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Episode 11: A Foray Into Bandit Territory with Ashlee Hannan
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Lachy and Squin are back to review Round 11 of NBL1 East 2023.
Games covered this week includes Bankstown Bruins vs. Canberra Nationals and Norths Bears vs. Newcastle Falcons in the women's competition; and Illawarra Hawks vs. Inner West Bulls in the men's competition.
As usual there is a bit of news to share and the All-Star 5 for Round 11.
This week Lachy and Squin are joined by former CoE athlete and current Albury-Wodonga Bandit, Ashlee Hannah, who has made her return to basketball this year after an extended period away from the sport.
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Transcript
Introduction and Hosts
00:00:12
Speaker
Welcome to another episode of East Got Game, an unofficial podcast covering the NBL One East competition for 2023, where we review, preview, and interview our way through the NBL One East.
Club Affiliations
00:00:27
Speaker
My name is Jacinta Govan from the Central Coast Crusaders. With me, as always, is Locky France from Sutherland Sharks. Do I say slash yet, or do I just stick with Sutherland Sharks?
00:00:41
Speaker
Just Sutherland Sharks for the moment. We don't get too many people offside. No, you're not quite an after slash model yet in terms of a shark slash other club yet. So
Upcoming Rounds and COE Women's Team
00:00:51
Speaker
we'll just stick with sharks. Yes, I think so for the moment. Fair enough. Fair enough. We'll stay loyal to your sharkies. How are you, Locky? Hi, Squint. It's been a big week of our MBL1 as per usual. What's to get through?
00:01:07
Speaker
Yes, and having said that, though, it looks like the future rounds heading into the June long weekend are going to be just as big as we've mentioned in previous episodes to the COE women will get ready to go to the under 19 World Cup in Spain. So a lot of of the game schedule has to be accommodated for that. But still plenty of basketball in the east to go. We've just finished off around 11.
00:01:36
Speaker
um out of 18 rounds plus a whole bunch of different finals rounds
Uncertainty in Finals Format
00:01:41
Speaker
which we have confirmed to a point that they will be taking the top eight teams through to finals but how the finals are going to be formatted whether that's quarterfinals then elimination finals leading up into the finals weekend we don't know we also don't know dates for the finals weekend or a venue so everything's going to be a surprise loki we love a surprise no we don't
00:02:07
Speaker
We do not. I want everything known as soon as possible, but you can't always have everything your own way. Yeah, I guess the suspense kind of keeps us engaged, doesn't it? Maybe that's actually their plan in the long run is just to keep feeding information just to make sure we keep taking the bait. Well, certainly got us hook, line and sinker.
Hornsby Keringai Spiders' First Win
00:02:33
Speaker
absolute suckers, the pair of us. So, you were tasked this week to cover the women's round. And it looks like a pretty, again, like you said, an interesting round. A few big wins across the board with the likes of Illawarra Hawks, Norse Bears, and what a week for. We've got to give this the biggest shout out. Hornsby Keringai Spiders! Yeah, up there, Spiders!
Canberra Nationals' Victory Highlights
00:03:00
Speaker
Sorry, Hills.
00:03:03
Speaker
I mean, yeah, no offense to Hills, because we don't play favorites here. But I mean, when a team has been winless and get their first win in round 11 in their first season of MVR1 East with roster changes, coach changes, you know, all the bumps in the road that have led them to this win, it's worth celebrating. It certainly is. But we'll kick it off at the top.
00:03:27
Speaker
where it was the Canberra Nationals coming up to Bankstown and getting an 85-65 win on the back of some monster performances by Lizzie Tonks and Abby Solway. Of course, is he born?
00:03:40
Speaker
returning after her time at Nebraska. So great win for Canberra there. Center
Weekend Games Recap
00:03:46
Speaker
of Excellence got an 84-65 win at home against Central Coast. Big performance by Isla Jufferman. Manly defeated Maitland 92-55 with Kim Hodge suiting around 90% from the field.
00:04:00
Speaker
North defeated a short-handed Newcastle 76-69 as the imports Jolene Anderson and Makiya Gray both played excellently. Illawarra led by Ella Dent got an 87-68 win over Inner West.
00:04:17
Speaker
Sutherland with a 99-47 win over a Valiant Penrith with Meg Jefferson. I think top scoring for the game in that one. Great effort by Meg in trying circumstances.
00:04:34
Speaker
Hills 56, Hornsby Corringo Spiders 69 in the late game on Saturday afternoon, Christina Moore back from her time at the University of Florida and Georgetown with a big 30 piece to get her spiders over the line. So
Top Teams and Ladder Standings
00:04:51
Speaker
if we turn to the ladder,
00:04:53
Speaker
Well, that win for Norse over Newcastle actually only served to create more separation between the top five and the rest of the table, because we got mainly at 13 and one, Centre of Excellence 11 and two, and then Norse Comets, of course, Comets had to postpone their games due to illness. They're also at 10 and two, and so are Newcastle. So Sutherland sitting right there at nine and five, three games
00:05:23
Speaker
back from the top five, but two games ahead of Aubrey Wodonga in seventh. So Aubrey and Maitland tied at seven and six, Bankstown six and seven, Canberra five and seven,
00:05:36
Speaker
And then we have Central Coast 4 and 10. Illawarra, Inner West and Penrith all at 3 and 10. Hills 2 and 11 and Hornsby 1 and 13. So it's certainly at this stage looks to be five teams have clinched probably the top five spots at this stage barring a miracle or a meltdown.
Impact of Games Played on Standings
00:05:55
Speaker
Looks like Sutherland are sitting fairly pretty in sixth and then it's four teams battling for the final two spots. There's still some, sorry, there's still some differences too between the teams in men's and women's.
00:06:07
Speaker
in terms of number of games played as well. So it'd be interesting to see how that all washes out in the end, how big an impact that's going to be. Because even looking at the men's ladder now before we get stuck into it, there's some people who have only played 12 games and some that have played 14. And I know that's only two game difference on paper. But as the Newcastle Falcons and the men have showed us with their four game winning streak,
00:06:32
Speaker
all the, every game matters at this point. So those two games, whether it's zero and two, like if it's a lose two, win two, whatever, I get the split, it's all gonna make a massive difference. It's just like we mentioned last week, you know, Sutherland came back from third quarter deficits twice last week in a week where, you know, it was one of those weeks where you think one on one, you'd probably be happy with and they managed to edge out two big wins in the men's last week.
00:07:00
Speaker
But, uh, yeah, it's, um, I mean, certainly making it very interesting for us. Um, it certainly is. And we have to remember that center of excellence, they'll
Men's Games Recap
00:07:09
Speaker
be done, I think two weeks after the public holiday. So I think 24th of June, they should have everything wrapped up. So at that stage, everyone will know, you know, what, you know, benchmark center of excellence have set for the 22 games and what they have to do to get over one team.
00:07:27
Speaker
Yeah, it'll be interesting what they can achieve in that short period of time and then go to Worlds. And then it will be even more interesting to see what their roster is going to look like after Worlds because you have athletes graduating. So are they going to graduate after Worlds? Are they going to return to finish MBL1 season? We just don't know. No, and it's going to be some players will have played at Worlds and the players in that Centre of Excellence squad will have been not playing for five weeks.
00:07:55
Speaker
They won't have had a game on their belts for a month. Any player at that COE team who, you know, I'm sure they'll scrimmage plenty, but, uh, not the same. No, that's right. Um, so I was tasked this week with the men's comp.
00:08:13
Speaker
So kicking it off again with the Bankstown Bruins and Canberra Gunners round at Bankstown. Gunners win in that one 95-76. COE versus Central Coast Crusaders in Canberra 100 points to 67. Manley-Waringer Sea Eagles versus the Maitland Mustangs at Manley. Mustangs win in that one 99-73. Bears and Newcastle Falcons
00:08:41
Speaker
I won't say big upset, but the Falcons continuing their winning streak with now four games in
Aubrey Wodonga Bandits vs. Sydney Comets
00:08:47
Speaker
a row. They beat the North Bears 73-62.
00:08:52
Speaker
Aubrey Wodonga Bandits hosted the Sydney Comets and Aubrey Wodonga won 104 to 97. So that is a massive win in this match. That's the one I was eyeing off as well. That is a big win because Aubrey, you know, they've had their ups and downs. They've got some great imports and some great local players, but haven't been able to gel consistently through the competition so far. So coming against Sydney, who are always very competitive with the likes of
00:09:22
Speaker
Matty Wacha, Archie Woodhill, Johnny Sinogorak, Elijah Washington, already a lot of big bodies and big plays to come up against. But then
00:09:33
Speaker
the biggest, you know, the news out of the last couple of weeks, why do you swap all the Bullock was just like, Oh, Hey, uh, comments, you need a player? I need, I need a team. Let's go. He's so young, but already has three NBA championships and he,
00:09:54
Speaker
is just getting to rock up and play an NBA 1A for Comets. A big get, but even bigger win, because he played that game. He had 33-7 and 2, but he played. So full credit to Aubrey Wodonga winning that one. They
Newcastle Falcons' Winning Streak
00:10:07
Speaker
outscored the Comets in the last quarter, 34-20. Yeah, really doing a great job where it counted the most. So bravo, bravo Bandits.
00:10:18
Speaker
Sorry, moving right along, Illora Hawkes hosted the inner west bulls, which ended up being the KO freebies game of the week this round because the original game of the week was cancelled because the comments had to postpone. Illora went down 72 to 90.
00:10:39
Speaker
Sutherland Sharks hosted Penrith Panthers and they won that one, 92-79. Hills Hornets hosted Hornsby Keringai Spiders, beating the Spiders 93-61. COE backed up in their double header and played on the Sunday against Sydney Comets and they won that one 115-94, so very high scoring game.
00:11:02
Speaker
And it was the Gunners COE rescheduled match that is due to be played on Tuesday, which is tomorrow because we are recording on Wednesday, the 29th. So we haven't included it obviously in this episode because we can't see into the future just yet. We're
Illawarra and Comets' Struggles
00:11:18
Speaker
working on it. We're working on the skills. We try. And we haven't quite got a copy of that illustrious book, like on Back to the Future 2, how he has the results. The Sports Almanac.
00:11:32
Speaker
Yeah, that's it. But I haven't got a copy of that just yet. But I'm sure we'll cover that in next episode. So that was the wrap of the round for the men. So if we take a look now at the latter, COE is still ahead with on first place with 14 or 13 and one.
00:11:49
Speaker
Inner West Boars are at second place with 11 and 2. Then we've got North Spares at third, Sutherland Sharks at fourth. And see, this is when the split kind of becomes important. Because North Spares are 10 and 3. Sutherland Sharks are actually 10 and 4. So sometimes having an extra game under your belt can be to your detriment if it's a game you've lost, I guess.
00:12:12
Speaker
And Newcastle, I feel lucky just, you know, only a few weeks ago, Newcastle were hanging around that eighth, ninth place. And now they've swooped their way up to fifth place. Again, thanks to that four game winning streak that they're on now. So they're sitting at fifth with eight and four. Canberra Gunners are at six with eight and four, but down to the points four and against percentage. Newcastle have the edge by 0.9.
00:12:42
Speaker
Be more competitive, MBL1east. Seriously. We want those tied. We want those numbers to be exactly the same. 0.9. Oh my gosh. Wait, hold on. Does my maths serve me correctly? I may have that wrong. Sorry. 1.1%. Oh, wow.
Illawarra's Strategy for Top Eight
00:13:01
Speaker
That's such a massive gap. High school maths. I promise I'm smart. And the seventh place is Hill's Hornets at 8 and 5.
00:13:11
Speaker
Maitland Mustangs are at 8th with 7 and 6. Probably not a position they want to be, but considering it's top 8, they are still in contention at this stage. Aubrey, Wodonga Bandit's in 9th position, 7 and 7. Illawarra Hawks in 10th, 6 and 7. Sydney Cointe's 11th, 6 and 7 as well with
00:13:32
Speaker
1.7% separating them in the points for and against percentage. Then Crusaders at 12th, Spanx 10 at 13th, Panareth at 14th. Mainly Waringa Sea Eagles at 15th and Hornsby Keringa with 16th. They're 0 and 14, but I'm still manifesting that they'll get a win this season just like their women's team. Well, I mean, you can't go so close so many times and eventually not pick up a win.
00:14:01
Speaker
Yeah,
COE Women's Upcoming Challenges
00:14:02
Speaker
it's going in the right direction. The one thing that strikes me about the latter as we see teams like Newcastle moving up at Canberra, I mean, we had an episode about them and they've moved up. Maitland have moved up and what I'm noticing is that Illawarra, yes, they've had Devo Hickey out for I think four weeks and Comets, they've won one of their last 10 between them. Comets on a five game skid and Illawarra one of their last five.
00:14:30
Speaker
Wow, that is so unexpected for those teams. Diverging fortunes as Newcastle and Canberra are hitting form, Illawarra and Kometz are sliding. And you know, even Maitland and Aubrey have started to take a bit of advantage. They've each won three of their last five.
00:14:48
Speaker
That is really surprising. Like those are the two teams you would not expect to be kind of slipping at this stage of the competition. And to be fair, Illawarra did have, like I said, Davo Hickey was back this round. They had Timmy Conrad, you know, they both put up lots of minutes, lots of points, sorry. But yeah, coming away with the loss. But to be fair, they are still only a game out of eight spot.
00:15:14
Speaker
Yeah, that is true. And they're playing Newcastle next. That's going to be tough. If you know, treat it as an opportunity.
Men's Competition Overview
00:15:27
Speaker
Yeah, I guess so. I'm just going to quickly double check the rest of their fixture because that might be able to help us kind of
00:15:39
Speaker
estimate the direction or the chances of Illawarra, Hawkes, Menstein being able to get into the eight. If my computer wants to work.
00:15:52
Speaker
They've got, they've got new car, or then they've got Canberra after they play new car. So they've got Canberra. So they've got some teams and then Sutherland at home. So they've got some teams that are just a little bit above them. I think we talked about this last week. They've got a bit of a few teams that are a little bit above them, where it's going to be tough, but if they can come away with a few good wins out of that, then in the late stages of the season, I think it gets a little bit easier for them.
00:16:17
Speaker
Mm. And they're playing, they're playing, they still have to play Newcastle twice. So this is the first time they're actually playing Newcastle, which for around 12 out of 18 is surprising that some teams are only playing each other for the first time. And so they're playing Newcastle at home, which helps Canberra away, Sutherland at home, Bankstown at home. So yeah, then they've got a run of Bankstown, Penrose, which they should probably win.
00:16:44
Speaker
And then the next real, and then they play Maitland and Newcastle back to back. So. Well, by that stage, we could, by that stage, those could be deciding places anywhere from the fifth to 10th, those matches. But
Canberra Nationals' Game Recap
00:16:58
Speaker
I mean, like you said, you play some teams twice, you play other teams once. I mean, COE have got an absolute murderer's row. They've got comets twice, in women, sorry, they've got comets twice.
00:17:11
Speaker
North, Manly, and Newcastle, and Canberra twice as well. And I think Canberra are probably better than their five and seven record, especially with Izzy Bourne. So, Centre of Excellence don't have it easy, and Aubrey aren't far behind them with five games against the top five to come. So, you know, sometimes he just shakes out that way. And that one game for the women's COE team against Manly, that's the only time they play each other, isn't it? It is, and it's one of their, yeah, I think,
00:17:41
Speaker
It's their 19th game. So they go 18 games without playing manly and then play them with four games left in the season. Yeah. Yeah. So the top of the table clash, we still have to wait till next month. Yeah. Bizarre. Bizarre. But look, that's again, another thing that kind of keeps it interesting. You can only beat who's put in front of you as well.
00:18:04
Speaker
Yeah, it's, uh, yeah. Watch this space. At least it'll give us lots of content week by week to record a podcast. It certainly will. So tell me what games did you watch this week in the women's competition?
00:18:18
Speaker
So I took a look at a couple of games with, both with finals implications, but with different finals implications. So I looked at Bankstown versus Canberra, which is a battle of those teams looking to get sneak into the eight. And I also look at North's Newcastle, which is, you know, team, two teams, they could finish fourth and fifth. So, and that would be the, they could then meet again in the finals in the first round. And it could be the difference between a home and a way.
00:18:47
Speaker
game, but we'll start with Bankstown Canberra, uh, because it was, of course, and I completely forgot to put my Nebraska Jersey on. Silly of me. It was the return of Izzy, Izzy Bourne. Yes, I own a Nebraska Jersey. Of course I do. Uh, yes. Just like I own a Gonzaga Jersey. So there's my invitation to Alex to be a guest on the podcast.
00:19:13
Speaker
Uh, yeah, so Izzy born back for Canberra and boy, did they need her because there are just a little bit off the, uh, before this week, just in danger of falling a little bit off the pace of those other three teams. Cause, uh, you know, four and seven coming into the weekend, but they got a big 85 to 65 win.
Canberra Nationals' Finals Strategy
00:19:34
Speaker
And it was really off the back of Abby Solway and Lizzie Tonks, which is.
00:19:41
Speaker
I guess, I guess Bankstown's, their front court's probably their strength. Um, but, uh, I thought maybe Izzy would have, uh, gone to town on them, but she did that more at the defensive end. So it was Abby Solway and Lizzie Tonks, 24 points a piece and Lizzie did it in 21 minutes, going better than a point a minute. Wow. That's a definition of efficiency.
00:20:07
Speaker
Yeah, it's four of sevens and three-point land. Also had five rebounds and assists and two steals. And Abby Solway, 24 points and six rebounds. She played 38 minutes. But they came out of the blocks absolutely firing, did Canberra, 32 to 14 first quarter, which really set them on their way. And in fact, the margin for the rest of the game was only two points.
00:20:34
Speaker
Unfortunately, we saw Cappy, Capri Moro exited late in the second quarter. She had seven points and eight rebounds at the time in just 15 minutes, but it's in the high. I don't think it's in the highest. You might have to go back and find it in the full game replay.
00:20:56
Speaker
Just, uh, Lizzie Tonk, I think it was Lizzie Tonks just tipped the ball away from her. And, uh, as I were both scrambling to grab possession, just a bit of a tangle, uh, no malice in it either way. And, uh, uh, Cappy tried to play the next possession, but just, um, had to go off and, um, yeah, it wasn't seen again for the rest of the game. Um, exit and under our own power, which is good, but, uh, so hopefully nothing.
00:21:24
Speaker
too bad there because she is going to, well has been and is going to remain vital for Bankstown going forward. Fair play, Keanu Davis-White stepped up with a double-double 18-10 in Cappy's absence and Brittany Wright had 16 points as well. So still some of their bigger players, you know,
00:21:48
Speaker
finding their way and they actually did win the points in the paint battle 28-22. Of course, I mentioned Lizzie Tonks hitting four of seven from three point range. Abby Solway hit six of 13. They actually shot 15 of 42 from three point range, which is, feels like a far higher clip and a far higher rate than just about any team would put up in a women's game in MBL one this season.
00:22:16
Speaker
Yeah, 42 shots, 42 threes is a lot. Yeah. So Jazz Boot Sauce are two of 10, Izzy Bourne, two of six. Jazz Boot Sauce actually had eight assists, which is, uh, I guess when Lizzie's out there, you know, swishing, someone's got to do the dishing. Yeah, that's right. And I couldn't figure out why Lizzie Tonks had only played just, you know, 20, just under 22 minutes because I was like, mate, hopefully she's not managing an injury, but she'll found out.
Team Dynamics and Player Roles
00:22:47
Speaker
Yeah. So, um, easy blonde got fouled out too. Yeah. We're, we're a few, I guess, 26 fouls to, uh, just the 18. Yeah. So yeah. I guess, um, you know, you play, you put a bit of pressure on the opposition, but Izzy's also got to, um, adjust to playing in Australia again.
00:23:12
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. We see that time and time again, you know, some of our imports, uh, first game in will fall out like the key gray this round. She found out, um, the new import for Maitland Mustangs also found out in the early games of Brittany, right? She was on a few fouls and this game she was on four as well. So it definitely takes some adjusting.
00:23:34
Speaker
Yeah, I think, you know, you see how often in the WMBL does an import fail in their first game and everyone's like, ah, she's a bust. You know, what did we sign her for? And then like three games later, she's failing twice and putting up 25 and 10. Yeah, yeah. Relax, guys, relax. Yeah. Um, yeah, so hopefully, you know, you go. Uh, just saying like, you know,
00:23:57
Speaker
Cappy Morrow, I mean, injured today, but she only had one foul in the 15 minutes, putting up seven points and eight rebounds. Um, also, uh, Lizzie Tonks had six blocks and that, uh, you know, probably a, uh, a factor in Bankstown shooting just 28% from the field. Cause most of the other stats to be fair were pretty even, you know, offensive rebounding. You mean Izzy Bourne had six blocks? Yes.
00:24:25
Speaker
Yeah, I think he said listed blocks. Oh, that would have been amazing. But yes, Izzy Bourne had six blocks, all six blocks for Canberra. But, you know, big things like that, they don't just block shots, they change shots as well. And that's going to be something massive for Canberra going forward. You know, you shouldn't always get six blocks with if she can alter, you know, a dozen more.
00:24:48
Speaker
can certainly change things, especially against some of those smaller teams, because we've mentioned it time and again, not everyone has a really big, big insight, although with some of the import signings and even some of the local signings, there is getting to be a bit more of a front court presence across the lake.
Historical Player Connections
00:25:07
Speaker
And I know you'll be very happy with that, Squint.
00:25:11
Speaker
Yes, definitely. I want some more back to the basket textbook post players in NBL1 East, you know, running the split line, basket to basket, deep post catches, um, footwork, co-op vision. I want it all. I'm greedy, but that's what I want. Yes. That's fine. As a former big, you're, you're allowed to want that. I think you are still a big, you're still a big on, uh, on Sundays down at, uh, Central Coast. Oh no. I'm usually a.
00:25:41
Speaker
reluctant PG or a shooting guard on a Sunday, Sunday scrimmage. I say reluctant because, you know, those boys, they don't like to call a lot of fouls sometimes. But definitely, definitely not a four or five like I used to be.
00:26:01
Speaker
But what I want to make mention is this game in the bigger picture because it got Canberra to five and seven and they have a tough run home. They've got Centre of Excellence twice, Norton Manly twice, and they've got, but then they've got Penrith, Illawarra, Hills, and then Illawarra again. So that's four games you would have expected to win even before Izzy came back and four games
00:26:29
Speaker
you probably don't want to say, yeah, we'll beat them because Izzy's back, you know, center of excellence, Norse and Manly. So I think they can probably pin their finals hopes on if they can steal one of those four games against the top five. Great. But then they also have Aubrey and Sutherland. And I think they're the two games where if they can pick off both of those, that could be the determining factor in whether they managed to reel in this deficit they had to though, to Maitland, Aubrey and Bankstown and sneak into the eight.
00:26:59
Speaker
But as I say that, the Izzy Bourne supremacy. Oh, that's a good one. The Izzy Bourne supremacy. I was just thinking of the matchup between Izzy Bourne and Ash Hannon in that future game between Nationals and Bandits. That's going to be one for the one for the comp, I think. Certainly will. Just let me look for something because
00:27:26
Speaker
Because are they the same graduating age at COE? They certainly are. And if I can find the right year.
00:27:44
Speaker
I don't want to give dead silence. Yes, I am correct. Izzy Bourne and Ash Hannon were on the same ACT U20 team in 2019.
00:27:57
Speaker
Yes, that is correct. Being born
Norse Bears vs. Newcastle Falcons Analysis
00:28:00
Speaker
and bred Canberra, local and Ash kind of going to the COE and after having spent a couple of years living in Canberra, even after she was at COE qualified for under 20. So they were on the same. Is he average 16.2 and 12.7?
00:28:20
Speaker
So points and rebounds at average 10.4 and 8.1 points and rebounds respectively. So yes, former teammates, both Australian junior representatives, going to be a very tasty matchup in the back end of the season there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm looking forward to that. I think that as that matchup, especially heading into the Nationals Bandits game in the future rounds is going to be really important, I think.
00:28:49
Speaker
Yeah, I'm really looking forward to that one. But moving right along, the second game that you covered was the North Bears and the Newcastle Falcons at the Bear Cave. And this one also had potential to be a game of the week. It certainly did.
00:29:08
Speaker
If it was a really close game, and I know Newcastle, the loss will sting just because they lost, but they came into it. They only used seven players and only seven of their usual squads. So they are recruited in Sophie and Brooke altitude to be there, but neither of them saw any time on the court. So they were running with only seven players and there are two players on the bench with Jess Ralph and Sophie Kleeman.
00:29:36
Speaker
with no McGinniskin, no Hannah Chicken, we haven't seen Keely McLean. Not a lot of real height out there. No one really with much, if any, experience to play the Fives well, because their starting five was Kate Kingham, Makiya Gray, Emily Foy, Abby Curtin and Nicole Munger. So really tough for them to, you know,
00:30:01
Speaker
do anything in the paint, but you know, they only come away with a seven point loss, which on the road is certainly something to be buoyed by despite the result. And interestingly enough, it's more the fact that Norse had Jolyne Anderson hitting five of 11 from three and that Newcastle have a couple of players who don't mind getting downhill, but Newcastle actually won the points in the paint battle 34 to 32.
00:30:31
Speaker
Especially when you've got Sarah Schicke on North, who's leading the comp in blocks. That is a very surprising stat. That Schicke did finish 0-7 from the field. She did pick up 12 rebounds and three assists, but I'd say she was having a better day putting the ball in the hole. It definitely would have certainly improved North's points in the paint numbers.
Norse Bears' Strategic Gameplay
00:30:58
Speaker
But North, yeah, 32 points in the paint and then 27 from threes and then 11, was it 11 or 15 at the line? So, you know, threes and deep paint, you know, it's the way to win. And it looks like the North, that North did a really good job of limiting Nicole Munger because she had in 35 or 36 minutes, she had eight points and seven rebounds. Yeah. So it sounds like that
00:31:27
Speaker
Coach Garlett from Norse implemented some pretty good defensive strategies to limit her scoring opportunities. Yeah. So, I mean, you know, Kate's, you know, I need to stop, you know, just talking about Kate Seabon when I talk about Norse defense, because, I mean, at both ends, they're just so well drilled. And I think in this, when you get a short-handed team, you can
00:31:55
Speaker
you know, let other players, you know, get away a bit and do some good scoring. And if you lock down the player who, you know, can go off for 40, you don't mind if, you know, someone goes off for 20 or so, which is definitely something you can do when you come up against a Newcastle side. That's so short handed. If you can get the ball out among his hands, um, it certainly, uh, certainly helps credit to Newcastle only had 14 turnovers and no one really, you know, had
00:32:24
Speaker
a big number of turnovers. I guess the biggest thing that hamstrung them was Makeda Gray being in foul trouble, but I mean, there were only two players' options off the bench with guards anyway, so that was the one spot they did have depth. But I want to talk more about just something I noticed about Norse offense, and I've noticed it before, is how often they can get the ball from half court to the basket without a single dribble.
00:32:54
Speaker
Yeah, it's I mean, how much of that is I mean, their roster is outstanding, their coaching starts outstanding. But I think also part of that is that the Norse roster have played together and played successfully together for quite a while now. And I feel like a lot of that
00:33:10
Speaker
I feel like a lot of that experience and just almost like sixth sense comes about with this team to be able to do things like that. Because Newcastle women's team are a very good defensive team. And when you brought up turnovers as well, you know, North only had 11 turnovers. Newcastle, like you said, had 14. They're the two teams in the league that had the least amount of turnovers. But they're also two of the teams with the highest defensive efficiency.
00:33:37
Speaker
Um, so for them to have like limited turnovers in a game where two very good defensive teams that's, I mean, the mass doesn't make sense, but it's outstanding. And you say that like they've played together so much. There was just one play and I think C-bomb got put under, they brought a double to C-bomb.
00:33:59
Speaker
and she just flung it and the player just turned around and knew the next player was going to be there. And she just turned around and flung it and knew the fourth player was going to be there. And I think it was, I don't remember who it was very close to the basket, but it was just like they didn't need to even look. They just knew, okay, we're in this situation. This is where you're going to be. This is where you're going to be. This is where you're going to be.
00:34:22
Speaker
I pegged where the defense is. I'm just going to go ping, ping, ping, ball, basket.
Impact of Bears' Victory on Standings
00:34:26
Speaker
Suddenly a double team on Kate Seabomb turns into the most wide open basket of the game. Yeah. And Kate Seabomb being one of the smaller, more petite players on the court too. So not, you know, like a big alley-oop in the end to sugar. Exactly. It's just.
00:34:43
Speaker
Yeah. And it wasn't the, you know, and, you know, even when they do put the ball on the floor, they do it, you know, they do it with purpose, which is something I don't think everyone does. You know, people just start dribbling for the sake of dribbling sometimes. And sometimes starting you dribble can be almost as bad as probably not almost as bad, but you know, probably say never stop your dribble. But once you start your dribble,
00:35:13
Speaker
you know, then you've just given the defense the opportunity to, you know, snake in there when you don't have to. You know, maybe you can wait an extra half a second for a pass to open up.
00:35:24
Speaker
No, you're right. I think that's a sound observation in terms of there's lots of players who do it. And I've been watching some youth league games at home the last couple of weeks. And I feel like especially in youth league and when I was coaching juniors, they dribble just for the sake of dribbling. And when you say the North's only dribble with purpose is perfect, because I mean, maybe that's reflective of their low number of turnovers, which is 11.
00:35:49
Speaker
But it makes a massive difference when you're dribbling with purpose and not for the sake of dribbling. Because it just gets you in so many sticky situations if you just go in a dribble for the sake of dribbling. And then the flip side of that is when someone started their dribble and they stop it too soon when in an actual situation they should probably keep dribbling. Like if they come off a pick and roll and they just stop on one foot or playing off an awkward two foot, it's like that's when you got to
00:36:16
Speaker
kind of keep dribbling. But anyway, getting on a little bit of a tangent there. We certainly are. I'm sure I wonder if there will be some coaches listening that may agree or disagree. So if there are coaches listening and want to make a talking point about that particular part of play, please message us on our eScott game Instagram, because we would love to know.
00:36:40
Speaker
But like with the Bank Sound Canberra game that could have major implications on the top eight, this game could have had major implications not only on the top four, but maybe on the top five.
00:36:53
Speaker
Because as I mentioned earlier, there's now four teams on two losses and one on one and then Sutherland in six or on five. You know, reverse the result. If that had been a Newcastle win, Norse would have dropped to 11 and three. And suddenly that's, you know, that's a very, very, you know, manageable gap for the Sutherland Sharks, you know.
00:37:14
Speaker
They just keep winning, maybe Norse drop a game here or there. So they do play each other in a couple of weeks. So if that was a two game gap, Sutherland could get the win against Norse, suddenly they're right behind them. But that three game gap still exists for Sutherland to any other team.
00:37:32
Speaker
So the top five looking really, really set in stone as far as week five teams will be, but only four teams can get, you know, home quarterfinals with three teams, third to fifth, all on the same record. Um, not entirely sure what the.
00:37:55
Speaker
tiebreaker is going to be in this situation. But I did notice that Norse allowed a very late basket with time expiring. I don't remember who it was when Newcastle player just went in there and took the extra two points at the end to turn into a seven point game from a nine point game. So if it does go to head to head split and Newcastle managed to win by eight in the return fixture, because these teams do play each other twice, that would give Newcastle the season series. So it's a very unlikely situation.
00:38:24
Speaker
But it is something to think about. Oh, definitely. I think, yeah, going off win-loss records, points for and against percentage, like you said, we're probably pretty certain who's going to make at least the top five.
Upcoming Fixtures and Standings Impact
00:38:37
Speaker
But position and placing, final placing is super important going into final series because this top five is
00:38:45
Speaker
It's top six even. It's already so competitive. Placing is going to be super important, but also by the time we roll around to quarterfinals and if we have a preliminary final before finals weekend.
00:39:02
Speaker
Who's going to be like, what weekend is that going to fall on? Is that going to clash with the Asia Cup? So are the likes of Shyla Hill and Liz Nicholson going to be around? You know, Norse might be without Coach Garlett because she has been announced as one of the Opals coaches for the Asia Cup, which is brilliant.
00:39:22
Speaker
It is amazing. It is amazing and very well deserved. I think some of those things along the way, like we've already harped on about COE as well for a while, it's going to make a difference. Once those placings are confirmed, then the finals games and the timing of the finals games are going to be very, very interesting.
00:39:43
Speaker
Exactly. And, you know, even beforehand camps as well, you know, who do you play when suddenly your coach or your star point guard or player who, you know, regularly drops, you know, 20, 30, 40 point games or a Nicholson is not there. Who knows? We haven't been told when Opal's camp is. We know when the tournament is. We don't know where players will have to be released. We don't know when they'll be allowed back after the tournament.
00:40:13
Speaker
A lot to go over. Very doubtful that if they are selected in that 12 person roster for Asia Cup, very doubtful that they'll be allowed to play NBA one in between. Exactly. And a little bit of a fun fact. So coach Renee Garlett for North and their in point, Jolene Anderson played against each other under 22 worlds back in the day.
00:40:41
Speaker
that under 22 worlds doesn't even exist anymore and hasn't existed for a while. So that is really back in the day.
00:40:49
Speaker
Yes. For those that don't know, it used to be under 19 and under 22. So it used to be under 19 being the gems, under 22 used to be the sapphires, but now it's flipped where they take under 17 and under 19. So now the under 17s are the sapphires, which always blew my mind.
Men's Games Highlights
00:41:10
Speaker
Like I thought it was great having
00:41:12
Speaker
under 19 and under 22 because you used to capture a lot of the talent from juniors who are just about to finish or finishing under 18 in that 19 squad. But then between under 19 and under 22, there's so much more growth and development in terms of getting up to that next level. That's why I thought under 22 was a better opportunity for people who
00:41:35
Speaker
perhaps weren't at the AIS to get into an Aussie squad. And so the likes of like Amy Lewis and Rachel Whatman in my era, and Rachel Herrick was a late addition to the AIS back in the day, they all had the opportunity to make the squad or the final cut for that under 22 team. But again, I'm going on tangents today, but a bit of background.
00:41:58
Speaker
bit of history for you. But yes, so Jolene Anderson played in that same tournament against Renee Gallop. And Renee was telling me how, and she did give me permission to share this story, I did ask. She did say how at the end of the tournament, Renee hosted like an end of tournament kind of party in the hotel because so many teams were in the same hotel. And they all just ended up hanging out with people from
00:42:24
Speaker
other countries. And there's a picture of Renee and Jolene together at this said end of tournament party. So it is, the basketball world is exceptionally small. Isn't that the best thing about tournaments, just hanging out with players from other teams, just meeting people? Yeah, it's, uh, I mean, what, yeah, it's just funny how then you reconnect with people again, like so many people. It really is. Like so all this time later. Love it. Love it. Um, right.
00:42:54
Speaker
You go. It is definitely time to move on to the men's game, Squim. Yeah,
Illawarra Hawks vs. Inner West Bulls Recap
00:43:01
Speaker
and so I covered the newly titled KO freebies game of the week, the Illawarra Hawks hosting the inner West Bulls. And now this was always going to be a pretty decent matchup, giving Illawarra's roster with Tim Conrad and William Davo Hickey, who is back after four weeks off.
00:43:22
Speaker
And Noah Pagotto is back in the rotation, which is good. And Freddie Webb was there as well. So Illawarra looking almost at full strength, but Lucas Waksi Walker is still away with national duties with the 3x3 team. They're just over in Austria at the moment. I think they're like 24, 48 hours away from kicking off the World Cup in Austria. So you probably won't hear this, Lucas, but best of luck to you nonetheless.
00:43:51
Speaker
But yeah, this game was also worthy of a Game of the Week title because the Bulls winning this one away 90-72, so maintaining their winning streak and
00:44:04
Speaker
As we mentioned earlier, cementing second spot on the ladder, but it was like the first quarter, maybe this is typical of a lot of the men's games this season, a lot of up and back, up and back, up and back. Like no one really establishing themselves in terms of who's setting the tone or the pace of the game.
00:44:22
Speaker
Each team was just focusing on getting the ball up and back in a quick transition. And it was very physical, very early. So there were a lot of big hits quite early, you know, no malice in it. It was just kind of the physicality of the game. Blake Morrow very early, pulling up, which looked like a back injury or a back twinge a little bit with one of those early hits. He still continued to play just under 30 minutes, but a bit of a quiet one for him.
00:44:52
Speaker
10.7 rebounds and shooting three from 15 overall. So an eight turnovers and then he found out. So perhaps that is a bit reflective that that early hit and injury was affecting him a little bit because they're not numbers that we're used to from Blake Morrow. But yeah, it was lots of like I said, up and back, lots of one pass shoot from both teams.
00:45:15
Speaker
No real momentum shifts in the first quarter at all. And the Bulls went in the first quarter 28 to 20. So very high scoring first quarter. Come the second quarter though, it was really interesting. This is when Illawarra started to fight back and ended up coming into halftime with the lead. They won the second quarter 19 to 10. So really limiting the Bulls a lot better in the second quarter.
00:45:43
Speaker
given that they scored so much in the first. But it was a really interesting point in the second quarter where the momentum seemed to be with Inner West Bulls. There was a period where Illawarra Hawks was on a bit of a scoring drought and they were just having trouble buying a basket.
Illawarra Hawks' Game Strategy
00:46:01
Speaker
Inner West Bulls half court defense was really good. They were pushing the Hawks quite far out of like off the three point line, which really disrupted their half court offense.
00:46:12
Speaker
But then, for some reason, the Bulls called a timeout. So I thought the Hawks were going to call a timeout, ended up being a Bulls timeout. Not too sure why when the momentum was with the Bulls. But after this timeout, everything started to click for the Hawks. So they made some significant changes on offense, and then they started to string a few stops and scores in a row, and that's how they ended up getting back in the game. So I thought that was super interesting that
00:46:38
Speaker
Despite the momentum, the Bulls called the timeout and didn't work in their favor. And by half time, Dave O'Hickey had 20 points and he was shooting at 50%. So he was on fire. But he ended the game with 28 points. So only scoring eight points in the second half. He also, oh, I didn't catch him some foul trouble. Four turnovers. He's pretty turnover prone though. So he ended up with
00:47:03
Speaker
28-4, 3-4 in 35 minutes. But our inner west ball is doing a really, really good job on offense. They managed to get another 28 point quarter in the third quarter. Really trying to limit Davo Hickey's touches and scoring options too.
00:47:22
Speaker
So he ended a game with 9 and 20, so probably not his best shooting outfit. Tim Conrad, though, played nearly the whole game for the Hawks. He had 22 points with about 47%. So that's pretty good from him. But it was really all came about in the fourth quarter. Bulls really locked down on defense, winning that one 24 to 13.
00:47:49
Speaker
And I think pretty much, you know, full credit to the Bulls. I think we'll mention, made mention of a similar game where all the heart, a lot of the hard work was done in the fourth quarter. So that's really what got them over the line. And our Eastcott game previous guest, Chris Bryant, he played the whole game with just under 36 and a half minutes. He ended up with a very, very good double double with 25 and 17.
00:48:15
Speaker
He had some shifty moves in this game as well. I really like how Chris plays from the high post because he's got really good handles for a bigger guy but he's also got the strength and the physique to play underneath. Some very shifty moves. Obviously
Spotlight on Player Performances
00:48:28
Speaker
Davo Hickey. I heard him on another podcast actually.
00:48:32
Speaker
found that by accident. And I'll tell you about it offline, because I've already probably bored people enough with a lot of random facts this episode. But he says that his signature movies is hesitation. And 100% agree, like his footwork is so quick. And he had a really nice hesi in the first quarter where I was like, that is 100% your signature move. Copyright that.
00:48:54
Speaker
trademark that Dave O'Hickey used it all day. And Chris Bryant from the Bulls was backed up by Alexander Higgins' teacher, 19 and nine, shooting seven from 11. So really good game for him as well. And Tony Tolleve, just under 20 minutes, but he had 16 and four shooting five from seven. So really, really great minutes off the bench that obviously helped the Bulls in the long run. So
00:49:22
Speaker
Yeah, really interesting game, that one. The commentators had some really good banter as well throughout the game, which I actually really enjoyed. Other commentators out there that might listen to this podcast, it's okay to let loose a little bit and have a bit of a banter and a chinwag.
00:49:39
Speaker
Um, yeah, so really, really interesting game. I'm glad that that was featured as play of, uh, as game of the week. But, um, I think I say this every episode, I've only contributed one game. I will try and contribute two again, but I do, I do have a, uh, something to just point out slash ask is that, um, Freddie Webb, now he actually leads the league and assists per game. He has seven again tonight. Um, this week, tonight, this week. Um,
00:50:11
Speaker
Do you think that's going to help guys like Davo Hickey? If Davo doesn't have to facilitate as much, he can really work on scoring, which he is so good at doing. I think that's a really good point, actually, because when we started the season, when the Hawks started the season, Davo Hickey's biggest stat lines was, he was almost teasing a triple double, but his assists were really high. He's still third on the assist count.
00:50:39
Speaker
Um, well, I mean, as the guy in second has played one game, so. Well, this, yeah, I was just going to say, I don't agree all the time with our conference statistics because it needs to be by based on minimum number of games. Like you can't be like, yeah, I'm second and assist after one game. Like, come on. You will give Dangak his respect. I highly respect Dangak, but in one game.
00:51:02
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's a really good point. And I think considering Freddie's season is coming along really well, he's going strengths to strengths. And I think if he can, he's playing really good minutes too. So I think if he can focus on being a really sound facilitator, it will take the pressure off the likes of Davo and Timmy Conrad, just to be pure scorers because
00:51:24
Speaker
Not even in this team, but in the league, like Davo and Timmy Conrad are probably two of the better one-on-one scorers. So they probably need to be getting as many touches as they can. And they've got the likes of Pagotto under the basket ready to clean up any scraps. So that's also in their favor. Just feel like there's a little, a few loose ends for this Illawarra team just to tie up to make them really super successful.
00:51:49
Speaker
I mean, I picked them as my winners for the season and they're sitting like a 10th. So that's, there's still so much potential. Like, are you guys going to go on a six game winning streak and break the top eight now? Cause something's got to click. Oh, I mean, now that Davo is back, you know, anything could, anything could happen.
Strategic Approaches and Improvements
00:52:09
Speaker
I do worry though, as well that sometimes between Davo and Tim Conrad, like there wasn't a lot of team basketball played.
00:52:19
Speaker
by the Hawks to be fair. Like it was a lot of kind of up and back, one pass shoot, one pass pass it around a little bit and then wait to see what Tim and Davo do. I mean, Tim was very trigger happy in the start of the game as well. Just shooting any three pointer that kind of came his way. Maybe that's his style though. Like maybe he needs to get lots of shots early to help him get into his rhythm or the right mindset to make shots down the stretch. But there wasn't a lot of team
00:52:48
Speaker
concepts I could see in the half. Like there were time to time and the times they executed it well obviously went in their favour but it wasn't consistent enough to me to be like oh yeah this is what they're running or um oh yeah this is obviously a play where they're trying to get Davo in an iso or they're trying to get Davo on a weak side like curl cut or something like that but um whereas the inner west bulls I think
00:53:12
Speaker
While they do have the likes of Blake Morrow and Chris Bryant, who were performing consistently well this season, and certainly leading the way for them, I do feel like the inner West Bulls definitely have better team concepts in the half court on offense. And that extended man to man defense in the half court looks like a menace, like to play against it felt like I felt uncomfortable watching. And I wasn't even playing against this.
00:53:38
Speaker
I was like, oh my gosh, like get out of my face. It was so up in my space. Like it felt uncomfortable to watch. So, um, if they can manage to keep that consistent for the rest of the season, I know they've got comets next, uh, which is going to be a really great matchup despite their placings on the ladder. Um, I reckon, I reckon balls could go all the way if they keep that stuff up. I 100% agree.
00:54:05
Speaker
Yes. And now we've explained to our friend, Chris Bryant, how he's like, what is nationals? And I was like, oh, you, you get the idea. We had a bit of a chat about what NBL one nationals is and how to get there and what it means. And he got very excited. So hopefully that adds a bit of fuel to the inner West Bulls motivational packet. Yeah. So, uh, yeah, they could, they could really go all the way.
00:54:34
Speaker
It certainly, certainly could, but it's the only one way to find out. Yeah, exactly right. Exactly right. We have to wait so long.
Significant Player Signings
00:54:46
Speaker
So that was the only men's game I managed to cover, unfortunately.
00:54:50
Speaker
I will aim to do better next time, but, um, you know, this is what happens when you're overcoming yourself in life. Something has to fall off the, off the full plate. But anyway, let's roll into news and gossip. We've probably already indicated a little bit of the news that's happened in the last week for MBO One East throughout our game reviews, but lucky, it was a very big week for signings for MBO One East.
00:55:16
Speaker
It was. Do you want to split it 50-50? I'll take the three women. You can tell us the three men. Yeah, go for it. All right. So, of course, we also already mentioned Izzy Bourne. Massive, massive signing for the Canberra Nationals, returning after her time at Nebraska. Had the opportunity to take the extra year, decided, no, I've
00:55:37
Speaker
achieved all I wanted at Nebraska and time to come home. And the Canberra Nationals are certainly very, very happy with that. Maddie Washington has arrived for the Maitland Mustangs, played her first game for the Mustangs in that defeat to Manly. I'm sure once she gets her feet under her, she will be a significant force for the Mustangs who are looking to maintain that spot in the top eight.
00:56:05
Speaker
And Meg Jefferson's going to get a bit of front court help at the Penrith Panthers as another player who played college in Virginia, but not for Virginia. Chloe Bloom returns after her time at Virginia Commonwealth University, and she will slot straight in for the Panthers once she is cleared. The game against Sutherland just coming a bit too soon for her.
00:56:28
Speaker
And I'm not going to mention the team or the name, but if you want to go looking for a needle in a haystack, there is another new name on the MBL1 website on a roster. Ooh. I'm not going to say which team and I'm not going to say who, but there's someone out there. The teaser trailer to top off the news. I like that. And again, I was surprised. I didn't know you had that up your sleeve. I'm full of surprises, Quinn.
00:56:55
Speaker
I think that seems to be the theme of this episode, kind of surprise kind of episode. This happened and this happened and this happened. This is ridiculous. But I'm really glad that Izzy Bourne is back. Oh my gosh. Cause we've been, I think you actually again put me onto her a couple of years ago as a college athlete and I'm tipping her to get a spot on the UC caps roster next season. So I would love to see her as a DP at least.
00:57:33
Speaker
You know, I'm sorry guys, but you've got two big names to come across now in the remaining rounds. Starting with Dangak, who has signed with the Sutherland Sharks. Now that is the big signing that Lockie did kind of allude to in our last episode. He played in Miami with DJ Vasievic, and he's been playing in Latvia recently. Is that right, Lockie?
00:57:50
Speaker
If she's not, we riot. We riot.
00:58:00
Speaker
Yeah, so there's a combined Latvian-Estonian league. So he's actually been playing in that, not in like the regular Latvian league. So yeah, yeah. The Latvian-Estonia basketball league is where Dan Gack has been playing. Yeah, that's awesome. Look, I mean, he's getting some overseas experience. That's the main thing. And so welcome into the MBL One East.
Rules on Player Signings and Eligibility
00:58:21
Speaker
But this signing, when this came out, I gagged, I gasped, I was in shock.
00:58:28
Speaker
Wani Swaka Leboulik has signed for Sydney Comets, made his debut against the Bandits, as we mentioned earlier. But my goodness, we will happen on last episode about how lucky we are to see, you know, the likes of Opals and Olympians and our three time NBA champion is going to rock up in our in our home court as well. I'm a bit devo that Crusaders have already played Comets at home early in the season. You'll have to come down to Alexandria.
00:58:59
Speaker
I might have to come down to Alexandra and just be like, I'm here to commentate slash just watch Wani Swaka Labula. Thank you. Yeah, that's huge for the East and like a full credit to all of the signings that we mentioned and also the other imports we've mentioned in previous episodes to come into play for the East because you make our competition better.
00:59:20
Speaker
by playing against us, giving us some exposure, hopefully attracting more talented players and imports to come play East. So yeah, thank you very much, imports. We appreciate you. All right, so news and gossip. Did you mention raid?
00:59:44
Speaker
Oh yeah, of course, Reed Nottage, uh, popped up on the radar too. So he's obviously finished his time over in college as well. He's slotted into the Newcastle Falcons roster, also already having a really good debut. It's like he hasn't missed a beat. Um, I think he had, let me just find, Oh no, that's women's. That's not going to help.
01:00:09
Speaker
Anyway, just to break the silence, I'm pretty confident that Reid had a pretty decent outing on his debut. But yeah, interestingly, I think there is some footage online, either through Newcastle basketball,
01:00:22
Speaker
or one of the other alternative media outlets out there that are covering NBA One East. Just covering Reid, why he chose to play for Newcastle. I think he indicated, you know, he's probably got a lot of friends on the roster. That probably always makes the decision easier when you're coming back home to play for the first time. But yeah, he played 25 and a half minutes against Norse, had 13.6 rebounds, three assists. So yeah, four from six from the two point range.
01:00:53
Speaker
Still finding his range from the three-point line, it looks like, which is fine. But yeah, pretty decent minutes, considering it's his first game back. Very good. And yeah, lots of teams who, you know, just looking for that one piece to put them over the top against their, against their rivals. But then when everyone goes and gets a new piece, it just makes it very, very interesting.
01:01:21
Speaker
And like, what is the cutoff? Because these, I mean, understandably, all these signings happening very last minute, trying to reach the cutoff before they could, you know, to make sure they qualify, qualify for finals. Is it in terms of you have to be here by a certain round or do you have to play a certain number of games?
01:01:39
Speaker
In the past, I think you've had to play one third of the season. So it's 22 games. So that would be eight because seven is just less than a third. So you would have to play eight games. And I'm pretty sure, I know the rule in the past with Waratar was if you haven't suited up, it's eight to be eligible for finals, but you can't suit up. If you can't make finals eligibility, you can't just start playing. So, you know, you couldn't just go, you couldn't just go and, you know,
01:02:09
Speaker
sign Tess Magin to play five games at the end of the season and get you into finals and then she can't play finals. In
Women's All-Star Five Selection
01:02:17
Speaker
the past, you've actually had to be able to maintain finals eligibility throughout.
01:02:22
Speaker
Interesting. That's a really important piece to that rule, I think, because I can imagine a few teams, especially for female athletes, where they have an opportunity to play here for a period of time. And then I know that New Zealand's professional league has just restarted last season with very competitive player salaries for a shorter period of time.
01:02:44
Speaker
Yeah, you could get your pay packet here, get a team to the finals, and then hop over to New Zealand and get another pay packet for a shorter season. Like, yeah, so yeah, very good detail to that rule. But let's wrap up the show, Lockie, with our All Star Five. Take it away with the women's because I think this one was a tough one to decide.
01:03:06
Speaker
Oh, yeah, thanks a lot. Abby Solway and Lizzie Tonks just dropped 24 a piece for the same team it'll win. Okay, so, yeah, so Abby was definitely on my honorable mentions as one big Jefferson for her 26 in the loss for Penrith to Sutherland.
01:03:24
Speaker
and Michaela Domkins, 21 and 16, but I went with a player who got a win and shot a bit more efficiently in my All-Star Five. So I think those were the three that were the most unlucky to miss out. But we'll start with Canberra's own Lizzie Tonks putting up 24 points, five rebounds and assists, and two steals hitting 57% from three-point range in just 21 minutes.
01:03:53
Speaker
Ella Dent for Illawarra in the win over Inner West, 27 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and a block, if you don't mind.
01:04:04
Speaker
Kimberly, the Honey Badger, Hodge for Manly Waringa with 24 points, 5 rebounds and an assist in the win over Maitland shooting 89% from the field and did pretty well at the charity stripe as well in that big win that extends Manly's win streak to 12 games.
01:04:24
Speaker
Christina Moore, well, she'd have to be definitely in the running for player of the week for Hornsby Corringo, getting the spiders their first win with 33 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and three steals against the Hornets. A 13 point win there. The Hornets are stinging a bit without Rhiannon Yatsenga in the lineup, certainly affecting their paint presence at both ends.
01:04:50
Speaker
And speaking of paint presence, Isla Jafferman's at the center of excellence, a big 29 points and 15 rebounds against Squinn's own Central Coast Crusaders in an 84-65 win.
Men's All-Star Five Selection
01:05:02
Speaker
Big, big performance from Isla. She'll be looking to hit peak form ahead of World Cup.
01:05:10
Speaker
Yeah, dominating. I will hopefully get to commentate at least one game of Australia's at the World Cup, but so far I'm not rostered on for any, but look, manifesting. So yes, I was tasked with a men's All-Star Five. This was pretty tough and look, to be honest,
01:05:29
Speaker
I probably didn't sprawl over it as much as I normally do, but I just went with my instinct. So I didn't have a chance to consider, you know, the fact of wins and losses and things like that. But honorable mention, Jimmy Coleman, who had 26-9, 5-2 in a win against the Comets, he's from Aubrey Woodonga.
01:05:52
Speaker
But in that game too is backed up by Michael Parks who had 18 and 16 and the name's cut off but I'm going to guess it's Lachlan Cummings who had 27, 2 and 2. But from the same game I'm going to start with Wani Swaka Labooluk.
01:06:10
Speaker
who has 33, seven, two and two for the Comets in that round. I also had Chris Bryant in that game we featured before against the Hawks. 25.7 rebounds, three assists. Ryan Beasty from the Newcastle Falcons in their game against Norse with 18 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and shooting at 50%.
01:06:38
Speaker
So very easy making the all-star five this week. And then I had Alex Toohey. He had a great weekend for both games against Crusaders and Comets. So he averaged 24 points. I'm going to round it up. He averaged 24 points and he averaged at 64% from the field for the weekend as well. So that's a really high clip for two 20 point games in a weekend.
01:07:08
Speaker
What a game you had ten assists and the other game had ten rebounds so also doing it in other areas of the game and then the import that I've forgotten to mention is
01:07:19
Speaker
in the last two episodes of Eastcott game is A.J. Lawton. Our beloved A.J. from Central Coast Crusaders, our little pocket rocket, part of the 2019 championship winning team for the Crusaders is back. So he arrived probably a couple of weeks ago with his lovely partner Emma and their little baby.
Interview with Ashley Hannon
01:07:39
Speaker
He's back playing for the Crusaders and he really had to kind of put on a show against the COE this weekend because the Crusaders
01:07:49
Speaker
had a lot of players out I think because of youth league and so they only had like eight players perhaps playing at coe but yeah he was pulling out all the stops he had 27 points and three steals and he shot at 50 so uh call me bias but i'm putting aj in for his 20 point 27 point piece and um yeah welcome back aj we love to have you how good
01:08:13
Speaker
I guess also this is, this is in no way, shape or form related to all-star five, but it is something I want to make mention of because it's something that happened to a young player who's been
01:08:26
Speaker
Training all season with Sutherland MBL1 team gets a little bit of playing time here and there. I think she's appeared in five games just in garbage time at the end. But big shout out to Grace Cameron, who I think in her sixth appearance, scored her first MBL1 East points.
01:08:43
Speaker
Yay! Knocking down a three and you know I gave her the loudest, throatiest, buried it that she could, I could possibly muster when she knocked that down. So big shout out to young Grace Cameron. Awesome. Way to go, Rooks. Way to go. The best way to get your debut points is always the three pointer. I love it.
01:09:06
Speaker
Um, but otherwise that's us for the week. Um, well, I mean, I shouldn't say us for the week actually, because we actually have a guest coming up. We do, but it's not, it's us in terms of recapping games. That's right. It's us in terms of recapping games. And I just realized that, uh,
01:09:25
Speaker
I made a bit of a boo-boo with the last recording, but that's okay. I'll try and figure out a way around it. But nonetheless, that is just, that is the recap of round 11 for MBL One East 2023. But we'll be back with round 12 next week and hopefully another special guest. So we will leave you now with our guest interview. Do we say who it is now or should we make them wait?
01:09:50
Speaker
Make them wait. It's somewhat, it's someone we've already mentioned in the episode though. Correct. Correct. So, uh, re-listen to the episode and see if you can pick who it is. Our special guest this week is a USA born athlete who has spent time playing as an Australian junior representative and attended the COE before taking time away from basketball.
01:10:14
Speaker
She has burst back onto the scene in her NBL1 East debut with the Aubrey-Wodonga Bandits, averaging 16 points and 9 rebounds per game.
01:10:24
Speaker
Please welcome Ashley Hannon. Ashley, thank you for joining us. Thank you guys for having me on the podcast. It's our pleasure. We both probably lucky in particular, we're very excited to see your name pop up on a roster before the NBA one a season started. So it's so great that we could have you as a guest on the podcast.
01:10:46
Speaker
And just to kick things off, how about we start by wanting to tell us where your basketball journey actually started? So I think I've been playing basketball since I was about 11 officially, but my mum actually used to be a professional basketball player herself. So I've sort of just grew up on basketball courts, sort of in the stadiums while she's training and playing. Danna Melbourne, I think she was
01:11:14
Speaker
She played for the Frankston Blues at the time. But yeah, so I've always been around basketball. And then I did my junior basketball all through, like in Queensland. I played for the Brisbane Capitals and then the Southwest Metro Pirates. And I think I did a stint with the Sunshine Coast Phoenix in the QBL.
01:11:44
Speaker
But yeah, so all up north. So were you born like it says you let us know before we recorded you were born in the USA. But as you said, you just represent your junior representation was with Queensland. Did you at what age did you come over to Australia? Yeah, so I was born in Washington, DC. And then I think I was one when my parents moved to Australia. So I've
01:12:12
Speaker
pretty much been in Australia my whole life.
01:12:14
Speaker
So very much an Australian. Awesome. And I mean, having your mum play for Frankston, they're a really good club on and off court I've heard. So that's pretty cool bragging rights to say your mum played for Frankston as well. And in your junior career as well, you found yourself playing or getting a scholarship to the COE and you were also on a couple of Australian junior teams. So tell us about that playing experience. Yeah, so that was
01:12:43
Speaker
pretty amazing. I think when I was 15, I was invited to the Basketball Australia's ADC, I think it's Athlete Development Camp. And then, yeah, got obviously exposure through that and then was invited to go down to the Centre of Excellence. And then I think from there, things just really took off.
01:13:08
Speaker
But yeah, that was an amazing opportunity and I'll always be grateful for that. I had many good times there. Obviously pretty cool to be able to say that I've played for Australia, wearing the green and gold is not something that comes around very often. So yeah, really good memories. And at the COE, was it what you expected when you arrived or did you get a little bit of a culture shock?
01:13:38
Speaker
Um, definitely a bit of a culture shock. I would say, um, just going from maybe doing one or two teen trainings a week to basically training day in, day out, um, straightening conditioning, like eating, dieting, all that sort of thing. So it was definitely intense. Um, but I found that I really thrived in that environment for the most part. Um, yeah, it was, it's a lot when you have, um,
01:14:08
Speaker
a whole bunch of teenagers sort of just thrust into one big group and then left to, I don't know, figure things out. But I mean, we had good support systems around us and people there guiding us along the way. And it looks like as well that you were also signed up to play for University of Texas in college with Izzy Palmer from Newcastle.
01:14:34
Speaker
Did you end up finishing your full scholarship there? No. So I went over to Texas with Izzy. Izzy and I are really close friends. So I was really happy to be able to go with someone that I knew. And I think I would have only been there for a few months before deciding to come back home. I think at that point in my career, I had just lost a bit of the passion for
01:15:04
Speaker
the game and I had come off a lot of injuries and some hardships, riding the lead up of moving overseas. I had a few concussions in a row that had me sitting out a lot. And then I was medically excluded from the under 19 World Cup team, which took a bit of a toll mentally.
01:15:29
Speaker
So I think I was just a bit lost and then going over there, I didn't feel like I was supported as a person. I was more just viewed as an athlete, which is, I don't know, to be expected, but yeah, struggled. So decided to come back home and yeah, have a bit of a reset.
01:15:55
Speaker
And one last question before I throw you over to Lockie. Was that under 19 team that you were medically determined, like unsuitable for? Was that the team that won the silver medal against the USA? Yes, that was. That's a shame. Yes.
01:16:12
Speaker
So I was throwing a locky because he's got some good questions for you too. So you have, uh, you said you came home and reset. So what have you been doing in your time away from the game? Cause it had been a while. Yes, it has been almost, I think almost four years. Um, what have I been doing? I really, I just wanted to take some time to figure out who I was off the basketball court and what sort of person I wanted to be.
01:16:42
Speaker
Um, so I just tried everything I studied. I think I started a couple of different degrees. Haven't finished one yet. Um, I worked full time, um, traveled a little bit. I just had a lot of fun, really. Um, yeah. Enjoyed myself. I don't think. And so I'm just so.
01:17:08
Speaker
Why is now the right time for you to come back to the game, really? Um, I think I've just had a bit of a, uh, gradual, like a, an itch to just get back playing. Um, yeah, so it's been a little, like a long time coming, but I didn't think that I would actually go back to playing at this level at least. Um, I thought I might just play a bit of social basketball. Um, but yeah, I think I was just at a bit of a point where I was like,
01:17:38
Speaker
I don't have any immediate plans for the future. So I can really just do anything that I want. And I was like, you know what? Why not? Let's just go all in, give it a crack and see if I enjoy basketball again. And what was it like returning to the sport after a break? Were there some similarities or differences in terms of the feel for the game? Did you still have like the same pregame nerves or were you a little bit more calm and focused coming back after a break?
01:18:08
Speaker
Oh, definitely. I think I was pretty terrified to come back after so long. But I think the moment I stepped on court in round one, I just felt like back at home, like it, yeah, came back pretty, pretty quickly. And you just get back into that mood, I guess. But I've been really enjoying it so far. Like it's been an amazing experience.
01:18:36
Speaker
I've been so supported by the bandits here in Aubrey. Yeah, everyone's just been lovely. So it's been a really good experience. And did it take you time to get used to the style of play or was it pretty similar to what you were used to? Oh, it definitely took a little bit of time to get that game fitness back. I'm not sure if I've got it back just yet, but we're working on it.
01:19:05
Speaker
But the style of play, I think, I don't know, me personally, I feel a bit of a mental shift. Like I have that actual competitiveness about myself now. Like I want to do well and I want to perform well for my team, which I don't know if I have had previously, but it's a really good feeling, honestly. Yeah. And I'm just enjoying myself. I want to go out there and have fun and
01:19:32
Speaker
do whatever I can do to help out our team. And speaking of the team, what, why was Aubrey Rodonga the right club for you to join? Um, so Aubrey's, I've been based in Canberra mainly for the past few years and Aubrey's not too far away from Canberra and my family. Um, and I've had Matt Pops, our head coach, he remained in contact throughout the years that I spent away from basketball.
01:19:59
Speaker
And yeah, I would always just check in and see how I'm going, see if I want to play again. And I would sort of just be like, oh, no. But yeah, this time around, I was like, yeah, you know what, why not? And yeah, it was really helpful having him to be backing me and believing in me.
01:20:22
Speaker
So it was just an obvious choice to go with the bandits. And you've been doing really well and have seen as you've been doing so well, have you thought about what the future may hold for you? You know, WMBL or something like that, or are you just looking to get through the season and then think about things later? I mean, initially coming into NBL one, I wasn't even sure that I would be playing big minutes at all, let alone starting and
01:20:52
Speaker
yeah, doing as well as I am. So I hadn't thought that far ahead. But I mean, if I was given the opportunity to go doggone BL, that would be amazing. At the moment, I think my main focus is just continuing to enjoy myself getting through this season. And yeah, seeing how I feel after that and hopefully get some opportunities from there. But if not, that's all right. I'll be back
01:21:20
Speaker
next season for NBL1. And of course, you can't really think about Aubrey Widonga's current era without thinking, you know, they in the front court last year, they had LJ and Unique. How is it, you know, do you ever feel like, you know, you have to replace what they did or are you just coming in there and being the best Ash Hanna you can be? I mean, obviously, those are some pretty big shoes to fill and I'm not sure there's anyone who's able to fill those shoes.
01:21:51
Speaker
But I think as a team, we've all grown so much already throughout this season. And I think we are surprising even ourselves with how we've been able to still go toe to toe with some of the best in this league.
01:22:06
Speaker
despite the loss of our two very important players. And so it sounds like that you had already, did you know Matt Paps from somewhere previously in your playing career before coming to Bandits, if you guys were in contact before you started? I think maybe peripherally, just through basketball community, you know how close it is. But yeah, I think it was more just the fact that he had remained in contact. Yeah.
01:22:36
Speaker
over the years. So you kept doing the right thing, as our good coaches do, kept planting the seed, waiting for it to sprout a little bit. I know that in a similar way, that's how Alex Bunton made her return to WNBL after she took some time away with knee injuries and officially retired. But Gori was always keeping in contact with her.
01:23:00
Speaker
And just checking in and kind of said, Hey, look, do you reckon you're ready to come back or make it super easy and supportive for you? And that's how she's back. And now she's in the open. Yeah, definitely. I mean, she's an inspiration to all of us. Um, and I think stories like hers and even LJ coming back, those are the sort of things that inspired me. Um, and hopefully inspire other people as well.
01:23:23
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. And especially for female athletes where some people still have the very old school mentality of if you're having a kid, then that's it. It's automatic retirement. But yeah, definitely no case. No, no. And Bunce and LJ are both examples of that as well, other than injury also coming back to play after motherhood, too. Yeah.
01:23:50
Speaker
Yeah, I think there's many players in the both NBL1 and WNBL who are wonderful mothers and are still able to pursue their basketball careers as well, which I think is amazing. The support systems are just there now. Yeah, probably took a long time coming, but we're getting there. Yes,
Playing with the Bandits
01:24:08
Speaker
definitely. Have you played with anyone on your current Bandits roster before? Like had you played with Emma Mahade or any of the other girls before? No, I think
01:24:18
Speaker
No, I don't think I've played with anyone, but I've been really enjoying playing with everyone so far this season. It's been a great team to be a part of. Everyone gets around each other and a great community as well here in Aubrey. Um, the fans are amazing. Yeah. It's just very welcoming. Yeah. Lockie and I were lucky enough to commentate the inaugural MBL One East finals last season and Brodie Page Theodore.
01:24:45
Speaker
and Casey Ardern were probably two of our favorites of that weekend, particularly in the grand final, right, Lockie? Yeah, definitely. I think we talked to some people, everyone who had MVP votes, I think five different all-rewer dongle players got MVP votes in that game. Yeah, Captain Brody, she's amazing, amazing leader and amazing player as well. Same with Casey. Yeah, so special to have that part
Coach Papp's Strategy and Expectations
01:25:14
Speaker
of our team.
01:25:14
Speaker
And coming into the season, what was Coach Papp's expectations of you for your first season back? I don't think he, well, at least he told me that he didn't have any expectations, really. He was more focused on just getting me back on my feet and just really seeing if this is something that I enjoy doing still. And that was the main priority and then
01:25:43
Speaker
Now, obviously, we've got past that and we want to try and do as well as we can this season and hopefully get a championship again. Yeah, you've got some pretty tight match-ups coming up for the rest of the season. Lockie, we were talking about it just before we started recording.
Bandits' Challenging Upcoming Games
01:26:05
Speaker
Can you refresh our memory of what's up for the bandits for the remaining round?
01:26:10
Speaker
Yeah, so four games left against the top five and a game against Sutherland as well. And three more against those teams that are in and amongst the Fight for Finals, Bankstown, Canberra and Maitland. So I think Aubrey or Donga actually have the hardest run home of any team in the league in terms of the average standing of the teams remaining that they have to play.
01:26:35
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. I think we've got some big games ahead of us. Big stretch coming. But I think that's it for the challenge. We've been getting better week in, week out. And we're really starting to gel
Michaela Pivock's Impact
01:26:46
Speaker
as a team. And we've just had the injection of Michaela Pivock, our import, who's been amazing so far.
01:26:54
Speaker
Yeah, Locky is also a big, see Locky is a big fan. I probably refer to Locky being a big fan to lots of people on the podcast, but it's always true. It's never an exaggeration, but he is a big fan of Michaela. And it looks like that she has slotted into the league.
01:27:10
Speaker
very, very quickly, given that she came relatively late into the tournament. And I don't think she's played in NBA one before. But yeah, what's it been like playing with her? Yeah, no, she's slotted in amazingly. And she's come up with some great performances for us in our last double header.
01:27:33
Speaker
Yeah, pretty much straight off the plane. Straight into a big weekend of playing. And yeah, she did well. So we're all very happy to have her. And she's an amazing person as well off the court. Just a good teammate gets around everybody. Yeah, lovely girl to talk to.
Personal Interests and Aspirations
01:27:52
Speaker
So a couple of non-basketball related questions for you now. So how does Ashley like to enjoy her time off the basketball court?
01:28:06
Speaker
What do I do after the last one? I enjoy listening to music. I enjoy reading and exploring. I have a dog who unfortunately I had to leave in Canberra, but I would often take her out on walks, hikes, visiting creeks and waterfalls and stuff like that.
01:28:30
Speaker
Yeah, enjoy getting outdoors. There must be plenty of opportunity for that in a town like Albury as well. I know I've been down there a couple of times for the old Seable Road trip and I know there's a fair bit of opportunity to get outdoors down in Albury. Yes, yeah, definitely. And you mentioned before that you've studied a couple of things. Have you completed some studies or have you decided to go on a different path? No, I have not completed any studies as of yet.
01:28:59
Speaker
I think I do eventually want to go back to studying, but when I decided to come back to basketball, I wanted to just put all of my focus into that and yeah, go one step at a time.
01:29:13
Speaker
And yeah, hopefully in the near future, I will be studying again. What have you tried so far? And have you thought about what that might entail in the future? So I was studying business administration and then I did medical science for a year and a half, which I really enjoyed. Around that very interesting. And then I did accounting, which I didn't enjoy so much.
01:29:40
Speaker
Um, so I think if I was to go back, I would definitely be going on the science C side of things. That's where my interests lie. Um, but yeah, nothing really, it's hard. It's hard to choose something. Nothing jumps out at me, but we'll see.
01:30:00
Speaker
And look, study is not for everyone. It's an option. It doesn't have to be like the only option though. But then again, if you like med science, then we might be calling Dr. Ashley Hannan in our future commentary calls. I don't know about that. And do you, so do you have, are you also a typical female athlete who juggles playing semi-pro and also having to
Work and Community in Albury-Wodonga
01:30:27
Speaker
work?
01:30:27
Speaker
Yes. Yes. So I've been working as a disability support worker, whilst being here in Aubrey, which I'm really enjoying. I find it very rewarding work. Yeah. Yeah, I know a few other athletes, whether it's the pro season or semi pro season who also pick up disability support work, it seems like it would be
01:30:51
Speaker
a good experience in one of those roles where you can really make a difference, I suppose, but also quite flexible around training times because there's different shifts and things like that you can do. Yeah, definitely. I can cater it to my schedule, which is the main thing really. But yeah, it is amazing to be able to make a difference in people's lives and connect to people.
01:31:14
Speaker
in ways that you wouldn't normally. And does that mean as well you have gained a whole bunch of new fans through your disability support work? Yes. So the company I work for is actually one of our sponsors of the Obrudonga Band. It's Social Plus. So we get some of the participants coming to our games and cheering us on, which is amazing.
01:31:38
Speaker
Oh, that's awesome. That's a really nice connection to have them for on and off court, kind of playing, working for a sponsor as well. And, and also, you know, providing I feel like people that live with disabilities are always marginalized when accessing things like local basketball games, or sometimes it's not always considered that, you know, that is an option for people with disabilities to still go out on a Saturday night and see a basketball game with everyone else. So
01:32:07
Speaker
It's really nice to hear that there's that connection between the club and the sports team. Yeah, it is amazing.
Recommendations for Visitors
01:32:12
Speaker
And one final question on paper anyway, Locky may come up with something before we finish up, but you touched on before that you like to spend a lot of time outside and Locky has also backed up that there's probably a nice few trails down in Albury-Woodonga region. But if someone were visiting the area for the first time,
01:32:34
Speaker
Tell us the best way they could spend their day in Albury-Wodonga. Okay. Um, I would say definitely go out to the weir, or they call it the weir, it's the Hume Dam. Um, I think when I first got here, I went out there with my family and we went water skiing, which was good fun. Um, so definitely that there's a couple of good lookouts, which are very picturesque. Um,
01:33:03
Speaker
and some cute little towns in and around Albury, um, little country towns and some wineries. If wine's your thing, um, I love a good wine. So little wineries always something that interests me. What else do we have in Albury? Do you have a, uh, favorite coffee spot? Yeah. Well, I'm not a coffee drinker, but I do love a good chai latte. So.
01:33:31
Speaker
Yeah, there's many different coffee shops in Albury and Wodonga. I feel like, I mean, coming from a country town myself, from Mudgee, I feel like that's something that's exploded in smaller towns and I guess Albury's a lot bigger than Mudgee, but there's just a plethora of cafes everywhere you look in country towns nowadays. So you really can't go wrong if you, you know, you have a fairly good chance of picking a good one. Yeah, definitely.
01:33:58
Speaker
Yes, certainly, uh, exploding in popularity. And is sweethearts still open in Albury? Yes. Yeah. Sweethearts still exists. Good place to get some food. What's sweethearts? It's a, um, what would you call it? Fast food. It's like post night out food.
01:34:14
Speaker
The couple of times I've gone out in Aubrey, which was many years ago now, it was the post night out food, but it was always, I thought it was just a pizzeria, but I think they have lots of stuff. But we will always recommend it to have pizza and sweethearts up one night out. Yes, it's definitely the go-to spot. There'll be a queue out the door every Sunday night.
01:34:36
Speaker
So Ash, thank you so much for being our guest on East Got Game. And best of luck for the rest of the season. We'll obviously be watching very closely. And now that Nembiel won East, we have gotten confirmation through, thankfully, one of our listeners. They message us on Instagram and have confirmed that it is top eight teams this year that will make the final series. So fingers crossed for your bandwidth to
01:35:04
Speaker
Yeah, to go all the way and make it to the top eight. Yes. Thank you guys both so much for having me. It's been a pleasure.