breakers – Qudos Bank Arena, 5pm
Perth Wildcats vs Cairns Taipans – Perth Arena, 7pm
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