Cairns Taipans head coach Adam Forde has taken aim at the NBL following his team’s overtime loss in Round Nine, arguing that Andrew Andrews is being denied legitimate foul calls because of an unfair reputation.
Watch live coverage of NBL and WNBL 2025-26 seasons with ESPN on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
Andrews has been a bright spot for the Taipans this season, averaging 13.6 points, 6.3 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 3.4 free-throw attempts across 13 games. But Forde made it clear the team has grown frustrated with the lack of calls, to the point it’s now altering their offensive approach.
“So now when he does get fouled, he doesn’t get the call because you’ve got the NBL and the referee saying that he has a reputation as a flopper,” Forde told reporters post-game.
He expanded on the idea of reputational officiating, saying it’s an issue across the league.
“Reputational calls happen everywhere, right?” Forde continued.
“Some are positive and benefit. Some are this guy’s a flopper. So every time he falls down, he will get a flop warning, whatever it may be.
“And so you send through stuff to the NBL, and you say, ‘OK, well, is this a foul? Is that a foul? Is this a foul? Is that a foul?’ And they’re like, ‘yep, no, yep, no, no, cool, cool. Let’s address this. Let’s look at this’.
“We have to adjust and be like, ‘We’ll just shoot it. Just shoot the three and shoot the mid-range’.
“You’d rather come down and just come off an on-ball and try and get clear enough to shoot it and give yourself a crack at it.”
Taipans still last as Phoenix run riot | 00:59
Forde also referenced the league’s own officiating audits, using injured Taipans forward Sam Waardenburg as an example of ongoing discrepancies.
“So here’s a stat for you and this won’t get me in trouble because it’s the NBL stats,” he said.
“So the NBL does their review process. They’ll send through the stats of every player with missed and made calls.
“Last season, Sam Waardenburg had the biggest discrepancy for for and against in terms of correct calls and missed calls.”
Refereeing has remained one of the dominant storylines this season, with growing frustration from coaches, players, media and fans over inconsistent whistles, technicals, and an overall tightening of the game’s natural competitiveness and emotion.
Discussion about this post