The former Warrnambool Seahawk and Ballarat Miner will make his first National Basketball League regular season minutes on Friday night in Cairns against Perth Wildcats.

Sobey is promoted for injured rookie guard Corey Maynard, who will miss one to two weeks with a left thumb sprain.

Taipans head coach Aaron Fearne said Sobey would be ready to make an impact.

“When get an opportunity like that you need to have done the hard work and preparation, which he has,” Fearne said.

“It’s not like he’s an 18-year-old kid. We’ll be expecting him to play with some poise and relax under pressure.

“You’ve got to have guys who can step in and help the team in situations like this. That was definitely the plan from the start [when recruiting Sobey], and now Nathan gets his opportunity.”

Sobey signed with the Taipans as a training player in August and moved to the Snake Pit after Ballarat Miners bowed out of the South East Australian Basketball League conference finals.

His impressive pre-season hit-outs quickly made him popular with fans and it was a fan donation, under the club’s Spend to the Cap fund, that elevated Sobey to the Snakes’ primary roster in September.

-BALLARAT COURIER