Image credit: Michael Farnell (Sports Imagery)
There's no greater Mark Utley success story as coach than Lachlan Bertram and in 18 months he's gone from thinking NBL1 West career was done, to starring in Mandurah Magic championship and now among the elite guards in the competition.
Bertram had spent his basketball lifetime playing at the Perth Redbacks up until the end of 2023, but having not hit the court at all in 2022 and 2023 despite still being part of the squad, it had become disheartening.
He was still putting in the work, but not getting to see the reward and when he found himself commentating games he wanted to be playing in, by the end of that season he felt the time might have been right to step away.
Instead, his soon-to-be championship teammate Julian Pesava reached out about potentially joining him as a new signing in Mandurah. Coach Mark Utley got on board to try and sway him, and the rest is history.
Bertram went on to play a critical role in the Magic winning a maiden championship last season and doing so on RAC Arena. Now he's taken his game up another level again in 2025 to be in career-best form.
Remarkable career transformation
Bertram still doesn’t quite know how to process how in the space of 12 months he went from thinking he'd never play NBL1 again to celebrating a Mandurah championship at RAC Arena.
However, he credits Pesava and Utley as being the two men that got him down to the Magic. Then he just took every opportunity he was given and ended up delivering 14.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals a game on a championship team.
"I don’t really know how to reflect on it and I don’t think I ever fully took in how it all felt to myself, and that's probably the one thing I regret," Bertram told The Hoop Hour on 91.3 SportFM.
"I just never had a chance to because we were so in the moment and so locked in on what we were wanting to achieve. But there was a point where I was commenting games on my own team and wasn’t even in the squad.
"So was at the point where I didn’t think this NBL1 thing wasn’t going anywhere for me where I was but I just have full credit to Julian Pesava and Mark Utley for even affording me the opportunity to at least give it one more shot.
"I'm just grateful for them and how it's turned out. I always knew that this was the kind of player that I could play, it was just about getting that opportunity. Now that I've got it, I don't plan to let go over it until I'm too old to walk but I'll always be thankful to those two for saving my career essentially."
Reflecting on that championship
What Bertram was part of last year on that Magic team was something special. A club that had never previously played in a men's grand final, not only made it, but won the championship and did so in front of 6500 people on the big stage of RAC Arena.
It's the sort of thing that dreams are made of and when Bertram saw how much it meant to not only the Mandurah basketball community, but so many people in the region altogether, it really rammed home what they had achieved.
"I definitely always flashback to that time it was a fantastic time. It was probably the high of most of our basketball careers and it was such a spectacle to be a part of at RAC Arena," Bertram said.
"I remember seeing it on the night but even when you go back and watch the replay, you can see how many people there were cheering us on from Mandurah.
"I heard stories about how the trains were packed with people wearing Mandurah gear as if it was a Wildcats game. You just knew how much it meant to everyone in Mandurah, and the conversations people had with me before the game, leading up to it and then after the game were just one of elation.
"You could see how much it meant to everyone and Mandurah is such a big area, but we're the only club to cheer for in that space and I think we went on to win Club of the Year for Mandurah as well, and now we continue to try and build on what we did because once you win it becomes addictive and people demand it."
Championship defence season
Now 13 rounds into the 2025 season, the championship defence for the Magic has been a mixed bag so far with them currently sitting in seventh position with an 8-8 record.
Naturally with the amount of turnover from players including the loss of import pair Joel Murray and Michael Durr meant the title defence would have its challenges, but Bertram remains confident what the Magic are capable of.
He's already taken his game to another level with 19.4 points, 4.8 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 steals a game in 2025 while new imports Jahcoree Ealey and Sammie Freeman are finding their way.
The next challenge for Mandurah is an away clash to the South West Slammers this Friday night and Bertram isn't looking past that.
"I definitely think our approach to the end is taking it game-by-game even though I know that sounds really media trained, but with the position we're at we can't take a game like this in Bunbury lightly," Bertram said.
"We have to take every game seriously and if we're in a position where if we win all those games we're 100 per cent in the finals, but we just have to focus on what's ahead of us and continue improving on our own game.
"Then come finals time, hopefully we're hitting that peak where we can start taking it to the big dogs so we can defend that championship that we've got, and hopefully get back to RAC Arena."
Unfortunate Pesava injury
The Magic had lost five straight matches prior to a breakthrough win at home last Sunday to the Goldfields Giants which improved them to the 8-8 record to stay inside the top eight.
However, the downside was what looked to be a devastating knew injury to Julian Pesava early in the game and that's someone in career-best form. The two-time championship winner was delivering 22.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists up until the injury.
It was a cruel blow for Bertram to see Pesava go down like that especially the tight connection the pair have, but since that happened on Sunday he's tried to give his wounded teammate some space.
"At the time it was really unfortunate and me and Jules have been stepping up for the Mandurah Magic, and we've both been having career seasons," Berthram said.
"I've loved what he's done this year and the Sunday incident wasn’t pretty. Obviously it was a bit hard to see with what happened to his knee and I'm not too sure exactly what happened.
"I've reached out to him just to check that he's OK, but I haven’t kind of pressed the issue because I know with him his past with the injuries how it affects you mentally.
"You just need to deal with it first before you have to deal with everyone's questions, but Jules is alright and recovering, and taking it a day at a time at the moment."
Opportunities it presents
Nobody likes to see injuries happen especially one as serious looking as what Pesava suffered, but there's always a silver lining and it provides opportunities to other.
It was Hamish Warden who took the most of that on Sunday as he knocked down six three-pointers for a season-best 20 points, and Bertram was anything but surprised.
"I think Hamish was the most delighted to get those extra minutes. He'll tell you more than anyone that he's a confident shooter and we just had to provide him the looks," Bertram said.
"I trust in Hamish that he's going to knock down a lot of those shots and even in practice we know he's one of the best shooters on this team.
"Given the opportunity, he grasped it and I look forward to seeing him carrying this on forward as unfortunate as it is to look like we're going to lose Jules.
"It does offer opportunities for others to step up and now we have to make do with what we have, and I'm so proud of Hamish that he was able to come out and do what he did."
Playing under coach Utley
While the championship win for the Magic last season as an association was massive, it was impossible to not be delighted for coach Utley for him to get the first championship of his lifetime of commitment to the SBL and NBL1 West either as a player or coach.
Bertram ultimately could not think of anyone he would rather have as his coach either, even if he doesn’t always appreciate having his buttons pushed.
"I hope he hears this, it's absolutely torture and he pushes my buttons but he's definitely a people's person," Bertram said.
"He loves to joke and to mess around, but then when it's time to get to it he's a serious guy and I love that he's such a player's coach. He understands the game and the players very well, and puts people in positions where they can succeed.
"Look at last year's team to this year's team, and even look at how many MVP's he's been able to bring over and give the opportunities to.
"I have nothing but respect for Mark Utley and I hope he does hear this that he pushes my buttons, but he loves it, and we always go back and forth at training. There isn’t a coach that I would have that I could say anything better about than Mark Utley."
Away from basketball
Bertram has also found a way to build a business which allows it to still involve basketball in a way but then to also be helping people.
He has started a business with Mason Tion called AbilityX Sports and Wellness which is all about providing personalised disability support through fitness, coaching and mentorship.
Bertram is proud of the team that he and Tion have been able to build to provide the services they do, and it's tremendously rewarding seeing the impact they are having.
"I have my own business with Mason Tion where we both run a disability support function business for kids within sport," Bertram said.
"It's called AbilityX Sports and Wellness where we do a lot of work in communities with people with disabilities. We either bring them together or do one-on-one coaching with high-level talents in basketball such as Jonah Underwood, myself, Mason and a few others.
"We do one-on-one sessions in the gym and on the court, and some group sessions and it's a lot about building their capacity. It's also offering them a place where they feel wanted and needed, and it's a good spot for them to gain that confidence to move around in this world.
"That's what I've been filling most of my days with and it's so rewarding to see the smile on these kids' faces as they accomplish things they thought they'd never be able to weeks and months before."