The 28-year-old has enjoyed his shift into the 36ers’ leadership group in the 2018-19 NBL season.

“It has really been something that I wanted to embrace this season and really take on one of those leadership roles,” Sobey said.

“I want to continue to work on that area and focus on communication and all those sort of leadership aspects and just the different aspects of the game that leadership needs to be involved in.

“It’s a learning curve for me at the same time so I will continue to work on it.”

The new role has helped the 36ers star, who is relishing playing in his preferred position of point guard, hit a rich vein of form. 

He is averaging 16.6 points, 6.2 assists and 4.5 rebounds a game from his nine games, which included a triple-double (22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists) against the Cairns Taipans in late October. 

Sobey’s strong start to the his fifth NBL season, which has started slowly results-wise for the seventh-ranked 36ers (three wins and six losses), netted him a spot in the Boomers’ squad for the fifth window of qualifying for the 2019 FIBA World Cup. 

The Australians are one win away from securing their ticket to the tournament in China in August and September next year.

The Warrnambool export, who is one of four players to feature in every qualifying window so far alongside Jason Cadee, Nick Kay and Mitch McCarron, said the focus for the Boomers was creating unity again within the squad.

“Obviously we all play against each other and then we come in and have to be on the same team together,” he said.

“I think we have done a great job of doing that over the past and we have to continue that.

“As soon as we get together as a group everyone puts aside who they play for during the regular season and really embraces playing with each other and that has been great since we started this campaign and that won’t change.

“Anyone that comes in will feel the same way and really feel like they are involved in that stuff.”

The Boomers’ games in the fifth window are both at Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena against Iran on November 30 and Qatar on December 3.

Sobey is back in action for the 36ers on Saturday night against Illawarra. The Hawks are just above Adelaide in the standings with three wins and five losses.