Basketball On The Internet.

THE NBL was 100 per cent correct in charging Brian Conklin for the incident from which Perth captain Damian Martin suffered broken teeth and a fractured jaw on Wednesday.

But today comes the REAL challenge for the league, ensuring justice is done and not influenced by the overflow of emotion which has followed in the past 36 hours.

It already appears to have, considering the charge for Conklin is "striking".

In truth, it should have been "reckless endangerment" which far better fits what occurred as he spun away from a double-team and connected with Martin's face after being fouled by Greg Hire.

Now here's the thing which to me points to it being an unfortunate - and yes, possibly avoidable - accident.

No-one remonstrated.

No-one.

Not a single Wildcat rushed after Conklin or even looked especially perturbed until it rapidly became clearly evident Martin was hurt and hurt badly.

Not Hire, who turned away from his fallen teammate and not coach Trevor Gleeson, who had so much to say post-game.

In fact the first player to show genuine concern for Martin was the man he was defending, Mitch Norton.

Why is any of that important?

Because, to me at least, it demonstrates that IN THE MOMENT, everyone thought it was an accident and not as bad as it subsequently proved. 

Yes, the aftermath was horrific for Damo, his jaw broken in two at the chin, with three teeth loose at the break-point.

The 31-year-old underwent surgery last night in Perth in an attempt to save his teeth - his mouth wound bleeding nonstop from the incident until surgery - and plates required to stabilise the jaw.

At best, the champion playmaker and super defender misses six-to eight-weeks, at worst he is out three months.

Emotions change when you read and digest that information, and that's only natural.

It's only natural too that Wildcats players and team staff would feel the rage well inside them as they watched their fallen comrade suffering, concussed and in shock.

Hence the change of mood come the post-game press conference, again natural and to be expected.

But I stress again, IN THE MOMENT, no-one reacted angrily. Hell, it was Hire who copped a foul as he tried to grapple the ball from Conklin.

Conklin did not receive a foul or even a warning/sanction/reprimand from the officials.

Clearly, IN THE MOMENT, everyone felt it was an awful accident.

If you feel that's insignificant, then cast your mind back to Josh Childress jumping up from the floor at Perth Arena, racing at Jesse Wagstaff and whacking him.

There was clear intent and the reaction was for players to rush to the scene of the crime and remonstrate with the perpetrator.

Childress copped a one-game suspension.

Fast forward to the semi finals and Drake U'u takes down Torrey Craig as the Cairns import flies for a fast break. That was a shocker too and what happened? Players raced to the scene and immediately got after U'u.

That's the difference between the incidents and why what happens IN THE MOMENT is so revealing.

That's when people show what they REALLY thought, not what they think 15 minutes later when they have seen the fall-out effect and understandably are enflamed with passion.

Damian Martin is one of the very few players I have dealt with - Brett Maher is another I can think of - who is universally respected, revered and admired, if not loved.

To see him in that state would rile up most people, let alone the men he leads.

So it was no surprise but sadly disappointing to hear Hire accuse Townsville players of laughing, as if they were somehow in on the joy of harming a fellow fair combatant.

That was nonsense and Hire is a better man than that.

If the Crocs were happy post-siren, they had every reason to be, having once again pulled off a David-V-Goliath success over the Wildcats.

They could not know what state Damo was in.

But worse was to follow from Gleeson, whose incitement-to-violence remarks were little short of appalling.

Describing Conklin's hit as "the dirtiest play he has seen" again is interesting because IN THE MOMENT, Gleeson stood on the sideline, largely unmoved and probably more concerned how he could reverse another Crocs setback by Friday.

To then invoke the prospect of some "home-cooking" and infer Nate (Jawai) would settle any score with Conklin was downright disgraceful.

Can you imagine the outcry if an NBA or AFL coach said something along those lines?

Again, I don't blame Gleeson for being emotional but the comments of Crocs coach Shawn Dennis struck right to the point.

What has been created now is a situation of mistrust and animosity between the two teams which made shared plane rides from Townsville to Brisbane and Perth a seething cauldron of ill-feeling instead of fellow pros mixing and having a few laughs, as they did as recently as at The Blitz. (The preseason tourney, not the ill-named TV show.)

That's a great shame.

It WAS an accident BUT it also could have been avoided if Conklin hadn't flailed his arm recklessly, as players are wont to do, usually when they know they can get away with a cheap one.

Is that what occurred and Conklin left to rue how badly his impact incapacitated a fellow athlete?

Had he shown some concern, I'd be less inclined to think that.

That makes me believe it was an avoidable accident and he should pay some penalty, most likely a hefty fine. Others would scream "suspension", but that is in the wake of how badly Conklin hurt Martin.

IN THE MOMENT, Conklin wasn't even reprimanded. By anyone.

Childress got one game last year, U'u incredibly escaped scot free.

Unless the new NBL of Larry Kestelman is going to start afresh and make a stand on facial injuries, the precedents already exist.

A fine for Conklin and a fine for Gleeson for "incitement to retaliation" would be what I would expect, except, as I said, if this is a new era and the NBL is going to get tough on its few and rare offenders.

In the meantime, it's highly likely tonight's game now will be called super-efficaciously with the unnecessary tensions which have been created.

But all many of us will care about is that Damian Martin's surgeries went well and he can resume the sport he loves as soon as possible.
 

Tonight: THE day's Tribunal should influence events in Perth tonight where the Wildcats will be geared to beat the Crocs regardless and that's what should take place in a truly hostile environment.

Cairns at Illawarra should be a super game and I'm still leaning to the Hawks at home in a ripper.

Last night: BREAKERS 98 (Wesley 26, Ch Jackson 21, Webster 20, Ce Jackson 11, Abercrombie 10; Ch Jackson 10 rebs; Ce Jackson 13 assts) d 36ERS 88 (Johnson 20, Ere 15, Walker 14, Creek, Randle 12; Johnson 15 rebs; Randle 10 assts) at North Shore Events Centre. UNITED 105 (Goulding 31, Holt 23, Blanchfield, Jackson 14, Kickert 10; Majok 8 rebs; Kickert 7 assts) d KINGS 94 (Thornton 25, Harrington 20, Khazzouh 15, Garlepp 11; 3 with 6 rebs; Markovic, Carter 3 assts) at the Kingdome.