Mark Dalton gives us his ultimate 'Hard Men' of the NBL's early days

NBL legend Mark Dalton returns to the Aussie Hoopa podcast to share his list of true 'Hard Men' of the NBL's early days.

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With a career spanning 1984 to 2000 'Tang' (as he is affectionately known) went head to head against some of the greats of NBL history, including Andrew Vlahov, Mark Davis, Scott Fisher, and many more, giving him the perfect vantage point, and experience, to know who was a true 'Hard Man' and who was just a thug.

He takes us through what he feels a true 'Hard Man' is and shares his top 10 'Hard Men' of NBL history, sharing stories of the times he faced them on the court.

Elbows, ejections and dirty plays are littered through this episode, as Dalton runs through his list with the host of Aussie Hoopla, Dan Boyce.

Topics include...

• How Mark got the nickname “Tang” (2:00)
• The criteria Mark used to determine his all-time “Hard Men” of the NBL (4:00) What venues were the hardest to play in during the 1980s and 1990s (7:00)
• Mark shares his list of the top 10 NBL hard men during his 16-year NBL career (9:00)

Mark Dalton played seventeen seasons across five NBL teams. This included the Canberra Cannons, Geelong Cats, Sydney Kings, Brisbane Bullets and Wollongong Hawks. He averaged 9.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2 assists in 421 NBL games.

CAREER RANKINGS:
– 39th in total games played.
– 32nd in total rebounds
– 24th in total steals
– 17th in total blocks

Listen to our previous interviews with the biggest stars in Australian Basketball.

Head to Aussie Hoopla to check out previous podcasts featuring; Australian Basketball Legends - Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Mark Bradtke, Leroy Loggins, David Andersen, Andrew Vlahov, Phil Smyth, CJ Bruton, Chris Anstey, Brett Maher, John Rillie, Tony Ronaldson, Damian Martin, Brad Newley

Current NBL Stars - Bryce Cotton, Chris Goulding, Tyler Harvey, Dejan Vasiljevic, Thomas Abercrombie, Daniel Johnson, Jason Cadee, Mitch McCarron, Anthony Drmic, Luke Travers

Our Finest Coaching Minds - Brian Goorjian, Barry Barnes, Joey Wright, Adrian Hurley, Aaron Fearne, Rob Beveridge, Ian Stacker, Shawn Dennis, Dean Vickerman, Trevor Gleeson, Lindsey Gaze, Ken Cole, Will Weaver, Bruce Palmer

NBA Stars Past & Present - Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Stephen Jackson, Randy Livingston, Torrey Craig, Jack White, Acie Earl, Josh Childress, Reggie Smith, Todd Lichti, Ryan Broekhoff, Doug Overton

The NBL's Greatest Imports - Darryl McDonald, Ricky Grace, Derek Rucker, Leon Trimmingham, Scott Fisher, Lanard Copeland, Dwayne McClain, Darnell Mee, Shawn Redhage, Al Green, Steve Woodberry, Doug Overton, Kevin Lisch

And the men who run things - Larry Kestelman, Mal Speed, Paul Maley, Vince Crivelli, Jeremy Loeliger, Chris Pongrass, Jeff Van Groningen, Bob Turner, Danny Mills

All that and much more.

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