Tornadoes volunteer prepares for grand final

Eight years later, he is making the trip to Melbourne as one of the club’s most recognisable volunteers.

The 71-year-old said it was not long after the Tornadoes’ previous grand final appearance in 2010 that he became more involved with the team.

“My kids and I had been going to games for a while before they made the grand final last time,” he said.

“About a year later, the club put the call out for volunteers and I thought, ‘why not’.”

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After initially helping set up before home games, he was assigned the role of attendance counter.

For the past four seasons, he has stood near the entrance at Elphin Sports Centre and tallied crowd numbers through a click counter.

He said it had allowed him to witness the team’s upward trajectory first-hand.

“There’s definitely been more people coming to the games in the last couple of years,” he said.

“We’ve had good teams for years, but this season everything has come together at the right time, which is fantastic.”

The Tornadoes will attempt to win their first SEABL title since 1995 when they take on the Bendigo Braves at Melbourne’s State Basketball Centre on Saturday night.

It comes after the team overcame the Nunawading Spectres by 10 points in front of a sold-out home crowd last weekend.

Mr Stacey said the club’s supporters had every reason to feel confident ahead of the season climax.

“I am absolutely positive they will come away with the win, because they are a very good basketball side,” he said.

“They went and beat Bendigo earlier in the year when Bendigo hadn’t lost a game all season.

“They’ll definitely do it.”

The 2018 season hasn’t been without adversity for the side, with the loss of US import Mikaela Ruef before the start of the season compounded by defeat in the first three games.

Mr Stacey paid tribute to coach Derrick Washington for helping the team re-discover its winning ways.

“He is an inspiration to watch from the sidelines,” he said. 

“The way he conducts himself during games is just dynamic.”

The Launceston Tornadoes will take on the Bendigo Braves from 5.45pm on Saturday.