Tough battle offers valuable lessons

ADF basketballers burned bright but were ultimately extinguished by the Queensland Fire Department (QFD) in the 2026 Battle of the Badges.

The annual friendly match was a curtain raiser for the NBL1 game between the Southern District Spartans and Ipswich Force in Brisbane on June 20.

Size and experience were major factors in QFD’s 77-56 win over ADF, with a younger and smaller Defence side unable to capitalise on inside plays against the more physical firefighters.

Officer in charge of ADF Queensland Basketball, LEUT Ryan Chapman, said they were close to taking the lead a number of times, but stayed positive despite the physical play.

“There was no point at all where any of the team put their heads down, or started arguing with each other, where in the past that certainly has happened,” he said.

“I just reiterated to go out there and have fun, do your part, and at the end of the day, win or lose, you’ll come away with a good experience.”

For ADF centre LAC Ben Redmond, his usual break-action slashing style of play had to be modified to get around the size difference.

“I’ll try to get to the rim as much as I can, but it’s a bit harder against the bigger dudes. We relied a lot more on our outside shooting and the quickness of our guards to get around,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the shots weren’t falling as much as we would have liked. It made it a bit hard to keep pressure on them and get the momentum going.”

Despite the loss, the game was a good opportunity for players to face off with a team that has played together for a long time, according to coach WO2 Ruth Wicks.

“We had one training session the morning of the game, then we had to go play against a team that had been playing with each other for years,” she said.

“Our running game was good, and when our three-pointers were dropping, we looked really good. It was very physical inside and we just couldn’t stop them getting those shots in.”

The Battle of the Badges was first held last year as a way for ADF Basketball to engage more with the Queensland community.

LEUT Chapman said there are plans to expand the games to include the Queensland Police Force.