Image credit: @214TRIBEMEDIA
Not only has the move to Rockingham Flames brought Travis Durnin NBL1 West and NBL1 championships, it's brought out the best in him as a player as he can't wait to celebrate game 200 with those who have supported him the most.
Having grown up in Pinjarra where he still lives and works at the Alcoa alumina refinery, Durnin started his SBL career at the South West Slammers as an 18-year-old back in 2016 having been a regular in Western Australian underage teams.
He was an explosive and athletic slashing wing and had some impressive moments at the Slammers including on an exciting 2017 team that had a tantalising playoff series with eventual champions, the Perth Redbacks.
Fast forward to today and Durnin has turned himself into someone the Rockingham Flames can rely on to hold down a spot in their front court, to rebound, to hit open shots and to make all the hustle plays any successful teams need.
He was a starter on their 2022 breakthrough NBL1 West championship, helped them win the NBL1 National Finals a week later and now this Saturday night will celebrate his 200th appearance.
Thoughts on reaching 200 games
At just 27 years of age, Durnin certainly doesn’t feel like he's at the veteran stage of his career but he is proud to now be reaching the 200-game milestone as he continues to live out his dream each and every week by playing in the NBL1 at the Flames where he's been now since 2020.
"It kinda surprised me when I found out but just being a bit of a country kid from Pinjarra, which is a bit of a small town, I've come from there and feel like I've worked my arse off to get to where I am now to get a chance in the NBL1," Durnin said.
"Being approached to go to an elite team like Rockingham five years ago, that's when it all really changed. Before that I was pretty happy just playing back at Bunbury and then with that one year at Mandurah, but then I got an opportunity at Rockingham.
"I've had three years training with the 'Cats too so I've definitely been fortunate to have opportunities so far that have kind of been like a dream come true to play at the state league level like I have."
Unwavering support from his mum
As much as Durnin is looking forward to his milestone on Saturday night when the Flames play host to the Joondalup Wolves at Mike Barnett Sports Complex, what the occasion provides is the chance to reflect on the support he has received the whole way through.
There is no greater supporter to Durnin than his mother and nor is there anyone that he's closer to in his life. To think about celebrating a milestone like this with her on Saturday night means the world to him.
"Mum is probably my best friend to be honest. She doesn’t miss a game unless she's on holiday which would most likely be in Bali, but she's always there in the stands supporting me and always has a big smile on her face," Durnin said.
"She loves watching me if I'm play two minutes or 25 minutes or 40 minutes, she's there no matter what.
"The boys all love her as well and get around her, which is even better, and she's a blessing and I cannot thank her enough for everything she's done for me, and here I am now playing 200 games which I never thought was possible.
"Nan and pop have been a massive support too along with my dad and sister. They are all the best so I'm pretty excited for them to all be there this weekend. The club knows how much they mean to me and I'm a bit of a family guys so they've definitely looked after them for this weekend."
What the milestone means to family
When Durnin also found out that his 90-year-old grandparents were also making a weekend out of it by driving all the way from Ellenbrook to Pinjarra (115km), that's what made it really hit home to him that he would never be the basketball player, or man, that he is today without his family.
"I'm not a big fan of the limelight and I like to cruise along on Saturday with the No. 1 goal to try and win this game first but when I told my nan and pop about it, they were never going to miss it," Durnin said.
"They live in Ellenbrook but they are going to drive down to Pinjarra on Friday morning and stay with us for the weekend, and come to the game with us.
"They are 90 so it's a huge effort from them and it means so much to me. That made me really emotional knowing they were going to do that just to be there for me, and they said they would never miss it.
"I remember when I made my first state team in under-16s they were there at the jersey presentation with the biggest smiles on their face so it's something pretty special to share these moments with them."
Becoming a strong all-round player
Durnin was always an outstanding athlete coming through the junior ranks with the Slammers and playing for WA, perhaps the best player to compare him with is New Zealand Breakers NBL legend Tom Abercrombie as that tall, thin slasher with impressive hops.
Fast forward to today and Durnin has developed into quite the impressive all-round player for Flames coach Ryan Petrik to rely upon as someone who'll fight hard for rebounds and loose balls, provide great energy, and knock down the open shots.
It's something Durnin takes great pride in because of the work he's put in on his game over the years.
"At my body size, I'm tall but I don’t have that big build and I can't bang and crash with the bigger and stronger guys but I'll certainly try and make up for that by going out and giving 110 per cent effort," Durnin said.
"Then I try to be reliable to knock down shots and if I am thrown out there as a four or five man, at least I can space the floor and ill crash as hard as I can, and try to play defence for as long as possible even though I'll acknowledge I'm not the best defensively.
"I'm still always putting the effort in the best I can to try and get some stops, and then I try to space the floor on offence. I feel like if I knock down a shot early I can get rolling. So the best thing for me is to try and get a couple of stops and my offence comes from that."
Championship breakthrough of 2022
Durnin originally joined Rockingham in the West Coast Classic season of 2020 having played all his career up until the end of 2018 at the Slammers and then having a 2019 season with the Mandurah Magic.
However, he quickly fit right in at the Flames and thrived under the coaching of Petrik and with teammates like Ryan Godfrey, Justin Beard, Devondrick Walker, Greg Hire, Marshall Nelson and company on the team that won a championship in 2022.
They had gone so close before a heartbreaking grand final loss to the Perry Lakes Hawks in 2021 but made up for it a year later with the win against the Geraldton Buccaneers on the back of a remarkable comeback.
It's still a whole experience that Durnin pinches himself about especially considering he was a starter on a championship team.
"That whole year was an incredible experience and to win that championship is one of the best feelings in basketball for myself," Durnin said.
"It was with a great group of guys as well and that was my third year with Rockingham, I'd made some really good friendships with all the guys and I got the opportunity mid-year to try and push for a starting spot.
"Petrik said I grabbed it with both hands and then I started in the first ever grand final win for the club so that's a bit of a memory for me that I hold close to myself, which is really cool."
Not only was Durnin a key part of Rockingham winning a first ever NBL1 West championship, but then a week later they backed it up by heading to Melbourne and winning the NBL1 National Finals even without Hire and Walker.
"Then going away to nationals, we went over there and sure, we wanted to try and win it, but we wanted to make sure we had a really good time," he said.
"That was the thing that got us going that we were just having fun and we didn’t have our full roster, but still had a really good team and we just went out there and played basketball to have fun.
"We had a bit of freedom and we really got around each other, trusted each other and the ball was flying, and we all just made shots. Then we came out on top at the end."
Reflecting on last couple of years
Coming off that remarkable success in 2022, the Flames have still been banging on the door the past two seasons and were the dominant team in the NBL1 West in 2023 before a shock preliminary final loss at home to the Wolves.
They still almost backed up their national championship before losing that decider to the Knox Raiders at Arena Joondalup. Then 2024 was a season where they were never quite healthy but once Walker got back going late in the campaign, they got to the semi finals.
They were then 17 points up on the Willetton Tigers who reached the grand final, but a Marshall Nelson 48-point explosion ended Rockingham's season.
Durnin doesn’t necessarily see those past two years as missed opportunities because really they weren’t too far away on either occasion from more success.
"Even if you look at last year, we didn’t have many bodies available for a lot of the season with the injuries we had," Durnin said.
"We made our run late but then just fell short to a Marty 50 bomb. It was insane but I think if we had got past that game we would have been a red hot crack at winning it just like Willo turned out to be.
"We definitely still had our chances even the last two years and 100 per cent that's on us as a playing group for not making the most of the opportunities after our championship, but we've got a chance this year to make up for it."
What makes the Flames elite
It didn’t take long for Durnin to notice the difference in professionalism and competitiveness at Rockingham once he first arrived.
That starts right at the top with coach Ryan Petrik who also doubles as a two-time WNBL Coach of the Year, and then with leaders like Ryan Godfrey and Justin Beard. Durnin has no doubt that environment at the Flames is why he has turned into the player that he has.
"One big difference is definitely trainings at Rockingham. They are so much more competitive, we're always going at each other and we're all there to get better every single night," Durnin said.
"There's no strolling through offences or mucking around getting shots up. Once the warm up is done, we're straight into it and competing, and trying to get better every time we step on court.
"Don't get me wrong, Bunbury was awesome and I had a lot of mates down there, but everyone wasn’t held accountable to the same degree like what it's like here at Rockingham.
"Everything we do here is about improving every single day and it feels like we're part of an elite environment which all starts with Petto as our coach, and then our leaders like Boof and JB."
What this team of 2025 can do
There was a big turnover to the roster for Rockingham coming into the 2025 season but the additions of NBL back court pair Emmett Naar and Isaac White, the ultimate versatile player Tevin Jackson, and imports Laquinton Ross and Jervon Pressley are all clicking.
As a result, the Flames sit on an 8-1 record coming into Saturday night's game at home to Joondalup. Putting points on the board hasn’t been an issue with them having not scored fewer than 99 in a game, and averaging 107.4.
It's a team in 2025 that understandably Durnin is excited to be part of.
"I reckon we go nine or 10 deep too this year and it's a really good opportunity that when you're out there playing well to grab some more minutes," Durnin said.
"Then if not, we're all going to support the guys out there and will be happy for everybody else's success. We just have to get rolling and start the games better than we have been, we have to start how we want to finish and that's red hot.
"We have to be ready to go from the jump and see if we can get out and push the score up, and get some stops early. Sometimes it feels like we cruise in the first half and all of a sudden start playing in the second half, and win by eight to 10 when we should be winning by 20 or 25.
"That's exciting too because it's still only early and there's plenty to come and we're still figuring out how to get our offence right, and to play with each other."