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Episode 5: A Falcon Swoops in - featuring Nicole Munger
242 Plays3 years ago
Lachy and Squin briefly recap Round 3 of the NBL1 East 2023 season and focus on the Sutherland Sharks vs. Inner West Bulls (men), Bankstown Bruins vs. Illawarra Hawks (women) and the Games of the Week between Sydney Comets and Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Spiders.
Lachy and Squin are also joined by a very special, first ever East Got Game guest - she is Michigan Alum, UC Capitals Player's Player for the 2022/23 WNBL season and a fan favourite with the Newcastle Falcons...it's Nicole Munger!
Before it's all over the All Star 5 for Round 3 are announced and a brief preview of Round 4.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction of Hosts and Podcast
00:00:13
Speaker
Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of the NBL One East. Well, an unofficial podcast of the NBL One East, probably getting a bit too ahead of myself there. It's another episode of East Got Game with me, Jacinta Govind, from the Central Coast Crusaders. And as always, my lovely co-host, Lockie France, from the Sutherland Sharks. How are you going?
00:00:39
Speaker
I'm great, Squin. Very, very happy with my COE championship picks at the moment with both teams flying high undefeated. Yeah, you've definitely picked well there.
Guest Interview Tease and Predictions
00:00:50
Speaker
We did see a clash of our predicted NBL 1 East champions in the men's division this round, the COE and Illawarra Hawks, which will chop up a little bit later. But what about the rest of the results? Just having a quick browse of the results over the weekend. What are your thoughts?
00:01:08
Speaker
Uh, interesting round. Uh, yeah. Uh, Canberra's slide, uh, continues, um, mainly getting over central coast. Sorry to mention, but it happened, uh, which was an interesting one. And, uh, inner west getting over Sutherland came into the shark tank and got the wind. So few, few boil overs, maybe not boil overs, but certainly interesting results nonetheless, all around the place.
00:01:38
Speaker
Yes, and we'll get stuck into that Bull Sharks or Sharks and Bulls game as well a little bit later. But as we mentioned in some of our previous episodes, thank you to those who have already started listening. We're hoping to keep bringing you some preview, match previews and match reviews of the NBL One East for 2023 season. And we have also mentioned in the past some interviews and now we are aware
00:02:06
Speaker
that so far we haven't given you any said interviews, but the wait is finally over. We will be having our first guest interview on today's episode, and we were very, very excited to have this person as our first guest. But nonetheless, we'll get to it eventually. I'm not too sure. Should we say now, Lockie, or should we leave it as a surprise who the guest is?
00:02:28
Speaker
Uh, I think you can spoil it. We can spoil it. Our very, uh, very special first ever guests for eScott game is Nicole Munger from the Newcastle Falcons. And also as many of you would know from the UC caps. So we're very much looking forward to having Nicole as a guest in just not too far away, but Hey, Lockie, let's get stuck into round three of NBL one is 2023.
Round Three Highlights and Team Performances
00:02:55
Speaker
I can't believe it's round three already. This is around where we also saw a couple of teams play their first double headers for the season as well. My beloved Central Coast Crusaders playing the Saturday away game and then a Sunday home game. And we also saw the likes of the Canberra teams playing a double away with Newcastle and the Central Coast. So
00:03:19
Speaker
It was a pretty interesting round so far. You've already hinted about some of the results that caught your eye. So take me through the Sutherland Sharks and Inner West Bulls men's game to kick us off.
00:03:32
Speaker
Do you want to go through all the results first or should we go straight into the games? Oh, good idea. Let's go through all the results first. Let's do it from the top. Okay, so early tip on Saturday afternoon, we had Illawarra heading up to Bankstown and grabbing an 86-67 victory. Centre of Excellence did not play friendly as host to Penrith, racking up a 110-37 win.
00:03:55
Speaker
Manly knocked off Central Coast 82-73. Aubrey Wodonga hosted Hills and got an 80-70 win. Inner West came into the Shark Tank and beat the Sutherland Sharks 92-85. Those teams cannot have a blowout. Every game is close when they play. Newcastle took on Canberra and got win 81-72 up there in the Hunter. Comets defeated Hornsby in the game of the week, 88-56.
00:04:25
Speaker
Central Coast rebounded from their loss to Manly with a 102-88 win over Canberra who went 0-2 for the weekend. Centre of Excellence racked up a tonne for the second consecutive game of the week with a 104-80 win over Illawarra. And finally, Maitland hosted North and it was the Bears picking up a 93-79 win on the road on Sunday afternoon.
00:04:54
Speaker
which leaves us with just three undefeated teams, Centre of Excellence, 5-0, and then Comets and North, both 3-0, but a bunch of teams just behind them with one loss. Who were rounding off, if that's the top three in the men's league after round three, who's rounding up the top five? Well, it's Illawarri in fourth at 3-1, and then Albury, Wodonga, Newcastle, Sutherland and Inner West all sitting at 2-1, or is equal fifth.
00:05:22
Speaker
Interesting. So it sounds like who's got the next spot, sorry, based on for and against points. So it's currently sitting at Albury in fifth. So in the order I read.
Surprising Ladder Positions
00:05:34
Speaker
Yeah, interesting. Interesting. Is any particular ladder positions from the men's league that you are surprised by, Lockie?
00:05:42
Speaker
Well, I think we're all a bit surprised at Canberra being one and three at this stage. They play some tough teams, but I think they're defending champions. It might have been looking to be a bit higher up the table. Maitland also one and three. So both of last season's grand finalists are in a tough spot, but Maitland have played, I think Canberra, Illawarra, North and COE at this stage. So they've had a buzzsaw to run through to start the season.
00:06:12
Speaker
Yeah, talking about having a tough start, but Maitland, you know, still doing relatively well considering they did get over the top of the Gunners last round, which was that grand final rematch.
00:06:24
Speaker
We've spoken a bit about how the Canberra Gunners have gone through a lot of roster changes this season and as have a lot of other teams and new teams included. But hopefully for next week's episode, we'll be able to have a guest from the Canberra Camp to maybe give us a little bit more insight and help us deep dive into what is happening with the Canberra Gunners.
Sutherland Sharks vs. Inner West Bulls Analysis
00:06:47
Speaker
Hopefully, because it'd be great to get a little bit of insight from someone who knows their way around Gunners basketball. Yes. But anyway, nonetheless, before we dwell on what is the one and three for the Gunners, now I'll prompt you to say, hey, take me through this Sharks and Inner West Bulls game.
00:07:06
Speaker
Sharks in Inner West, well, these teams almost inseparable when they're on court and it came to pass again as a fairly back and forth game. Sharks got ahead. Inner West had big ends to both hearts. Second quarter won at 34-21 to take a lead and then won the fourth quarter 22-16, which saw them get the win.
00:07:32
Speaker
But what I really noticed about Inner West, they've got some really high-energy players we saw. We know Christopher Bryan and Alex Higgins-Titcher. They are. I can jump out of the stadium, those guys. But what I noticed was Blake Morrow and Tony Tolivay didn't kind of rise to, not the Bates Sutherland were,
00:07:56
Speaker
you know, dishing out, but some of them were really trying to get it really energized. And, you know, guys like Hutchison and Cabrera, they really liked, you know, be hype. And Morrow and Tolivay were just, we're going to play at our own pace, we're going to calm it down. If it takes me seven seconds to walk the ball over half court, we're just going to do things the way we want to do it. And they looked a lot calmer. And I think that's
00:08:24
Speaker
big part of why they were able to get the wind down the stretch. Turnover numbers fairly low, 12 and 15, but silly turnovers. It was very humid in the stadium. I don't know if that had an effect. There was one play where I think it was Jeff Gerlach just dropped the ball cold, like it just slipped out of his hands. And I hope the four wipers got paid well because they were out there a lot.
00:08:52
Speaker
But yeah, just players like we talked about it in the commentary because it was the game I called. And when you got guys like Jordan Mitchell on the perimeter guarding, you can't be lazy with those passes across the top of the arc. And just on occasion, just too many times the ball getting tipped away or even deflected.
00:09:16
Speaker
It just, I think both teams could have done a lot better than, but in the end, it was really the, you know, the calmness and the composure of, especially Morrow and Tolivay who got in a west of the wind. I mean, Tolivay shot 81% from two point range, nine of 11.
00:09:35
Speaker
Wow, that's outstanding. It really sounds like the inner West Bulls came in with a game plan to control the tempo and it sounds like it worked in their favor. I'm guessing that perhaps they wanted to grind the Sutherland Sharks in the half court, play the half court game to their advantage, try and make Sutherland Sharks getting to foul trouble, get fatigued on the defensive end. We know the Sharkies really like to run in transition as well.
00:10:00
Speaker
Perhaps that was in the back of their mind too. If we tie them out on defense, maybe they're least likely to run and make transition buckets. Yeah, they certainly did get the Sharks in a bit of foul trouble. Callum Norris and Mark L. Beasley both finished with four fouls and Jordan Mitchell fouled out. You know, like I said, Mitchell loves getting in there to tip the ball away, but it just takes, you know, just to be a tick off in your timing and suddenly you're chopping someone on the arm and getting called for a foul.
00:10:29
Speaker
Beasley, he knew it himself that he committed one really bad foul that got him in foul trouble. I mean, it was the same at both ends. Inner West had actually committed 26 fouls in the end, but that was spread out a lot more. Higgins' teacher, he had a couple of fouls that he won't be happy about.
00:10:54
Speaker
or a couple of offensive fouls that are good charges. Locky Hutchison, he loves taking a charge. And that got him really amped up. And for a little bit, it did look like it was gonna get a bit chippy, but everyone kept their cool. Sharks though, they just, they can't hit a three lately. They're four of 26. They haven't been good in recent weeks at all. And yeah, four of 26.
00:11:24
Speaker
Norris, one of eight, Angus Lake, usually if Norris is not on song, he's been the one coming in and trying to knock down some shots. He was 0-3 in just 14 minutes on court. They tried a bit of Josh Sheehy. He can shoot them. He shoots really well in youth league. He was just on for a couple of minutes trying to give a bit of spark.
00:11:45
Speaker
But it wasn't all negative for Sutherland. I mean, Hutchison finished with 24, 8, and 5, got to the cup really well, finished 7 of 12 from 2 point range. And Jeff Gerlach, 5 of 7 from 2 point range, just loves that little hook shot when he gets the ball in a good position.
00:12:08
Speaker
But the sharks just, they need to keep going to what's working. There were a couple of times where things were working and then they decided almost like, oh, maybe they've cottoned onto us. Let's try something different. But you sort of need to wait until the opposition's shown that they've cottoned on before you change it up.
Canberra Gunners Roster Changes Impact
00:12:27
Speaker
Yeah. And do you feel like those, um, deviations away from the game plan, was that based on like one or two of the five on the court at the time, or was it based on the play in front of them? I think it was more based on, yeah, based on what was in front of them. But yeah, I just think there's just times where like, you know, someone's been driving to the right, they've been getting through and suddenly they'll try, you know, then going up and suddenly they'll just try and dish it off somehow. And it's like, well,
00:12:55
Speaker
You know, maybe not, maybe just, you know, you're getting there, you're getting your lane, you're getting through, go to the cup yourself. Or if they were struggling to score, it'd be a, you know, one and done three that just didn't need to happen kind of thing. So just a little bit more composure and I think the Sharks will be all right.
00:13:20
Speaker
So interesting, are they going to match up again throughout the season? Because we know that this season with the addition of the new teams, not everyone's going to play each other twice as we have been used to. Do you know if the Sharks and the Bulls are going to meet each other again later in the season? I'm not entirely sure. I can tell you it'll be close if they do play again.
00:13:43
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. I think that's probably the advantage of... Yes, they do in just a couple of weeks. April 22nd, round six.
00:13:55
Speaker
Oh, there you go. So the Sharks might be able to get the split on the Bulls in the end, because we do know in the inaugural MBL1A season last year, the Sharks and the Bulls were very, very close to making the top six. And it came down to a game between the inner West Bulls and the Central Coast Crusaders. The Bulls had to win by a particular margin. And anything within that margin meant that the Sutherland Sharks made the top six. And that's exactly how history played out. That's right.
00:14:24
Speaker
But I think I've discussed my team losing for long enough, so we might take a quick peek at the Centre of Excellence and Illawarra, who I got to take a quick peek at, with Ben Henshaw dropping 35 and five as well as four steals to be the main man for the COE.
COE vs. Illawarra Performance
00:14:48
Speaker
So when you say 35 and five, you mean 30 points and five rebounds. And five rebounds and five assists. And four steals. And four steals. And how many blocks did he have? He didn't get a block. It was Rocco Zukaski getting the blocks, as you'd expect. Mate, that guy doesn't even need a jump.
00:15:08
Speaker
That's exactly the point I'm getting to, is that, I mean, COE to start with, you've got a Gonzaga commit in Alex Tui on court, and he's not even the best player on court every night. But Rocco Zukaski, yeah, three blocks in the space of 15 minutes and eight points, but he can't be a rim protector when he's sitting on the bench.
00:15:33
Speaker
But by the same token, you probably don't want to put 30 minutes a night into a seven foot two kid. And he is still a kid, developmentally, and not sure of his exact age, but probably legally as well. You don't want to. Paper is still only 17, isn't it? Exactly. Yeah. So you don't want to, you know, thrash him because he's so young and with his height.
00:15:58
Speaker
But the thing is with COE, how do you compete against them late on unless you're ultra ultra fit? Because rarely does anyone play more than 25 minutes a night. You know, they're just rotating players in and out and they've got, I mean, obviously they've got strength in depth all through the roster.
00:16:19
Speaker
I think you're going to start to get physical. Like being match fit, being able to run up and back, make shots when you're tired, that kind of thing is, you know, pretty stock standard when you get to a certain age group in a certain level. But the difference between playing, you know, a high level juniors and then playing something like NBA one, regardless, whether it's East, South, wherever, it's the physicality.
00:16:44
Speaker
I think we touched on it in our very first episode when we talked about the men's rosters, but being match fit to handle the physicality and to keep bumping and grinding and holding your position, that's a whole other level of fitness. So I think if teams want to be super competitive with the COE and the men, all the women, but particularly the men, they've got to amp up the physicality and start playing a bit of bully ball.
00:17:11
Speaker
That's right. And if you look at Illawarra, it was probably the guys you'd expect to be. You know, you know, Lucas Walker got 17 and seven rebounds and four assists and three steals, you know, he'd be expected to play pretty physically. You know, Noah Pagotto had that big double double with rebounds. And of course, Davo Hickey just keeps getting it done, even in a loss, 14 points, five rebounds and six assists.
00:17:35
Speaker
But this game, it was really, you know, the first quarter, the COE got out to a 12 point advantage. And then aside from the second quarter, they just gradually extended their lead throughout all four quarters. So in no one quarter was it really a blowout. It's just, you know, three good quarters and holding your own in the other amounts to a 24 point win.
00:17:56
Speaker
Yeah, so I think Illawarra did actually win that second quarter by two points, but you know, which still put them in touch of 10 points, which gives you a bit of hope by halftime. But then, yeah, like you said, COE went on to win the next two quarters. I think the third quarter was 24 to 17. So another healthy
00:18:14
Speaker
point, seven point margin to make you feel really comfortable. But speaking of Lucas Walker, he's just come back from the 3x3 camp and he's now selected to play for Australia at the Asia Cup qualifier. So he'll be out in Singapore on March 31st with the likes of Daniel Johnson, Todd Blanchfield and Andrew Steele. Yeah, to play over there. So he's obviously going to miss
00:18:42
Speaker
perhaps the next round for Illawarra while he's on his Australian duties. But and you mentioned that he perhaps played with a bit more physicality to get such a great stat line against such a young team. And he's probably come straight from a very physical 3x3 camp. They do love physicality at 3x3 level. And you know who else loves physicality?
Sydney Comets Game Recap
00:19:02
Speaker
Johnny Senorgaras from Sydney Comets as they got the 88-56 win in the KO freebies game of the week against Hornsby.
00:19:11
Speaker
So, and it wasn't just Johnny, it was Elijah Washington, Isaiah Ostapinda, and Isaac Ayubi all scored well as well. But what I think we're going to see with Hornsby this season is that Sharif Saipaia is going to keep them in games for a lot longer than you would expect. Because the man can flat out score the ball.
00:19:35
Speaker
Yeah, danger though with that with Sharif, I mean, very talented play. I'm not taking that away from him. Think the danger, particularly with the supports that he has around him is that he might get a tendency to just tuck the ball under his wing and try and do everything himself.
00:19:53
Speaker
And he sort of had to a bit when Thomas Gillis found himself in a bit of foul trouble during that game, he finished, he ended up failing out. And that was really like late in the fourth quarter. The second quarter, at halftime it was 41-34 comets.
Hornsby's Challenges and Standouts
00:20:11
Speaker
It was just in the second half that, you know, a young Hornsby team, a bit of foul trouble just sort of fell away at the end.
00:20:20
Speaker
And of course, Comet's doing that without Archie Woodhill as well. So, of course, they've got no Iggy Mitchell, but no Archie Woodhill either. So... Well, to be fair, they haven't had Iggy Mitchell to start yet. That's what I mean. They didn't have... Yeah, not only do they not have Iggy Mitchell, which they thought they would, now they don't have Archie Woodhill just for the moment. Yeah. Any news on Archie Woodhill? Not yet. I will have to get on the phone to someone and see what I can find out.
00:20:49
Speaker
would be nice to know what is going on there. But yeah, Johnny Snorgras finishing with 17 and 10. Just, you know, big seven foot man, just can't be contained. Did that all in 19 minutes. And in fact, no one from Comets played more than 22 and a half minutes. So spreading the minutes really well. Elijah Washington,
00:21:10
Speaker
you know, scoring four of six from two point range, knock down a couple of threes or he's getting to the cup or shooting from deep, doing really well. And Isaiah Osipinder, you know, he, you know, he's a quick, it's got some bounce about him getting to the cup as well. So comments looking really good in these early stages. Yeah. Despite the fact they've had to, uh, you know, they've had to adjust to losing a play for the season.
00:21:37
Speaker
But of course, of course, there wasn't just a men's game of the week. There was a women's one as well. Yes, of course.
Sydney Comets vs. Hornsby Women's Game
00:21:43
Speaker
The same game of the week, the Sydney Comets versus the Hornsby Corringuy Spiders. So this one, perhaps not as, I mean, the men's game was, you know, 32 points and the women's game was a lot bigger with a 56 point margin.
00:21:59
Speaker
But the likes of Vanessa Penoosa is on fire again. 37 points, 4 rebounds and a huge 10 assists. Like not very often you get a double-double where the second statistic in double figures is assists. So shout out to NAS for her 37 and 10 with assists.
00:22:18
Speaker
Surprisingly, she played 38 minutes. I would expect, considering it looked like a comfortable win with the Comet scoring 33 points to 9 in the first quarter, you may want to start resting players like Panusas or perhaps giving your bench a bit more playing opportunity to further develop their skills at this level.
00:22:40
Speaker
Um, but we also saw Jada Korosho with 13 and nine and four blocks. And I believe that she's actually leading the league in blocks, uh, and drew, uh, Tala Feo as well with 15 and 10 in 24 minutes. So a great night out for her. On that plus side for Hornsby, we had Kira Hudson, uh, playing nearly the whole game with 14.63 pounds, five assists.
00:23:05
Speaker
and only four turnovers which is pretty impressive considering the matchup she was playing against and considering she's still someone who plays in under 18's. Tyler Mundine a little bit on the quiet side this time with 10 and 6 and Thacker backing them up with 9 and 3 but
00:23:23
Speaker
Look, it just goes a little bit, you know, I'm glad that Sydney are back in the comp, but also they're starting to be comfortable and cement themselves in back in the NBA one East League competition.
Bankstown's Victory Over Illawarra
00:23:36
Speaker
Perhaps having a bit of a smoother run and introduction to the competition so far, you know, they've played Hornsby and they've played Hills as well. So be very interesting to see how they match up against
00:23:48
Speaker
a longer standing team or a team that have had a core group for a long time that are going to be a bit more competitive and really put the Comets bench to the test. But for Hornsby, look, let's just take this as a development year. I think so, but if they can keep Keira Hudson, if Central Coast owner managed to lure her back in future years, could be a start of a very healthy partnership.
00:24:14
Speaker
Now the only game that we need to quickly cover before we introduce our very very special guest who is ready and waiting in our recording studio is the women's game against Bankstown and Illawarra. Now I wanted to give this game a quick shout out because the score line to me, look Bankstown looked a little bit wobbly in the first couple of rounds and Illawarra have played
00:24:34
Speaker
a little bit more together. They had a couple of their legends in Lauren and Courtney coming back. But Bankstown with the win and it looks like your mate Brittany Wright, Lockie, is really finding her feet in this league. She ended up with 17-11 and her touch around the basket is certainly coming back.
00:24:57
Speaker
Yeah, for someone who claims she needed to get her match legs under her just last week, it hasn't taken her long to produce. So, you know, shaking off the jet lag, getting into a rhythm and yeah, 17 and 11 for the Alabama State Hornets legend.
00:25:15
Speaker
Look, while her legs are still finding their way, her touch under the basket is well and truly back, so I don't think she needs to worry too much about her legs just yet. But it was Rachel Dunlop as well. She was a standout for the Bruins with 17 and five, but Brianna
00:25:31
Speaker
Mamone, who is formerly Brianna Hennessy, was back with stuffing the stat sheet. 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, five steals, and two blocks. And for the Hawks, it was all about elegant. 22 points, seven rebounds, and seven steals. Now, the downside for the Hawks this game, they only shot 23% overall.
00:25:53
Speaker
sorry, 23% from the three-point line and 31% overall. No George Arndorf, unfortunately, and just looking at both teams, a lot of unforced errors. Lots of, you know, the teams weren't really looking after the ball very well, lots of sloppy play. So it kind of made for a little bit of a bit of quite an eventful game, a lot of back and forth, but once they found their feet, it was the Bankstown Bruins that had the win.
00:26:20
Speaker
So look, I think we better jump
Nicole Munger Guest Interview
00:26:23
Speaker
right in. We have a very special guest to introduce to you tonight. Our first guest is Nicole Munger. She is a Michigan alumni. While she was at Michigan, she was a Big Ten Honorable Mention in her senior year. And by that same senior year, she reached a thousand career points.
00:26:42
Speaker
uh including her career best of 27 points versus Washington which included seven three-pointers but now we know Nicole as the uh the leader of this new castle new look new castle falcons nbl1 east women's team this year and she also made her way to the UC cap so she is just stealing hearts all the way from new castle to Canberra Nicole Munger it is absolute
00:27:11
Speaker
Pleasure to have you as our very first guest of Easter Got Game. Welcome. Oh, no. Thank you guys so much for having me. I mean, so exciting. It's so really cool to see how the East is taking off. And it's because of people like you guys, really blasting. It's been really cool to see. So really, really exciting. Thank you for having me.
00:27:30
Speaker
Oh, gosh, no, pleasure is all ours. Thank you for the shout out to we, Lockie and I have been around the league, you know, since it was Waratar, you know, for a while, in different capacities, myself being a player for a while and Lockie once upon a time having his blog about when we used to still be called Waratar or Championship League Sky Blue Hoops, who he was really a trendsetter and ahead of the time with creating alternative media content for the league. So
00:28:00
Speaker
Yeah, really, really great to have you on. But, I mean, how are you after the weekend? Oh, it's been a wonderful weekend. I think everybody at Broadband and Basketball Stadium won for the Falcons. We have 5-0 this weekend, which is really, really exciting. The awards are all men, youth league women, youth league men, us, and then the guys. So, super, super exciting. Great weekend here in Anui.
00:28:21
Speaker
Yeah, that sounds like an awesome weekend. I mean, I'm not too surprised either. Newcastle doing Newcastle things. Me as a Central Coast player hate to admit that Newcastle has been very successful in the last few years. They've done a really great job of being able to create a huge pathway all the way from grassroots up to MBL1. So no surprise that you guys are 5-0 this weekend. Well done. Oh, that's all of us. It was pretty cool. But yeah, definitely a good weekend.
00:28:52
Speaker
And so your team is currently 3-0 now, with others up there at the top of the ladder with other finals contenders. And it's early, but you may be feeling pretty optimistic. Am I right to say that? Yeah, I think we're just still trying to find our groove, too, which is pretty cool. We still have some more pieces coming in, which is really exciting. And I know the girls have been practicing for so long, and I kind of just got thrown back into the mix once Caps season finished up.
00:29:21
Speaker
So they're still getting used to playing with me. We have a little bit of a new book and I'm getting used to playing with them So it's been really exciting. It's great to have three good wins. I Don't think we're gonna get too far ahead of ourselves just yet. I think we have a lot more to prove You know even with manly having some injuries Canberra definitely had some injuries to Sutherland being the first game you're not really sure what to expect for both sides of the ball I think our team as long with every team in the league is gonna change a lot through the next what is it four months and
00:29:48
Speaker
So, you know, just going to keep trying to find our groove, play our best basketball and hopefully, hopefully that comes in, you know, July, August. So a new, new look, obviously no Kyra in the, uh, in the front court anymore, but bringing in Abby Curtin and, uh, club legend, Alison Ebsery back. Yeah. How's the adjustment been playing, playing with those two instead of having Kyra there in the front court? Oh, I mean, whenever you lose somebody as, you know, potent as Kyra and you see what she did at Michigan this year, um, really, really great freshman year and.
00:30:19
Speaker
you know, they did big things. I mean, it's going to be tough, tough to replace, but I think power by committee with Abby coming in, um, she's been wonderful. It's been so like my first two, two weeks getting to play with her. So we're still figuring each other out. I think I like ran into her back and knock the ball out of bounds this weekend, um, accidentally. So we're still figuring it out, but you know, she's been so such a power, um, along with Allison playing, playing down there. And then we have reach back, um, begin skin.
00:30:43
Speaker
back in that role too, and she's doing really good things. And then you haven't got to see too much of her yet, but one of our young guns, Hannah Chicken, will be playing up with us just pending some state stuff and her 18 responsibilities, but she's gonna be really good for us too. And it's really cool to get to take her under my wing and our wing and get to show her what it is to play older basketball, professional basketball. So it's really exciting. She did really well against Sutherland. So we just love having her on the court too.
00:31:11
Speaker
Yeah, Hannah Chicken is someone that I got to coach against a couple of times last year, and I thought she was top-age 18, so it's a surprise to me. I mean, bottom-age 18, so now she's top-age 18 this year, so she's definitely an exciting talent. She's talked to you very much about her prospects of what to do after junior basketball.
00:31:32
Speaker
Yeah, we talk about it a lot. I mean, it's really cool for me and my impact that I can have in Newcastle just with my American experience. So we talk about it a lot of, you know, what's next for her. And we're just kind of working towards that day by day, week by week, month by one, month by month. But I think getting her playing at the top level in the club
00:31:50
Speaker
is just really exciting. We get some good footage of her that we can send her to America if that's what she pursues. And if not, she's going to have some great opportunities waiting for her with whatever she decides. So really exciting time for her. She comes from a great family, which is really cool to see. And you know, they really support her as do we. So it's been awesome with her. And I forget, like I look at her and I forget, she's like, she just turned 17 and I'm like, oh my gosh, you know, this guy's the limit. So it's really, really cool.
00:32:16
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, when I was watching, commentating the Sutherland Newcastle game, I was like, if I didn't know how young she was, I would not have picked it in the slightest. Oh, I forgot. I went and I told her something at halftime after halftime. I was like, dude, this, this, and this. And I get done like the whole minute thing. And she was like, am I on offensive defense? And I was like, Oh man, let me go back. So I just forget how young she is. Um, but she's, she's just a good person first and foremost, and then, you know, doing really good things for us on the court too. So I'll really cool.
00:32:47
Speaker
Yeah, she certainly holds her own, especially given her age and her potential. And last year, Newcastle Falcons finished third, but lost a qualifying final to Manly. Was there a feeling that you had some unfinished business after last season as you met Manly in round two?
00:33:07
Speaker
Yeah, we got them early, which was pretty cool when it was back, back here at home again. So definitely got for the first game. So we played them twice at home, you know, on a Ralph with that being the last game and this being the first game of this year. So a little bit, I think it's a, we definitely have a new look.
00:33:22
Speaker
Um, so it was also kind of a bit of a new chapter, but I think yeah It was one that we definitely had circled when we saw the the fixture come out and you know Really excited just to play that first home game. Um, there's nothing better than a saturday night of bread better So, I mean it's been really cool. Um Get that win and then again this weekend I got to welcome camera back. So I got to see tansi and sally Um and all the camera folks, so that was really cool, too
00:33:46
Speaker
Yeah, what was it like having to play against some of your brand new, you know, handicapped teammates? They were getting mad at me because I kept joking with them. I think in practice, I'm just used to just messing with them. And I don't talk a lot, but I make jokes to them the whole time and get under their skin and try to and I think they just started getting frustrated with me.
00:34:07
Speaker
because I kept smiling and laughing at them but it was fun. They're some of my really good mates and it's just been incredible you know to get to meet so many good people down in Canberra there's nothing but positivity down there so it's really really cool and you know get to see him again. We miss Chloe but it was still really really cool.
00:34:27
Speaker
So, considering how good your WMBL season was, was there a thought of maybe staying there for MBL1 or moving to another MBL1 East Conference or even heading back overseas? It crossed my mind a little bit, but really what ended up
00:34:45
Speaker
Um, crossing my mind was I really just wanted to come back to Nui, you know, they, when I finished the MDL one East season last year, I was planning to go back to Spain, um, instead of, you know, this WBL circuit this year. And I didn't end up doing that. There were some couple of things that happened and, um, with that Spanish team and it just didn't feel right. So I decided to stick it, stick it out over here and they, they gave me a home. They gave me a job. They gave me, um, you know, my visa was still good. So I was blessed to be able to stay for a bit longer and they gave me.
00:35:16
Speaker
Anything I needed and that was really really cool. So when it came time to make my decision, I think it was pretty easy for me I wanted to come back You know say thank you to the people of Newcastle. These are some of my some of my great friends here, too And I also just feel like when I'm here I have good relationships built and my ability to have such an impact with the club the association and
00:35:35
Speaker
you know just the town in general and the people here and I really really value that impact that I can have and I'm really excited for this year you know to build on what we had last year on the court's one thing but also off the court and promoting women's sport for the young girls of Newcastle I get to coach this year I'm coaching the 16 girls and it's just such a some of my passion points I just love it so I'm just really excited to be back for for everything basketball but also you know not the basketball stuff too.
00:36:02
Speaker
Yeah, I think Newcastle and perhaps to a lesser extent, Illawarra have that real one club city mentality where everyone gets behind the one club, which you don't really have as much in Sydney because it's also, you know, segmented by district. Yeah, definitely. And that's what's really cool. You know, we have such a big area here. I mean, the closest club is Maitland and then, you know, you look past that and what is it? Central coast, which is still about an hour south. So it's been really cool. You know, we have such a big area. Um,
00:36:30
Speaker
Newcastle is expanding like crazy. You look at the association, some of the best numbers in BNSW. And I know they're looking towards some big things with hopefully, you know, a WMBL team soon. New stadiums coming up hopefully here in the next three to five years is the goal. But the plans that they have here are pretty big and it's going to be exciting to see what happens.
00:36:50
Speaker
in the future with the new GM, Matt, he's been wonderful. So it's going to be really cool to see what happens. And his leadership so far has been great. I mean, now we've run out to fire. I mean, it's been cool that he wants to take it big. He's put a brand new sound system in fixing things and getting ready to move across the street once we can get that going.
00:37:09
Speaker
Yeah, I noticed some of the pyrotechnics on social media. I've also noticed actually the club's social media has been more active as well with some really cool highlight reels. So shout out to your new social media and marketing team there at the club. Now you did mention that, you know, the pyrotechnics have been added, the new sound system, but have they fixed the dead spots under the basket on court
Newcastle Home Court Atmosphere
00:37:32
Speaker
one? Because there are definitely spots when you want to go up for a power layup at Broadmeadow that it's just dead. Oh, that's a home court advantage.
00:37:39
Speaker
We know about it. You don't have to worry about that one. We know about those. Yeah, they're everywhere. But it's what makes it so special when I get to play.
00:37:49
Speaker
play there I think it is really special because of the atmosphere that we have it's like the old school feel you know the history that's been played there the legends that have come through and to get to play there and you know I look up and I get the chills before every game because I'm like oh there's so many people that have come before me and come before us and played you know some great basketball there and so every you know some people may think of it as bad but you know it's just the story that that building's been written so it's been it's really cool playing there I love all the dead spots
00:38:18
Speaker
So playing on court, we talked after the game against Sutherland and you mentioned how you guard players differently or some players differently in MBL1 to what you do at WMBL level. So can you just elaborate on exactly what you mean by that and how your style of play adapts between the two levels?
00:38:39
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's just shy into, I mean, it's been great getting to play at the WMBL level, which is, I mean, it's such a great league with just superstar athletes. Every single game we line up against some of my idols, some like, oh, it's so cool. And then coming back down to the East, I just really want to try to improve. So the things where I struggled with, you know, in the WMBL of, you know, getting over ball screens, you know, trying to pressure a little bit more in distance, guarding guards. I got this year just by virtue of
00:39:08
Speaker
Sadly injuries I had to slide over to the four spot, which isn't natural for me So I was guarding a lot of fours this year which ended up, you know I got on the court which was really cool for me personally But um, I had to change my style of defense. So now just getting back into that guard roll, which coach Billy and I talk about a lot of you know, trying to get back into that three spot for me It's just a different bit of a mentality. It's almost um, not that it's the offseason But for WBL prep just trying to work on, you know, just how I can get better at kind of my weak spots
00:39:38
Speaker
So, that's just always trying to get better. I think in your current Falcons roster, you might have the opportunity to guard the likes of Jess Ralph and Sophie Kleeman at the point guard spot to work on those guarding the ball skills. But then someone that I feel is quite similar, like we've touched on talking about Abby Curtin before,
00:40:03
Speaker
But I feel like your games are really, really similar. Like you both have really good, like the similar skill sets and heart wise and the way that you guys like can score under the basket is really similar. Do you guys match up at training?
00:40:17
Speaker
Oh, sometimes it's been a bit tough. We're a bit short on numbers right now. Um, just do some injuries and we're, like I said, we're excited to get one more, uh, import in common in a couple of weeks, hopefully. Um, so we've been a bit short. So sometimes she starts into the four or five spot and I'm staying at the guard. Um, but whenever we get switched on to each other, it gets really competitive. Um, I don't mind the physicality and she's a footy player. So it gets, it gets a bit physical, but that, you know, that's what it's about. And, you know, just pushing each other has been a lot of fun.
00:40:45
Speaker
So, yeah, it's been cool. Whenever we do match up against each other, it turns into a game of footy. So, you've only been here for, I guess, not even a year, a calendar, only 12 months, but you seem so invested, not just in Newcastle, but in NBL1 East. What potential do you think this league has?
00:41:07
Speaker
Oh, such potential. I think when you look, it gets a lot of heat for not being as talented as per se the other conferences, but it's our second year. And it's the second year of the conference, which is still a baby. All the other conferences have had a couple more years to develop to get the imports in, to learn the timing of it all. And last year was a half COVID year, really, with the preparation starting a bit later.
00:41:31
Speaker
The sky's the limit. I think it's just a matter of time. You even see it this year. Some of the contracts offered in this league are now matching the other conferences, which is really, really exciting. You have teams that are looking to bring in high power imports, looking to grow their association from their youth level up.
00:41:50
Speaker
And it's really really exciting what's going on. And I think even cooler you know we get to be a part of it and when we look back I think one day we'll be really proud of it and really proud of our steps in these first couple years to get the grassroots you know just growing so really really exciting time.
Nicole Munger on NBL1 East Growth
00:42:05
Speaker
Have you got any other teams on your radar that you haven't played against yet where you're kind of like oh that's going to be a tough matchup. Oh I mean I think
00:42:15
Speaker
Everyone I think it's really cool. You know, it's a fresh year. So you have no idea like anybody can jump on any given night Like I said, I think we're really trying to still figure ourselves out Figure out the offense figure out how to play together. So I think anyone can have a really good game on any night Obviously, you know they we have some high-powered Players coming into this league with with the comments with even coe even though they're all you know a bit younger They're high-powered in the next the next opals
00:42:42
Speaker
And forgive me, I'm probably missing so many more, you know, high powered offenses and defenses in this league. So anybody can beat anybody in any given night, which is exciting. Um, but yeah, that top half of the league, I think it's going to be really, really, really competitive. Um, and that's just going to be a toss up of, you know, injuries who can gel at the right time. Um, like I said, we are three and oh, but man, they was missing some people. Southern was the first game Canberra, you know, so we're not getting too high on ourselves yet, but you just got to keep working, you know, stick to what we're doing and, you know, hopefully it continues.
00:43:12
Speaker
Yeah, it's really interesting. We've still got the likes of Loz Nicholson, Eliza Favreau to join the league after they're still right in the high of winning a WMBL chip. So who can blame them, really? Can't blame them. And of course, Shyla Hill is going to be sitting up for Comets and they're already off to a great start to their debut season in MBL 1 East as well. So no doubt that the standard is just only going to go up.
00:43:39
Speaker
What's really interesting is the amount of injuries already. So the likes of Canberra missing some of their main players like Bianca Dufimaya has finally made a comeback to playing semi-pro, but unfortunately is out again. And apparently one round was a knee and a next round it's an ankle. So she didn't suit up against the Crusaders or the Falcons on the weekend. And as we know, Chloe Touliak as well out with injuries. So how do you feel about
00:44:06
Speaker
The NBA won East compared to the other conferences starting so much earlier. Do you feel like that is a good thing or a bad thing in terms of rosters and injuries?
00:44:17
Speaker
Oh, I think for my personal view, I mean, coming from the WMBL, it was really tough. I think there was no way I was really planning to play that first Sutherland game when I looked at it even a couple of months ago and then with the concussion and my papers weren't even cleared in time. So from my perspective, really, really tough and you're missing the likes of Charlotte Laws, a lot of other players that are winning championships three weeks after the season starts, which is really tough. It also makes it a bit tougher for imports because
00:44:47
Speaker
They're finishing up in Europe if they're playing over there and it makes it just the window a bit shorter They have to get here sooner to make the qualifications for playoffs So it limits the number a bit So I think looking forward that could be something that the league looks out of, you know starting April 1 Because I think the South starts April 1 and they still finish the 29th of July they they have a bit easier because they're a bit more centrally located with just being around Melbourne and
00:45:12
Speaker
I know they have, you know, a couple flights in there with Tassie and stuff, but for the most part, they're a bit closer knit.
00:45:19
Speaker
something to look at. We'll see if the East is able to do it and just condense the schedule a little bit. But you know, it's what we're drawing this year. And I think it's been cool. It's it's allowed us you know, we started we started hot. So we're three and oh, which we're thankful for. But yeah, something without laws is definitely a different team. So it's definitely a shame that we we are starting the games with some of our high powered players not able to play because they're playing in the W.
00:45:45
Speaker
Yeah, and I think like NBA won last season, especially with the likes of the, I think it was not so much East, but it was more like North and perhaps Central, I think. By the time we got to NBA 1 Nationals, which was I think mid-August, if my memory serves me correctly,
00:46:04
Speaker
especially in the men's, they were missing all of their MBL players because they had to start preparing for preseason and the MBL blitz. So the timing between coming off the back of one pro season and leading into the next pro season is really, really tight. So it's a conversation around how much do we sacrifice and compromise to make sure those players can still play MBL one and then
00:46:29
Speaker
you know, the majority, knowing that the majority of the NBL one plays perhaps aren't the professionals.
Balancing NBL1 and Professional Commitments
00:46:35
Speaker
So we're kind of putting a lot on the line just for a small percentage of professionals, but they also, you know, make the leaves super competitive. So it's a fine balance, I think. Yeah, it's interesting what you bring up of, you know, the finals are going to go late into the year. So it's going to be interesting to see, you know, with whoever wins, if people start going back into the, you know, the WBL mode or NBL mode.
00:46:57
Speaker
Because we saw it like last year with LJ, a bit prepared for the World Cup. But the same thing of I think we have to report early to mid-September. So it's going to be interesting to see what athletes do and what they decide. So it'll be interesting. It's a good point.
00:47:14
Speaker
We've also got Asia Cup as well, you know, for the women's that's going to be June. I think Locky has highlighted as well that the COE are probably going to miss round five because Opals Camp is going to be on. So they're going to all be, you know, training perhaps with the Opals or at least available to be playing against the Opals in some practice matches at the same time around five.
00:47:36
Speaker
I think I wrote that down as all the dates have lost me. The 14th of April is round five, so no COE women's games that round because of Opus Camp. I'm guessing there may or may not be a break for Fever Asia World Cup in Sydney, where you might see the likes of Loz Nicholson suit up. You might see Charlotte. You might see Reid from, you know, people from other conferences. So yeah, there's a lot going on. Super interesting.
00:48:04
Speaker
Certainly is. And then there's under 19 worlds for the women. So we've got a stack draw. They don't play for the last five weeks in the women's because they're all over at World Cups. Barcelona. Gosh, they're going to come back and they're going to be used to, you know, all these fast 19 year olds that are just, you know, running and gunning. And we're going to be we're going to be playing our our more smart and be all older basketball and they're going to come back and just
00:48:30
Speaker
run. But I'm gonna be tired from Barcelona, too. So we'll see. It's gonna be interesting. I mean, I mean, they're blessed to get to go to Barcelona. I love Barcelona, but it'll be interesting to see for sure. It's whereabouts did you play when you played in Spain? I was in La Palma, which is right off the coast of Morocco on the Canary Islands. Really small, small, like quiet islands. Pretty much woke up, went to lift, played basketball, went to the beach.
00:48:58
Speaker
took a nap there and ate some lunch and then came back to practice. So life wasn't too hard. It was awesome. Get to do my favorite things. I think that's where, is that what Brad Newley played in Canary Islands, I think for a while? Yes, possibly. There's a couple, my team was, it was the first year, it was actually the first women's professional team on the island that I was playing on, which was really, really special. But there's a couple islands. There are some really, really high powered teams in the Endesa, the top level Spanish league. So,
00:49:26
Speaker
It's a really great spot, great beaches, great people. Still some of my best friends are there, so it's really cool.
00:49:33
Speaker
Yeah, sounds like you had a nice balance of lifestyle between basketball and downtime. I know there's a lot of players, like particularly Australian players, they have that, some of them have that real mumbo mentality of investing their whole life into improving their performance on basketball. So making sure that they're doing, ticking all the right boxes. So I'm talking about even some of your UC caps, teammates, Brit Smart,
00:49:59
Speaker
and young shares who were really invested in like their mental health and their physical stuff and how much they're lifting and getting shots up. So they kind of like invest in their whole life into their ball. But then I also know some players like Beck Allen and Steph Talbot that like to have a complete separation of when I'm at ball, that's all I think about. But when I'm not at basketball, it's a completely different lifestyle. Where do you yourself fit in in that realm? What do you all like?
00:50:26
Speaker
I think a little bit of both. And I think it's a tough balance that all athletes kind of have to figure out where they sit. But and this is this is where my this is where I changed my professional. And I'm still a bit working out crazy, really would definitely say. But when I was growing up, all I did was just basketball. I think I went outside and shot for like four or five hours every night until it got dark that my parents would call me in. It was right up front. We had a cul de sac. So it was awesome. But
00:50:52
Speaker
you know, lifting as much as I could, running every day, you know, and it was awesome. I couldn't have asked for anything better. It's what I wanted. Um, and I loved it so much. And then I think by the time I got to college and finished college, I was so gassed. I was said nothing left in the tank. And I was like, Oh, I don't know if I can keep playing. And that's when I took two years off and I actually got into coaching, um, over in New York city and I loved it. Um, but that's when the desire came back. And when I went to Spain, it was the first time in my life I had to slow down. We didn't have the gym.
00:51:21
Speaker
24 hours a day. I stole the basketball from the team. I give it back, but, um, and tried to find an outdoor ring and there's none there. Um, it was only, you know, it was locked behind the gates of the schools and you can't climb over the fences there. It's like, you can't do it. So I couldn't get a ring anywhere. So I had only practice during practice.
00:51:40
Speaker
And I could and that was really really tough because that challenged me But I had to find different way different things to do to keep me physically fit and active But through that all I think I found happiness outside and other things, you know hanging out friends going to the beach just getting coffee Meeting with my teammates investing in them investing in my coaches film different things that are basketball related but also just personal life related and when I was able to pour into those different cups and
00:52:05
Speaker
my basketball game elevated. Um, so for me, it's just about finding balance of, you know, off the court stuff on the court stuff. Um, but like you said, like when you're on the court, it's just full go. Um, and that's what I love. And then when I'm off the court, I can take that piece of mind, um, and focus on what I'm doing. And I think now more than ever, you know, relationships are so important to me developing those fostering them, uh, pulling into the cups of my teammates coaches. So I'm thankful for that experience because
00:52:32
Speaker
I don't know. I think my career would be cut short, definitely, if I kept it up the way I was moving. It was just too much.
00:52:38
Speaker
Yeah, it's definitely such a thing as too much of a good thing. Like, I don't think people really realize or like when you're in your late teens, early 20s, you do already that you like on paper, you're not supposed to have so much resilience. But I feel like you have a lot more resilience in those years of life, like heaps more than you realize, because especially when you're living that semi pro elite basketball lifestyle where you're
00:53:03
Speaker
going like going at an unsustainable rate of training. And you know, when you're at college to studying full time, it's essentially two full time jobs. So props to you for taking that two year break. I don't know. I love the break. I mean, I found something that I loved in coaching. And if it wasn't for COVID, I don't know if I'd be doing this right now, I'd probably still be coaching. So not I mean, it was a terrible thing with so many people that I died and got sick and everything. But for me,
00:53:31
Speaker
it reignited me with basketball. So really thankful for that. But yeah, it's really, really interesting how, especially young athletes kind of find that balance. But I always say when I was able to find the balance of happiness off the court and on the court, that's when my best basketball was played. So it's definitely a balance. But when you're young, you don't think anything else. And then you get the pro ball and all you do is you go to practice and then you go home. So you get pretty bored. So you have to fill those voids.
00:53:59
Speaker
It sounds like Newcastle are certainly taking care of you off court, which we are very happy to hear about. You've got your 16 girls as well. Coach, are you going to get the chip this year with the 16 girls? Oh, I hope so. They're competitive. And the best part is, though, at that age, I mean, we've such a drop off in girls basketball around the country and I think just around the world. So just the ability to influence them and to show them that it's possible.
00:54:26
Speaker
As long as they have fun, that's the championship for us. I think we'll be really competitive, have some really good pieces. They're great kids. They listen. They want to get better. They're really invested. So as long as they can get better and they enjoy the year, that's all we want. But yeah, on the court, I think they'll be pretty tough too. Yeah. Perfect.
Women's League Round Three Recap
00:54:46
Speaker
And so just before we wrap up the episode, Nicole, you're welcome to stay online if you want, or we're going to wrap up, we're going to go through the women's rounds, and then we're going to go through our all-star fives for the men's and women's for round three. So if you like, you're welcome to stick around, put in your two cents as well, give us some feedback, just chime in whenever you need. So I'm going to quickly take us through the results of round three for MBL1 East 2023 and the women's.
00:55:16
Speaker
competition. So Bankstown snatching the win against the Illawarra Hawks 78-70. Centre of Excellence, they were challenged in this round by the Panerith Panthers, props to the Panthers, but the COE snatching that win 88-81. Manly Waringa Sea Eagles beat my beloved Central Coast Crusaders 88-79. Aubrey Wodonga Bandits were just way too good for the Hills Hornets
00:55:43
Speaker
down at the Lauren Jackson Basketball Stadium. They won 101-53. Newcastle Falcons getting a great win at home against the Canberra Nationals 61-15, where you had a very casual 15-11. Just a cheeky there, double-double there for you, Nicole. No, it was a good day for the Falcons. It was a lot of fun.
00:56:07
Speaker
It looks like quite a good spread of contribution from your team as well, that game. So we love to see that so early in the season too. And then we rolled around to Sutherland where they beat the Inner West Bulls 88 to 68. Inner West Bulls debuting Michaela Dompkins and Leilani Mitchell. They are back despite the speculation that Michaela Dompkins wasn't going to suit up. She is back and she's already firing with 27 and 10 in that game.
00:56:35
Speaker
Sydney Comets 109, just purely dominant over the Hornsby. Coringa spiders with 53. And then we backed up on Sunday. So it was the first round, as we said, where we saw some double headers. Center of Excellence hosting Illawarra Hawks beating them 86 to 50. Maitland Mustangs at home against the North Bears, but they went down 50 to 73.
00:56:59
Speaker
And wrapping it up, Central Coast Crusaders hosted the Canberra Nationals with a comeback win in the second half, taking the win at 90 to 81. So any surprises in those results for you, Nicole?
00:57:15
Speaker
I don't know. Like I said, it's still really early, um, but really exciting on the league shaking out. And like you said, everybody's starting to get their players back, um, from WMBL or other commitments. So it's going to be really, really exciting as we, as we start to round out. Like I said, we have a secret import coming, um, which you guys haven't maybe not have heard about yet. So it's going to be really cool, um, to see how this goes and as teams start to finalize their rosters fully and get back to, you know, really getting in training and getting, getting to know each other, it's going to be exciting.
00:57:43
Speaker
Yeah, like you said, it's anyone's shot on any given night in this league, which is why we love it so much. But what we've started to do as well, Nicole, in these episodes is give our All-Star fives for the
All-Star Five Highlights
00:57:54
Speaker
round. So I'm going to throw to Lockie, because this week he was responsible for the All-Star five for the men's competition.
00:58:01
Speaker
I certainly was Squian, so I'll just kick off with a few honourable mentions. Players such as Will Cranston-Lown and Noah Thomas who had really good overall performances, Cranston-Lown, 16 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 4 blocks.
00:58:16
Speaker
and Noah Thomas from Manly, 22.7 rebounds, four assists, four steals. Some guys with some big double doubles, Mike Parks from Albury and Sean Montague from Hills, both notched up 15 rebounds. Miles Cherry and Ryan Beasty from Newcastle doing the same. Oh, they were good. They were really, really good. Going against Glen too, they were defending and then going down on the offensive end and doing it too. So it was a really good day for both Miles and Beasty.
00:58:43
Speaker
And Glenn Morrison was quite good. He had 27 and eight against Central Coast and 17 and six against Newcastle. And then guys like Davo Hickey, he just keeps getting it done, does a little bit of everything at a double-double against Bankstown and dished seven assists, and then six against COE. And Junior Madrid, Josh Payne, Daniel Milburn, all big scoring efforts, and Sharif's side payer. Fight out, score the ball for Hornsby. But let's go to the All-Star Five. We'll kick off with
00:59:13
Speaker
Someone from Squins area, Luke Cassidy, who had two big games, 25 points, three rebounds and three assists against Canberra. And 22 points, five rebounds, two assists, four steals against Manly in that tight loss. Tony Tolivay from Inner West, just an elite scoring night. 24 points, nine rebounds, two assists, shooting nine of 11 from two point range.
00:59:43
Speaker
Ben Henshaw, big game for COE against Dilawara. When you outshine some of the other players on that, Ross, you know you're having a good night. And he finished with 30 points, five rebounds, five assists, and four steals in that 24-point win. And then Jameer Coleman, the man playing down on the banks of the Murray at Aubrey-Wodonga, 30 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 70% from the field, leading Aubrey to an 80-70 win over Hills.
01:00:11
Speaker
And then doubling up for Central Coast, we got Aaron Redhead with a big 22 and 15 and knocking down eight of 10 free throws in the win over Canberra and then chipped in another 14 points and four rebounds against Manly Waringa to round out the front court of this week's men's All-Star Five. But with so many games this week, it really was a close run thing across all positions.
01:00:36
Speaker
Yeah, super tough, super tough. I know that looking at the stat line, it was, I mean, there were a lot of honorable mentions as well, which is probably reflective of how tough it was. But Nicole, if you were at the Newcastle Gunners game, what were your takeaways from that game? Did you watch very much?
01:00:53
Speaker
Yeah, you know, I was there, I was watching a lot of it, and I was also chatting to everyone. So I was watching, but when I did get to watch and sit down and, you know, actually focus on it, I think there was one sequence where Beastie like got a rebound, somehow the ball got kicked out, ended up on the floor, he dove for it, got back up and finished the layup. So
01:01:14
Speaker
I mean, the energy that he plays with and, you know, Miles just playing so big Tommy Dawson to just defending their bigs and then running in transition was something something really impressive. And, you know, six man shout out the crowd has been unreal in Newcastle for the first first two home games. So shout out to all the Newcastle folks, because it's been really, really exciting. Definitely, definitely six man advantage. So it's been cool.
01:01:38
Speaker
Yeah, I've even noticed that the Crusaders games, our attendance this year so far, I think has been certainly a lot more than last season. And I'm not too sure what that attributes to, given that the WNBL and the NBL had record crowds in both seasons this year, overall, and particular milestone games as well. I really wonder if that is some
01:02:01
Speaker
transition, like follow through from those big seasons that people still want to be invested in basketball. And we're seeing crowds coming back after COVID. But yeah, shout out to the fans so far. It's been a great atmosphere.
01:02:12
Speaker
great atmospheres. For our games too, usually we get people that come in just for the end of our game and then the rest of the boys' game. But I felt like these past few games, people have been coming at five, coming for the start of our game. And then a lot of people come up to me after the game saying like, hey, we see all you guys at the schools because we go around to the schools and do the coaching. And our kids love it. They know you. And just getting to watch you play, we have so much fun. So it's been really cool, really, really cool up here in New York.
01:02:41
Speaker
I love that for the meaningful fan engagement. That's how you're going to keep up, retain some fans by going to the schools. That's how I started going to the Central Coast Cavaliers games back in the 90s when it was CBA, which was even before Waratar, because the development officer played on the team, and he used to come to the school, and that's how I got hooked. And I haven't left since, so they've not rid of me yet.
01:03:09
Speaker
I was tasked with the women's all-stars and again it was another tough week especially given they were double-headers. Honorable mentions to Meg Jefferson from the Panerith Panthers who had 24 and 13 versus the COE and Brady Page Theodore from Aubrey Wodonga Bandits.
01:03:27
Speaker
with another stats sheet stuffer, 26 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals against Hills. Now, I'm going to leave the absolute best of this week to the very, very end. I'm trying to try and build this fence.
01:03:43
Speaker
But in my All-Star five this week, we've got Vanessa Penussis for the Sydney Comets who had 37 points and 10 assists. So the unusual double double with assists versus the Hornsby Spiders. Then we've got Emily Garland again from the Sutherland Sharks making a second appearance in our All-Star five with 31 points and eight rebounds against the inner West Bulls. Then we have Sarah Matthews from the Central Coast Crusaders who had a big weekend.
01:04:13
Speaker
Against Manly she had 19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. So just everywhere being an absolute menace. And then against Canberra she had 23 and 15 and I think she was 90% from the free throw line.
01:04:30
Speaker
Then the fourth on the list is Jess Petrie from the COE who had 26 points in just 26 minutes and I think 14 rebounds as well against Panareth which was a really really great game it looks like statistically and the score line but
01:04:49
Speaker
The absolute goat for this round is Talia Tupé from Penrith Panthers. Okay, so 45 points at the end, already definitely an all-star five and what perhaps, you know, player of the week, but it gets better for her. She also had six rebounds, four assists, four steals,
01:05:11
Speaker
She was 43% field goal percentage overall. And she was 14 from 14 from the free-through line. And I say, good night, round three. This was Carly. She's coming to your records, Cole.
01:05:29
Speaker
It's going to be, it's bound to be broken. I mean, boundary broken in this league. It's really cool. I think every week I look, I mean, it's only been three, but like the double doubles are just getting bigger. Um, it's been really, really exciting. The stats of being statues are being filled. Um, really, really, really cool. Um, really, really cool. So great for her. Super exciting for the league. Um, and that was a really, really close game too. Um, sometimes you see like the 50 point games and you're like, yeah, it's really great. You know, but that was a really, really close game against a good team. Um,
01:05:58
Speaker
really great player. So it's gonna be really exciting. It's a great, great league, great start. It's gonna be wonderful. Yeah, but you are leading the league still in rebound. So you're still definitely up there in the in the ladders for statistics so far for MBL one eighth. But on the other plus side for Talia is that she's going to be your teammate for the next WMBL season. So excited. So, so, so excited. I actually have her jersey, one for practice jerseys in my closet from
01:06:26
Speaker
caps this year. So I can't wait to get to play her and give her that to her and get to meet her for the first time. So I'm really, really, really excited for that. And it's really cool to get to see her ball and just kill it. So really excited. Yeah, just be ready to catch it when you're open on the wing come caps time. I think she'll see it to you. Yeah, because in her and Jade, it's going to be unreal.
01:06:47
Speaker
So for round four in the women's comp, we've got Manly against Illawarra, Centre of Excellence against North, that's going to be one of my games of the week. Maitland vs Hornsby, Sutherland vs Natz, Canberra Nationals, which is also probably my other personal game of the week. Hills Hornets vs Newcastle, so one of your first or second away games for you guys.
01:07:13
Speaker
Inner West Bulls vs. Ory Wodonga Bandits, Sydney Comets, Bankstown Bruins and Crusaders on the Sunday against Penrith Panthers. So, locky. Similarly, the men's comp is going to be the same draw, I'm guessing, correct? Yes, just about. But give us the shout out. So, the game of the week next week, actually, have we determined what the official game of the week next week is?
01:07:42
Speaker
No, but I think between the two match ups, I would like to see it be a COE in North's. Yeah, I agree. I think across the men's and the women's, that's just going to be a really good one. And there's Opal's Camp, I think down there this weekend. I think Jade was saying that there this weekend. So it'll be really, really cool to highlight that a bit too.
01:08:03
Speaker
So let's name, uh, unofficially the unofficial game and North already on our pick of the list. I also had, uh, yeah, sharks and Canberra as the other pick. And, um, what was the other one? I said, uh, crusaders, Penrith in the women. So what's in Talia again, and then inner West Albury in the men to round out three games to watch.
01:08:28
Speaker
Yes. Awesome. Did you have any other picks, Nicole, that we can, we should probably keep our eyes on? But that's already a lot of good basketball. That's a lot of good basketball, but I will give a shout out to my teammate, Tonksi. Um, it was her first game in like two months, I think. And when she first hit on the court, she was willing to pass this. So shout out to Tonksi first game in two months and absolutely killed us and then followed it up with a 25 point performance the next day. Um, so really happy for her.
01:08:54
Speaker
killing it. So a little individual shout out. Yeah, I love it. I love the women supporting other women. You got to give them a shout out. Love to you. Definitely, definitely. But Nicole, it's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you again so much for being our very, very first guest on Eastcott Game. Hopefully we'll have you back again at some stage, whether it be this season, next season, cap season, whenever. Thank you guys. So incredible. So great that you guys are doing this too. And
01:09:21
Speaker
It's going to be really cool to see how this takes off and how the league goes. Because like I said many times, we're very early in the league, so it's going to be really cool. Yes. So far, any indication, it's been very, very exciting so far. So fingers and toes cross this standard. Just keeps getting better and better. And Locky, as always, thank you again for being an excellent co-host.
01:09:44
Speaker
and bringing all the stats and all the good stuff every single week. But otherwise for now, just going to play this outro music and thanks again for joining everyone. But you can find us as well on Instagram at East Got Game. Make sure you follow Nicole Munger as well on Instagram and on Twitter. Is it Nicole underscore Munger 10? Have I got that right?
01:10:05
Speaker
Oh, I think it's just Nicole Munger 10, but don't quote me on that. I'm not a big social media person to be really honest with you. Search by name. Search by name. There's only one Nicole Munger that you need to remember anyway. I don't know. I don't think so. No, but thank you guys so much. This is incredible. Thanks. Hey, Seats, everyone. And we'll catch you again for round four.