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Season 2 Episode 19: On the Road to Glory with Matt McQuade.
62 Plays3 months ago
Lachy and Squin briefly review the NBL1 East 2024 preliminary finals before diving into a grand final preview with the legendary, Matt McQuade. The trio also discuss the hotly anticipated and slightly controversial NBL1 East 2024 Awards. Who you got?
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Transcript
Introduction and MBO1 East Awards Context
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello East Got Game fans, it's just Squint here. Just wanted to preface this episode by letting you know that in between recording our episodes the MBO1 East award nominations were announced. So we went into this episode to discuss the nominations and possibly throw out some predictions. but the day after we started recording this episode the award recipients started to get announced and we were under the impression that all award recipients would be officially announced on August 10th being the same day as the grand final. So in this episode we will discuss the nominations but not knowing who ended up receiving the awards just for context but nonetheless we hope you enjoy this episode and we hope that you're all getting very hyped
00:00:50
Speaker
for the MBO1 ACE 2024 Grand Finals this weekend. Enjoy!
NBL One East Finals and Olympic Excitement
00:01:04
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of East Got Game, an unofficial podcast about the NBL One East competition for 2024. My name's Jacinta, and I am starting to sweat already up here in Brisbane because it is finals time. And with me, as always, is Lockie France, but Lockie, you look a little bit rugged up down there. How are you going? I'm feeling very Olympic today. Again? Good, good. As I am every day at the moment. Um, are you willing to share with our listeners what your Olympic schedule has looked like since the game started? Um, get up at 3pm, go to bed at 6.30am and just watch the Olympics for 16 hours a day. What have been some of your highlights of the Olympics so far? Uh, Grace Brown in the time trial. Uh, Jess Fox, obviously.
00:02:00
Speaker
Um, I mean, swimming's always full of highlights. Um, the men's individual archery final was especially great. It went to, so it came down to the final set and they both shot 30 out of 30. So three tens to take it to a shoot off. And then the shoot off is just one arrow closest to the center wins. And the Korean archer beat the American by five millimeters. Wow. The American was six centimeters from center and the Korean was five and a half centimeters from center. Wow. That's incredible. Cause on the outside, I imagine not a lot of people would be excited for archery, but when you recall a event like that, it sounds super exciting.
00:02:58
Speaker
Yeah, that was it was epic.
NBL One North Grand Finals and Maitland's Victory
00:03:02
Speaker
Well, up here on the weekend, we had the NBL One North Grand Finals, which was a three game series and it was thrilling. So I'm all very excited that we know two teams heading to NBL One Nationals from the 16th to the 18th of August. I imagine your anticipation for the NBL One East Finals this weekend is on par. Uh, yeah, I'm pretty excited because, uh, it's going to be a lot of Sutherland representation there. Correct. It's going to be again, more Sutherland, big Sutherland representation, like just like last year. So having said that, maybe we should get into the results from the semi-finals from the weekend just gone. We'll put the Sutherland result to the side for now and I'll let you take us through the men's results first.
00:03:48
Speaker
Okay, so in the men's competition, first up, we had ah Maitland taking on the Centre of Excellence up there at Maitland Federation Centre. Always a tough place to go. And it was Maitland getting up 94-79 defending home court. Will Cranston loud, 24 points, nine assists, three rebounds and three steals. And Christian Little, 23 points, three rebounds and five assists chipping it as well. And then Will Mortimer, 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench. So in a game full of young stars, it was Maitland's young star coming up big off the bench. Jacob Fervy had 22 for COE and sneaking in, coming back, quite savage, 13 points off the bench in 25 minutes.
00:04:36
Speaker
Yeah, he didn't snuck in there. That was a nice surprise to see on the book score. So having a look at some of the broader statistics between the Maitland Mustangs and the Centre of Excellence in the men's semifinal, 40 free throws for the Maitland Mustangs. That is huge. Shooting 28 from 40 and of those 40, Will Cranston-Lown had 14 and Christian Little had 12. And yeah, and COE committed 27 fouls. I mean, am admittedly Maitland committed 21, but of those 21, they only sent COE to the line for 17 free throws. 27 fouls. I guess when you're committing 27 fouls, it's pretty much guaranteed the opposition is going to spend a lot of time in the bonus. I would love to see how long that game took in real time, because that's a lot of stoppages.
00:05:30
Speaker
The video, which I'm pretty sure they cut out half time and the quarter breaks in the replay, still goes for an hour and 31 minutes. And that's leaving out 14 minutes of breaks for the two minutes of quarters and the 10 minutes of half time. So that's about an hour and 45 minutes for an MBL one game. That's a long cold night for Maitland Mustangs fans. So just as well that they got the
Canberra vs Sydney Comets Semifinal and Sutherland's Surprise Win
00:05:57
Speaker
win. Yeah, I jet. And interesting as well, or maybe not so interesting, but a cool stat. 54 of Maitland's 94 points were in the paint. So that was pretty huge, including 18 in the first quarter. COE only shot 26.67% from the ah three-point line, probably a little bit under than I'd expect from them. Jacob Verkey was three of six. Kai was two of 12. Dash Daniels at 0 of four. Kai, two of 12.
00:06:29
Speaker
shows up, shoots all the threes, leaves. And I do like that Maitland had a pretty good, I mean, obviously Christian Little and Will k Cranston um had the majority of the points, but people, other people were still chipping in. And interestingly, they got 54 points in the paint with James Hunter finishing with only six points for the game. So guys getting into the paint rather than posting up and going to work kind of thing, although Well, more and more probably going to work a bit. Yeah, 11 points and seven rebounds in 15 minutes and 29 seconds. Maitland progressing to their third consecutive grand final, and it will be a rematch of the 2022 decider because the Canberra Gunners got up 73-55 over the Sydney Comets down there at Southern Cross Basketball Stadium at Tuggeranong.
00:07:26
Speaker
Will Mayfield, 19 points, four rebounds, four assists, four steals, and a block, doing a little bit of everything. Glenn Morrison, a double-double, 15 points, 11 rebounds. James Toohey, 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, three steals, and two blocks. But I think probably more to be said about his defense than his offense, despite the fact he did chip in 12 points. Buali Bales, top scored for Comets with 22 points and 16 rebounds. OBJ 15 points and 13 rebounds, but just not really enough support from the remainder of the roster in terms of scoring for the Comet. So yes, rematch of 2022 grand final, which Canberra won by three points at Hills on that occasion. So Maitland looking to go one of three and finally get over the hump next weekend.
00:08:22
Speaker
Yes, it's the grand final rematch. the The two teams in the men's competition in particular that has started to form a rivalry and they're weaving their own history that I'm sure we'll remember for a long time. And just looking back at that game between Maitland and COE, you did mention that, yeah, Kai Savage took a sneaky trip over the border to to suit up. But I noticed there was no Billy Parsons for Maitland. Is there any news on Billy? haven't heard a thing about Billy at our
00:08:56
Speaker
I mean props to Malen for getting the job done without him though. Daniel Milburn stepping into the lineup. Yeah, so hopefully Billy's all right. We may have to have our commentator friend Caleb Fogarty on as a guest after the grand final series to get his full take on on the day and also the Stanger season from his perspective. um But just quickly looking as well at the Gunners and Sydney Comets. a semi-final at Southern Cross Stadium. Two quarters where Sydney were held to single digits. Quarter two, it was 26-9 in favour of the Gunners and quarter four 17-5. That's pretty impressive. A very back and forth game and it was really tight in the third quarter because Comets kept coming back but eventually I think for most of the game it felt like Comets were working harder to get their points. I mean that's evidenced by
00:09:53
Speaker
someone like the Wylie Bales who's been so efficient for the last few weeks, taking 31 shots to get his 22 points. Absolutely. And we always talk about how well the Canberra Gunners can close out games. So after losing the third quarter, 14 to 20, they went on to win 17 to five in the fourth. So certainly well and truly primed for another grand final appearance. And in the women's competition, well, we certainly won't have history repeating anytime soon for the women's grand final, because North's and maitland were ah sorry because north bears and manly whoringa seagulls who were both featured in the women's final last year were knocked out.
00:10:37
Speaker
Lucky, were you surprised or by this result or not really? I was surprised at the margin in the Manly-Waringa Newcastle game, considering how close the previous ones had been. And I was definitely surprised at the margin of Sutherland v North, particularly as to how far out it got before finishing as a 19 point margin. Not especially, I mean, can you really be surprised either way with who wins a Newcastle Manly game this season? And I think it's all just falling into place for Sutherland's own, you know, you get Penoosa's back in previous weeks. She's probably not at her absolute peak, but you know, she managed to play 32 minutes. She might have a, she might have a game legs under her now. That's right. So the final result between the North Bears and Sutherland Sharks held at the Bear Cave was 77 to 96.
00:11:30
Speaker
um With Sutherland Sharks winning the second quarter 10 points to 28 to give them a healthy lead going into halftime.
Sutherland vs Newcastle Grand Final Preview
00:11:40
Speaker
Carla Pittman top scored for North Spares playing the full 40 minutes with 30 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block shooting at 61% overall. And Emily Bessel coming off the bench with 13 points and two rebounds. She was the next top scorer for North Spares. over to Sutherland Sharks and a lot of prolific scoring here from the Sutherland Sharks, led by, well equally led by Lauren Nicholson and Maddie Norris. They each had 25 points. Lauren adding five rebounds, two assists and three steals, shooting at 64.29% overall and Maddie Norris had 25 points, four rebounds and two assists, shooting at 53.85% overall.
00:12:30
Speaker
And then Eliza Favreau also had 18 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, shooting at 46.67%. Absolute hell of a game for Sutherland. They shot the lights out. 48.15% from the three-point line for the game is very impressive. Yeah, Maddie Norris hit four of her first five threes. I think she had 17 points at halftime. You know, if that pick and pop that any team with Maddie Norris loves to run, she had one where she just, Penoose has just brought it up, dished it off and Maddie Norris just walked into one. So they were confident and it turns out they had every reason to be.
00:13:09
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. Like you said, I think it's just all coming together for them at the right time. And then a further drive north up the freeway, we stopped off at Newcastle Basketball Stadium in Broadmeadow, where the Newcastle Falcons hosted Manley-Waringa Sea Eagles, um Newcastle winning on home soil 88 points to 72. having a blistering start winning the first quarter 25 to 12 so a good 13-point lead and it looks like they were able to maintain it most of the game with Manly Warringa only winning the last quarter 23 to 20. So Newcastle's top scorer was Nicole Munger with 20 points eight rebounds and five assists and Isla Jufferman's had 19 points 17 rebounds and two assists
00:14:01
Speaker
And Alyssa Brett also had 17 points and 5 rebounds for Newcastle. And over for Manly Warringa, Alex Delaney top scored for her team with 25 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists shooting at 57.14% overall. And she was strongly supported by Zoe Miller who had 15 points and 6 assists for the game. So, uh, it looks like the grand final matchup is going to be the Sutherland Sharks versus the Newcastle Falcons. And you've put a couple of notes here, Lockie, that these teams shared the 2021 Warrata League Championship when the season ended up being canceled because of COVID and Sutherland lost the 2022 grand final to Aubrey Wodonga. So that was the last time they featured in a grand final.
00:14:54
Speaker
Correct. And interestingly, that lineup also had Lauren Nicholson and Vanessa Penussis. You're correct. It sure did. Going back to the Falcons game, Isla Jufferman's finished with 19 and 17. She had one point at halftime. I think she was one point 13 rebounds or something silly like that. Hannah Chicken was doing more of the scoring. So I think Hannah Chicken had 11 maybe at halftime. and finished with 13. Yeah, Isla Juffman's one point at halftime finished with 19. Not often you get to say say both teams looking for their first championship since the same year. Yeah, that's right. That's right. That's probably a once in a forever opportunity where you can say that.
00:15:43
Speaker
And during the season, these two teams only met just one time and Sutherland lost to Newcastle 83 to 93. Only a 10 point margin. Did Sutherland have Penucis? No, Sutherland wouldn't have had Penucis and Nicholson. Sutherland had Penucis, but not Nicholson in that game. Wow. So that's going to be super exciting. Perhaps the winning formula this time for a championship for the Sharkies. On that occasion, Penucis actually had 18 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists, but shot six of 19 from the field in getting those 18 points. Wasn't a good shooting day at all for the Sharks, 37% from the field for the game. The Sutherland season can more or less be broken into three distinct parts. The part where we had Penucis,
00:16:34
Speaker
The part where we didn't have Penucis or Nicholson and now the part where we have Penucis and Nicholson. Because was there a part where you had Penucis, a part where you had just Nicholson and then a part where you had both? I think one one game where we just had Nicholson. I think we've been without them both more often than we had just Nicholson because of Lauren going on Opal's duty.
Matt McQuaid's Analysis and Semi-Final Insights
00:16:56
Speaker
Yeah, fair enough. Our special guest this week is someone who you will recognise mostly by voice rather than by sight, perhaps. They are a long-standing commentator, not only in MBL1 East and before
00:17:11
Speaker
before the competition, but also at high levels like for the Sydney Kings across multiple platforms. They are essentially the Sydney King himself. And by now, I'm sure you will know who I'm speaking about. It is Matt McQuaid. Hello, Matt. How are you? Hey, guys, I'm really good and excited. Obviously, it's it's that time of year and great to be with you. And and before I get started, I just want to say that I know a lot of people have said this, but just from my perspective and Jacinta knows exactly how much of a pain in the butt I can be about it. ah Is that you guys have been awesome this year. You know, you should be really proud of of what you're putting out every week. um I say pain in the butt because I have been known to bother Jacinta on the odd occasion about when it's coming. Where's my fix? He's got game. Where is it Jacinta?
00:18:04
Speaker
And she tells me to go away, which is fair enough. I understand that. But yeah, no, it's been, you guys have been awesome. Yeah. and And it's not just me saying that I hear it from a lot of people across the league. I mean, I think you know how connected I am with a lot of people right across NBA One East. So it says a lot yeah that we've got this resource. So congratulations on on what you're doing. Please keep doing it because I would suffer severe withdrawal symptoms. It'll be bad enough when when this thing's over anyway. And we've got nothing else to talk about until the next pre-season. Thank you. That's very, very kind of you to say, especially from someone like yourself, Matt. And look, truth be told, full credit to you. You certainly haven't been up my goat as much this year as last year about when the episodes are coming out. So thank you for respecting the boundary.
00:18:53
Speaker
Um, it's been a particularly tricky year this year with me, uh, spending time moving away and then getting involved in NBL One North and then juggling covering two conferences. But we got there in the end. And you did an outstanding job with NBL One North as well. Um, I've caught a few games. So yeah. Oh, thank you. Absolutely. And now let's just clear up our room for us, Matt. Is it true that you are actually the Sydney Kings Lion once upon a time?
00:19:26
Speaker
Now, the only thing I can say about that is that on a few occasions, and I won't say where, but I actually helped the lion into his costume. Let's put it that way. So I did that and helped him in and out of his costume at a few events over the years. So no, I'm not the lion. um I've written about him and I've talked about him quite a lot, but no, I've just ah helped him in and out of the costume. That's about the extent of my involvement on a very close level. ah Intimate you might say, maybe not. Certainly up close and personal with a local celebrity like the Lion. So Lockie and I have just quickly gone through the semi-finals from the most recent weekend of NBL One East. And before we get into a grand final preview with yourself, tell us about some of your highlights from the semi-finals and your kind of main takeaways.
00:20:20
Speaker
You know, ah you got to start with the women and it just went completely against the script, didn't it? You know, we're we're all thinking, I mean, even before the semis, obviously, Aubrey Rodonga not making it. that's That was the big thing. And then ah the two teams that did make it into the grand final, One of whom I wasn't really surprised because I kind of felt like they were trending in that direction. That's Newcastle. It didn't surprise me that they beat Manley, particularly up at Broadmeadow. I thought they were going to get them, even though I've got the massive amount of respect for Manley and particularly their coach is a good friend of mine, Nathan Kirwan.
00:20:55
Speaker
they I just think Newcastle have been trending that way. I mean, unfortunately I had the displeasure of seeing them absolutely obliterate the innerwear spools, not that that was you know any great surprise, but the way they did it was what really impressed me and just the depth they've actually developed. It's not a, you can look at, they've got superstars, Nicole Munger, Ila Juffamans obviously, you know, you kind of start with those two. But it's everyone around them that's really started to step up so and then obviously the the shock of shocks and it's It's funny because I remember in the preseason just in our I kind of said it if Sutherland gets back Lauren Nicholson in enough time They can cause some damage. I didn't expect that though
00:21:40
Speaker
Um, that was probably one of the upsets of the year, albeit Lauren Nicholson is incredible, but for them to beat North's, uh, another team and again, you know, Renee Gallup, an outstanding coach and they've got depth to burn as well for them to get that W I thought was it just a shock, you know, but they just totally outplayed them and it it sets up such a kind of a, what's going to be a really dramatic grand final, I think, because, uh, Sutherland could be that team that just gets hot at the right time. We've seen it before and you know're they're going to cause a lot of problems for a Newcastle team. that I still think with Lauren and Eunique Thompson kind of not there, you they've got the best player remaining in the playoffs and Nicole Munger, she's spectacular.
00:22:26
Speaker
So that's going to be a hell of a grand final. As far as the men goes, well, it it pretty much went to script. I think Maitland to me got a little, got their wake up call um the week before against Manly with that overtime win. I thought it was just a matter of taking care of business against the COE team that unfortunately wasn't the COE team that we saw kind of midway through the season. And that that's just how it is for that program. And so they're going to lose guys. ah moving forward and then yeah Canberra dominant against Sydney and I actually gave Sydney a bit of a punches chance because of Bewale Bales and he he did it his job but ultimately Canberra just just too much firepower and too much depth really at home against a ah Sydney team that outside of Bales and Obshay really didn't have all that much and and probably went a bit further than most people expected and and it sets up
00:23:22
Speaker
Yeah, the obvious grand final. I think everybody kind of expected it. you know They've been the two best teams throughout the season, the most consistent teams clearly. And it's going to be obviously a rematch of 2022, which I had the pleasure to call. And that was a game that you know for Maitland coach, Luke Boyle, it still burns deep. yeah they They thought they had that game. And it ah it it has driven them for the last couple of years. so That's going to be an amazing ballgame to cap off what's been an incredible MBL1E season.
00:23:56
Speaker
Very well put indeed. Great summary. and But let's be real, we expect that high quality level ah kind of summary from you, Matt. So very well said. um Now it is time. The MBL One East Grand Final is finally here next
Women's Grand Final Strategies and Key Players
00:24:13
Speaker
weekend. And while sometimes during the season, it did feel like a little bit of a slog, it also feels like it has gone very, very quickly. What we're going to do, guys, I'm going to throw to both of you to have your piece about um just to give a preview of what you're going to expect, what match-ups you're looking forward to, um and some of the things you're expected to see from these teams featuring in the grand final. So we're going to start with the women's grand final. It's between Sutherland Sharks and Newcastle Falcons. 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 10th at Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre. Lockie, I'm going to go to you first.
00:24:52
Speaker
What are your initial thoughts about this matchup? And you can obviously speak a lot about the Sutherland Sharks. I usually do. Interestingly, apart from Canberra in week one, this is the first finals opponent for Sutherland that hasn't completely tailed them in the regular season. because all Ruodonga beat them by 50 on both occasions in the regular season and North's beat them by 50 just a couple of weeks ago with no Nicholson and no Penussis. They're trending the right way and I mean it's because they've now got Nicholson
00:25:38
Speaker
fully reintegrated into the team. And Penuisis is back and she's getting her game legs under ah her again. She played 32 minutes in the center in the prelim final, scored 10 points, which she's just been, I mean, just came back from holiday, but um it's just an absolute blessing because I think originally everyone thought, oh, well, Penuisis is just going to play her short-term deal. Nicholson will come back. and that'll be that, and it'll be one or the other. Obviously, the matchup is going to be Nicholson versus Munger. I think they they have to guard each other throughout the game. You might see Aria Nichols a bit on Nicholson because she is a defensive weapon, but I think for the most part, I think Nicholson v Munger should be the matchup because they're just going to want to neutralize the other, because if either of them gets on a roll, they are going to be incredibly difficult to stop.
00:26:32
Speaker
As was the case in 2022 in the grand final battle in the paint with Liv White basically at this stage is playing alone hand. In 2022 we used Hannah Kleinen a bit to play a very different type of defense on LJ but for the most part it was live white, almost playing a lone hand, um which he's probably going to have to do something very similar against Juffamans and chicken to a lesser extent. We're not really going very deep at the moment. In the games where it's been actually clover-like against Oriwood Dongle, we only use Penusas and Tailweb off the bench. Kleinen's really our only big left. Emily Garland will fight all day in the paint.
00:27:20
Speaker
but she's not a big in the same way that Juffamans is. Liv White, she's got the expertise and the experience to stay out of foul trouble and just her remaining on court because, I mean, we let, we didn't let, but Younique Thompson got hers, but Liv White was still out there for pretty much the entire game against Aubrey Widonga doing enough of a job rather than trying to stop unique Thompson, which is futile and getting five fouls like that. Just try to slow it down a little bit, but actually stay out on court and grab your rebounds at the other end. And I think all season, Olivia White has been not in Sutherland circles, but perhaps around the league, a little bit of an underrated entity, just in everything she can do, stop people in their tracks. We call her the immovable object for a very good reason. Maddie Norris, if she gets
00:28:15
Speaker
She gets hot on the pick and pop like she did against Norths. I mean, 17 points in the first half, four or five threes. Especially with people like Panusas, Nicholson and Fabro, who attract multiple defenders handling the ball. That is where having someone like Norris getting hot from the three point arc, massive game changer for the sharks. Those are probably what the sharks need to do well to get the win. One of Ndunga or Nicholson can really win the battle. It becomes a massive problem for the opposition.
00:28:50
Speaker
OK, Matt, over to you now. What are some of your thoughts, predictions and matchups you're looking forward to seeing in the women's grand final between Sutherland and Newcastle? Yeah, it's interesting. I think for me, first of all, yeah Mr. Francis, as per usual, made some very salient points. Uh, but for me, I think if I'm um at a manager at Marjoram, Marjoram, uh, if I'm Sutherland's head coach, I, I, my whole thing is not going, um, ISO against either Munger or Isla Jufferman. So I think for me, I'm, I want to throw multiple bodies at the pair of them.
00:29:26
Speaker
um It's not just going to be Lauren Nicholson. It's not going to be, you know, other people, you know, live wide having to go one-on-one with Isla because she's just too tough in the low post. And when you look back, I know it was back in May and I know Lauren didn't play, but you kind of look at what happened in that game where Newcastle won and it was a, you know, it was a tough, as Lockie pointed out, it was a tough game. It only lost by 10 without Lauren. But in that game, you had Munger going for 35 and 15, and Isla going for 25 and 14. And only one other the player in double figures off the bench. And the rest of the starting five didn't get into so into double figures, rather, in scoring. So I think for me, I'm blitzing the hell out of Nicole whenever she has the ball. I'm making her give it up. And if I'm Isla in the post, because that's where she's going to try and dominate, I'm sending multiple bodies at her and and forcing her to kick it out.
00:30:22
Speaker
to open shooters and make someone else beat me other than those two. That's that's my primary thing with Newcastle because yeah as I said, Nicole is an MVP candidate, obviously. Juffamans is an incredible post-player who's getting better all the time. And I have a lot of time for Ariane Nichols, but I find Ariane Nichols a bit inconsistent, ah particularly scoring the ball. um She can be very up and down. So ah she's kind of a prove it to me player. So that's how I would approach it. um And then, yeah, and obviously junk it up a little bit. And I think Newcastle will probably do the same.
00:30:59
Speaker
against Lauren, I think, you know, Vanessa Bernouce is getting a legs under him as Lockie pointed out is huge and it needs, you know, you'd expect her to be better for that run last week. And and obviously Maddie Norris, I think is going to be an X factor too, just in her ability to stretch the floor with a little bit of size. They don't probably have the same depth as Newcastle, but I just think that's where it's going to be. It's going to be one for me. If Sutherland can get, you know, can limit the effectiveness of Munger and Juffamans. And by doing that, you just throw a ton of bodies at them, you mix it up, you know, you you basically look to just, they should be seeing double teams every time they get the ball, quite frankly, that's how I would do it. And if, look, if the likes of Arian and Kate Kingham and, I mean, Hannah Chicken, who I've got a lot of time for, if they're going to beat you, then so be it.
00:31:50
Speaker
I don't want Nicole Munger going for 30 plus or a triple double and I don't want Isla Juffamans ripping down 10 offensive rebounds and just destroying me in the paint. That's, that's how I see it. I like that idea though of throwing multiple bodies, you know, not necessarily having one person guard Munger or Isla all the time, because that can be pretty disruptive and frustrating as well. Sometimes when you're the offensive threat, being guarded by different people in a game and always having to adjust and readjust and it just kind of put plants of seed in your mind as well that, you know, you're always having to be on your toes and thinking you can't just, there's no level of being comfortable then.
00:32:30
Speaker
And look, it's easier said than done and I get that because Munger is among other things that ah she's really smart. Like she just figures things out and I've seen it for what the last three years and she's just an outstanding ball player at both ends as evidenced by the the fact that she got a defensive player of the denomination. uh, as well as the MVP nomination. So, you know, it it is easier said than done with her. She figures out other ways to score and other ways to impact the game, right? But I just think that you've got to, you have to limit the damage that she does. And I think that's probably going to be the most effective way. I just don't think she can be stopped. Lauren Nicholson is an outstanding defender, but even Lauren's going to have problems. And of course,
00:33:16
Speaker
You know, that's the other issue. you You know, you don't want to sort of, you know, deplete their energy reserves, having to guard a superstar like that. um I'd rather, you know, try and play her elsewhere,
Men's Grand Final Preview: Canberra vs Maitland
00:33:28
Speaker
because she's going to have to carry a heavy load for them offensively, ah Lauren. So um maybe it's more of a case of let's, let's just send some bodies after Nicole and Isla and see what happens. So over to the men's grand final now, we have a matchup again for the ages, Canberra Gunners and Maitland Mustangs. Just recapping their regular season game results, Maitland beat Canberra on the 13th of April.
00:33:55
Speaker
90 to 69 and then Canberra defeated Maitland on the 22nd of June 82 to 80. This is not only to break the tie between their games this season, but this is going to be obviously for the championship and redemption for Maitland after losing the last two grand finals, one being against the Canberra Gunners in the inaugural NBA 1A season. Matt, how do you see this one playing out? It's the all time classic matchup, isn't it? And it's been, you know, it's been brewing since 2022. As I said before, I think that grand final was extraordinary. It was a game that Maitland dominated for large patches before Canberra um really overpowered them in the second half.
00:34:42
Speaker
Yeah, particularly Glen Morrison, who was spectacular in that game and continues to be out outstanding and and the best big man in the league. And um look, there's just so many mouthwatering matchups in this one. now you know Talking about Glen, the first thing you look at is Glen against James Hunter of Maitland, both of them outstanding bigs. And I think yeah the most recent game kind of showed what happens um if ah Morrison gets on top. He had 29-9 in that win. Against Maitland in Canberra and Hunter was held to just two points in 12 minutes of action. So and a minus 14 I'm not you know, I hate plus minus typically but it sort of illustrates the point and you know, it's no surprise that Morrison was the the man against Hunter who you know and it was the same in that grand final and it's going to be really really interesting to see kind of the the chess moves between those two and and you know how
00:35:42
Speaker
Coach that the two head coaches who are the two best coaches in the league. I don't think there's any doubt pete iraq Outstanding lukeball brilliant and it's also no surprise that they've they've been there a long time You know I was actually had I had coffee with one of the player from the Bulls today And we were talking about it and one of the things we talked about was the fact that know they're they're so well established as programs, these these two teams. You know, they've been together for a long time and Maitland have kind of been building this program up. Canberra ah ah as well, you know, where so it's all familiar faces, you know, going back two and three years. so
00:36:20
Speaker
But that that's the number one for me. And then obviously, William Cranston-Lown, the best point guard in the league, bar none. And look, you know, I know there's been a bit of a controversy about Bewale Bales and Mason Bragg, who are also terrific, you know, not making the MVP finalists this year. But how can you go against Cranston-Lown? I mean, I've seen him up close and personal too many times from being the person that calls Bulls games because he takes great delight in destroying us. Every single time, he's fantastic. I mean, you know, the best point guard in the league, a kid that should be, quite frankly, on someone's, you know, radar in the NBL as a DP at least. I'm not sure how old he is now. he He might be too old, but still, ah you just wonder how he isn't in the NBL in some way, shape or form.
00:37:09
Speaker
ah James Tooey, another one from Canberra, just an outstanding defender. He'll get that matchup, I'm sure, with Cranston Lowne. And, you know, if they can restrict him, and it's easier to said than done, it'll go a long way from them yeah winning the ball game. But Maitland's depth is something to behold. And again, it's a lot of these kids that have come up, they play, even now playing Youth League, you know, like Luca Vayers. And then you've got Jay Cole, who's been tremendous, really underrated player. Billy Parsons is an absolute machine in the post, ah never stops working. And Matthew Gray can be a bit up and down, but boy, when he's on, he's really on. So it's it's just amazing. like ah For these two teams, and um one and two all year, ah you know the the last game of the year they had in that regular season was sensational, kind of a back and forth battle. But so yeah, there's so much to to like about this matchup. and
00:38:06
Speaker
Wow, ah I know we're not going to talk about predictions and I'm actually glad of that because I honestly don't know. Either way, I cannot, but there's arguments for both of them um in this ballgame. So really looking forward to it. Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned James Toohey because I think he can really be the... ah the difference maker for Canberra, looking against Comets, Bewale Bales, he had 22 but he did it on 31 shots. Last time these teams met, Will Cranston-Lown got things done in other ways because, you know, he was held to just 10 points. The other side of the coin where he got 10 assists and eight steals.
00:38:44
Speaker
Players like Twoy are, you know, forcing him out of his scoring game, but he's still finding ways to impact the game in other ways. And I can't argue with you on his status as your best, best point guard in the league. He just remains at a level higher than everyone else throughout the season. Players like better games than him here or there, but he just keeps at that level. And ah Maitland's depth, they were without Billy Parsons against COE and they still ran. nine players playing nine minutes or more, two of them played 20 minutes. The player that saw at least minutes was Josh Clifford. I mean, you got a team where Josh Clifford, who is your captain as well, is the least is the player who gets the fewest minutes. And at a time of year where Comets against Canberra used seven players, I mean, they were without Christian Akuso, but still only use seven players. Most teams are using
00:39:38
Speaker
For all intents and purposes, seven players, maybe an eighth will get a couple of minutes here or there just to spell someone. When you think back to 2022, where you mentioned that Canberra really came over the top of them in the second half, that depth will go a long way to stopping that from being a factor again. If you've got nine players who can all give you solid minutes, maybe even 10, if Billy's back, we don't know. That will be absolutely massive. Christian Little there on defence. You talk about these programs being so well put together. It's a matter of the little tweaks you make in your roster makeup and adding Christian Little
00:40:18
Speaker
ah Will Cranston-Liam gets his old college teammate to come over and he's just been an upgrade at both ends of the court in terms of the import. A good choice, not just because he's an improvement, but he also hasn't broken up the way in which they play. He's just come in and allowed everybody to keep doing what they do. ah james James Hunter, as you mentioned, he's going to take on Glenn Morris and he's going to have to have a bigger game than he did last time these teams met and a bigger game than he did. I guess especially on the offensive end against COE, six points in 14 minutes. I mean, then you've got guys like Mortimer come in and I mean Mortimer did fairly out in 15 minutes of action, but he had 11 and seven in the process. So it's all set up to be an absolutely
00:41:06
Speaker
mouthwatering grand final. And we've been saying it all season. These are the two teams to beat. We were talking about this squint really early in the season. You asked me, is Canberra v. Maitland a true rivalry yet? And I said, well, at the moment, It's just two really good teams who have played a few games against each other that were memorable. But now, that game a couple of weeks ago, 82-80, now another grand final, this is a rivalry matchup now. In the same way that Manchester United and Arsenal are not geographical rivals but hate each other,
00:41:41
Speaker
This is not a geographical rivalry, but it is still an intense rivalry now. And I think that is just going to add another dimension and the team that can get out of their heads that, you know, the identity of who they're playing, of who the opposition is, and just play the grand final. If one team can put that to bed earlier than the other, they can jump out really quickly. like I think that might be the key one of the keys to this game, who can get the early jump on the other. I am pretty confident that Maitland are going to, just like the Mustangs that they are, going to come shooting out of that gate, um playing at very fast pace, wanting to establish themselves very early and and probably establish themselves as the dominant of the two.
00:42:29
Speaker
early and first in the game and just make sure that they hold on to it. The downside of that is the Gunners as the one team consistently since we've had NBA 1Es that are able to close out games in that fourth quarter. like they I suppose all of their playing history, ah playing together since they were youth league and cap camera academy having Peter as their coach for a long time they've just been able to develop that chemistry to be able to get them over the line in games in the end and that's exactly what happened in a couple years ago in that inaugural grand final it was Maitland's for the taking but ah the Gunners just found a way and snatched it from under their noses
00:43:12
Speaker
And sure, it's two years on, but that is still going to be stinging for the Maitland Mustangs. That's going to be in the forefront of their mind going into this one, and they're going to make sure that they are the champions at the end of the day, I think. It's a great point, Jacinda. And I was just thinking that, I mean, I just said that it's impossible to tell, but the one thing I think it could come down to is the intangibles and who's got the intangible advantage. Well, it's got to be Maitland. that you know And I know it is because yeah they've been very upfront in saying that yeah this has really been a two-year deal for them. um Obviously, they lost to Souther on the grand final last year. um But you know I kind of felt like that that was a bit of an anomaly in a way. I think they really they've wanted this specific game in the grand final for the last two years.
00:44:06
Speaker
You talk to Luke Boyle, yeah you talk to their players, and it is it's everything to them. And you know it's the group that's essentially stayed together with a little a few tweaks, as you know like you mentioned about Christian Little, and what a great addition he's been. And he's even taken yeah know more pressure off Will Cranston-Lown, but it could come down to that. And look, you hate to be simplistic and say who wants it more, because that's kind of stupid. I mean, they both want it equally, I'm sure. But I just think Maitland's motivation to to get one back on Canberra after what happened in 2022, I think it's been driving them for two years, you know, and they've just gotten consistently better along the way. You know, you you kind of think about where they were before, oh, God, I'm going to bring up the Bulls again, before they played the Bulls in that in that final, that um that quarterfinal in 2022. And no one gave Maitland a chance. So the seventh ranked team coming in, the Bulls were 18 and four.
00:45:03
Speaker
and they took the Bulls to school. They actually took them apart in the end. A Bulls team that a lot of people thought was going to go all the way, and they included, it but we'll leave that there. But that kind of propelled them, and then they got into that game as we've talked about, and they they feel like they threw it away. you know As good as Canberra was in the second half, Maitland probably should have still won that game. They should have been able to make the adjustments necessary to get past what is what was an outstanding Canberra lineup, what is an outstanding Canberra lineup. They've had some changes themselves from 2022, obviously, a few guys coming in and out, but the core is still there. We haven't even talked about William Mayfield. and
00:45:41
Speaker
what sort of impact he can have on on the game. So, you know, it's, I'd give the intangible nod to Maitland for all of that. And still, it still might not matter, you know, Canberra, you know, if they play as they're capable of, and and we know what, you know, Peter Rach is an outstanding coach, as I said before, um they don't have the depth. And it'll be interesting to see whether, you know, the likes of Clark and Smith can knock down threes coming off the bench. That's going to be huge, I think as well. But Yeah, look at all what we've all spoken about. It just sets up beautifully, doesn't it?
00:46:15
Speaker
Yeah, I think it will come down to a little bit of the bench as well. I think that's always a factor in finals time that maybe goes a little bit unspoken about because everyone knows the scout on the stars or everyone's eyes are going to be on the stars of the show. and But the stars themselves are probably going to put themselves under a little bit of pressure to make sure they get the win, right? But it's the prime opportunity for bench plays to come in, but all they need to do to come in is get on the loose balls, contest rebounds, run lanes, put pressure on ball handlers, all those things you can't find on a stat sheet. If you're a bench player and you're able to do that, you could have incredible influence on a game. But also people like Billy Parsons, please for the love of God, stay in the game and don't foul early. He's got to make sure he stays out of foul trouble. And I think for Canberra,
00:47:12
Speaker
um The likes of Tui Mayfield and Morrison, almost like their own big three, rely so much on each other when the shot clock's winding down to get some kind of scoring opportunity. um I think that chemistry is obviously going to be key, but if I were Maitland, I'd be trying to find ways where I could disrupt that as much as possible. If that means not letting Mayfield would get any kind of handoffs from Morrison or taking a step off Morrison and inviting him to shoot those long twos from the extended elbow, just something that's going to mentally um be a little bit of a challenge for them.
00:47:51
Speaker
All right, gents,
NBL One East Awards Nominations Discussion
00:47:52
Speaker
very good. Thank you for your insights and very excited to see how this all pans out for MBL One East 2024. We're going to close the episode now with some news and all the best news that we have, the most salacious news that we have is that the MBL One East Awards nominations for 2024 have been announced in between our EGG episodes. So what I thought we'd do, gents, we'll go through the award nominations and have a little bit of a chat on our thoughts, feelings, admissions, et cetera, based on what's been announced so far. So I'm not going to start at the top. I mean, let's leave MVP at the end.
00:48:38
Speaker
Let's start with Men's Youth Player of the Year nomination. We've got Cameron Pender, Charlie McBeese, Jay Cole, Kai Savage and Zachary Kimball. So from Canberra, Bankstown, Maitland, COE and Manly Waringa respectively. All players that we have mentioned at least once in this season of EGG one way or another. Lucky I'll throw to you first. What are your thoughts on this list? I think it's great that only one COE player is in and not to not disrespect the COE. I think it's great that there's, you know, they are so stacked with young talent and that a bunch of players from other clubs
00:49:20
Speaker
have managed to fill the other four spots. I think that is absolutely great. And I mean, players like, um I mean, Pender, we knew about from last year, same with Jake Cole, but I think, ah especially Charlie McBeath, this is his first, first season in MBL one, Zach Kimball. they've They've both really grown throughout the season, especially I watched Charlie called his game against Sutherland, obviously, on that final day of the season. and wouldn't know he's that young honestly the way the way he played I don't know if he's how much his growth has been throughout the season because obviously first time I really got to watch him up close and personal was the last day of the season but uh I think it's really great to see him in that conversation so saw a few comments on uh socials asking where uh Anthony Mundine the third is
00:50:12
Speaker
from Comets, which I thought was a a decent shout, but it is a ah it is a stacked ah stacked field. He did have some pretty good games, but I feel like Comets fans are feeling pretty aggrieved at the moment across the board, to be honest. I like this set. I don't think there's anyone in who egregiously shouldn't be. I'm interested to hear Matt's thoughts. I kind of echo what you said about, um, other guys and other teams being, uh, recognized. I think that's a good thing. Uh, I think it would be really easy just to go. Kai Savage, Julius, you know, look for now. I mean, all these guys, you could easily do it. Right. Um, but Savage is obviously the, the, the pick of the bunch for me. Uh, and I think it's a look, you know, not to disparage the other three guys, but I think for me, it's been, uh, Jay Cole's just blown me away this year. I think he's been.
00:51:06
Speaker
outstanding and I think he and I think it's between he and Kai in all honesty um if I had to bet uh but um yeah look and and Mundine was terrific against the Bulls there I go again another Bulls loss uh but he was terrific and he's been I think the thing that lets him or has let him down if anything it's just a little bit inconsistent in relation to the other boys that are on that list I think that's what I would say So I think it's fair that, you know, it's good that we acknowledge, I think it's good to acknowledge him that he's been, he he's had a good year, but just, I don't think he's been as consistent, as terrific as he was in that game against the, the Bulls in the elimination final. But yeah, for me, it's between Jay Cole and Kai Savage.
00:51:51
Speaker
ah Very good. Also now, Women's Youth Player of the Year nominations. We have Carla Pittman from Norths Bears, Ella Dent from Illawarra Hawks, Zoe Miller from Manly Warringa Sea Eagles, Jesse May Hall from Hornsby Koringi Spiders and Manik Babongi from Centre of Excellence. And the thing that sticks out to me initially in this list is the players' names like Carla Pittman, Ella Dent and Zoe Miller They are becoming household names to the likes of us in the league and in New South Wales. And to think that they're still technically youth players is super impressive, first and foremost. But this is a very talented list of people and I think all very worthy nominations. Matt, what do you think?
00:52:36
Speaker
Yeah, couldn't agree more. And I mean, from Carla's perspective, I mean, I go back with her when she was at Sydney, playing for Sydney Uni in the UBL, and I was calling that a couple of years back. And you saw the talent there. um It's a great group, isn't it? And again, you know, NBL One East kind of providing that that eventual pathway up through the WMBL, we're seeing it. yeah And this is and yet another example, I think. For me, the standout is Jessie Mayhall. I don't know if she's played enough games, but to but she obviously has to qualify. ah When she played the Bulls, and I was ah watched her, and Hornsby were just destroying the Bulls. And that was the game where she she nearly had the triple double. She had nine steals, and they put her in. John Hennessey is a main of mine, actually a head coach at Hornsby. He put her in for the last minute in a blowout game.
00:53:26
Speaker
to try and get the 10th steal, I think it was, and she just couldn't quite get it. But that game, it was basically, I just went, okay, this is just Jesse, mate, or Hall's world, we're all living in it. That's it. I remember saying that she was incredible. And then on the flip side, you know, Monique Babongi, who I think I picked as an early, a preseason prediction for Youth Player of the Year. um She's been tremendous as well. And and every time I've seen her, she's just improving. So it's a great crop. It really is. I mean, Ella Dent's been fantastic for Lewara as well. um So it's, ah yeah, that it's, it's going to be a real tough one, that one, but I mean, I'm a massive Jesse May Hall fan. I'm a massive Amik Babongi fan.
00:54:11
Speaker
either of them um would be you know worthy winners for me. Is there a caveat that it can't be a WMBL player, NBL player? Because otherwise, where's Isla Jofferman's? So that was the other thing. I couldn't agree more. I think, you know, that, that was the the odd thing. Um, but she correct me, how many games did she play? I don't know if that even counts, right? But she came into the, she was out for quite a good chunk of the year. So I don't know whether that had anything to do with her not being on the list.
00:54:43
Speaker
But she ended up playing 15 games overall. 15 should be fine then. Cause that's 15 of 20, right? So yeah, that, that shouldn't matter. Um, so yeah, that is, that is he's fascinating because you know, you you think she's probably the one you look at that. Okay. Why is Island not on that list? Although maybe there's always the chance that, you know, in that team with Munger, Munger stealing all the three, two, one votes and she's not getting, I mean, to say like, Shyla heel probably just didn't play enough games to
00:55:14
Speaker
rack up enough to our get there. We've added a couple and there's probably a cut and obviously there's a whole bunch of COE players we can add to that list. It's it's really exciting. you know it's it's I think it's one big reason why we love doing this league so much is that we get to see these athletes kind of at the start of their journey. And and we get to see, um I've been high on Isle of Jufflemans for a long time and and just to see but You know where she's going, you know, and and Jesse May Hall is another one. I mean, I can't, I can't believe Jesse May Hall. She made the decision not to go. She could have easily gone to COE. There's no two ways about it. She's an absolute superstar. And so from that perspective, ah that's why I love doing it. You know, one of the big reasons I love doing is seeing these young guys, you know, and I got to,
00:56:05
Speaker
you know, be a small part of, you know, Alex Higgins teacher going up to Cairns and I mean, you know, getting his opportunity at NBA level. So it's that's a what it's all about, really. All right. Very, very good. All right. So this time for Defensive Player of the Year, Matt, I'm going to get you to speak on the men's nominations and Lachie, I'll get you to speak on the women's. So Matt, I'll go to you first. Men's Defensive Player of the Year nominations are Christian Little from Maitland Mustangs, James Tui aka The Shot Doctor from Canberra Gunners, Dave O'Hickey from Aubrey Wodonga Bandits, Jonas Harper from Manly Waringa Sea Eagles, and Maddie Waitcher from Sydney Comets. Any surprises on that list Matt?
00:56:52
Speaker
Yeah, in many ways, for me is a little bit of a surprise. He hasn't really been a guy that you sort of look at him and think, yeah, he's kind of defensive minded. And that's not to say he isn't. It's just, I don't associate him as far as defensively. So obviously the the coaches who nominated him saw that this year with him. ah Christian Little, I'm certainly not surprised about it all. I think yeah he took a lot of pressure ah pressure, as we've mentioned before, off Will Cranston, Lowne. Hickey was just a stealing machine, wasn't he? You look up and he he's just racking up steals left, right, and center ah for Aubrey Rudonga. But then I always go back to the the usual suspect in in James Tooey, 2022 defensive player of the year.
00:57:42
Speaker
Um, he's, um, always gets the, the, the biggest matchup. Yeah. Particularly can defend one, two, and three and just, uh, he's just hardcore. He's a hardcore guy defensively. He's tough as nails. Um, I love the way he plays. gives up his body, you know, hustles and dives on the floor. And, you know, he's just one of those guys that um is so key to every team, especially every great team or, you know, very good team is as as Canberra undoubtedly is. So, yeah, you know.
00:58:15
Speaker
He's kind of my default position, which is kind of boring, but yeah, I i wouldn't be surprised if he won. I mean, Canberra, obviously the best defensive team in the league this year, gave up the fewest points ah per game as a group and um he really keyed that. So I think um he's the favourite for mine. ah Christian Little, he openly said on MBL1 social media platforms that he was coming here. and he was going to focus on his defense and he has done just that. So big shout out to him for getting a nomination for defensive player of the year. Now Lockie,
00:58:51
Speaker
I know that you were probably surprised by one omission from this list for Women's Defensive Player of the Year. So just to run through the five who have made it, it is Ashley Hannon from Aubrey Wodonga Bandits, Devita Dale from Sydney Comets, Nicole Munger from Newcastle Falcons, Kaitlyn Martin from Northspares, and Jesse Mayhall from Hornsby Keringai Spiders. Who's missing? Kate Seabomb. Well, if you listen to the Manly Warringa Sea Eagles fans, Annie Henderson,
00:59:29
Speaker
which is a a big, big out, because I think i most people rate Annie's defensive skills pretty highly and on a Manly Warringa team, that finished with a defensive rating of 78.7, which was the third best in the league, can defend any position on the court and, you know, manly, manly themselves say she's the best defender they've got. So very interesting to see her not get a spot on that ah set of players. And Davida Dale, five and a half steals per game. Jesse May Hall, 4.6 steals per game. Ash Hannah, Lisa League and Blox with
01:00:11
Speaker
just shy of three, uh, Caitlin Martin elite defender for North and who have the second best defensive rating. And then Nicole Munger, who is one of the best alongside Lauren Nichols and one of the best two-way players in the league. I don't know if Annie doesn't get the stats defensively. And that's the problem sometimes with, it's why analytics defensively goes beyond the box score. You can do a lot on offense, analytics with just the box score. Defense, not quite so easy to do. Those players getting five and six steals and three blocks per game are obviously elite defenders.
01:00:47
Speaker
I think Annie should be in there. I think considering the matchups she gets or puts her... I don't know if she gets them or gives them to herself and the way she guards players, I honestly think manga. I mean, steals are great, jumping passing lanes is great, getting blocks is great, but manga always. Either she gets or volunteers, and I'm pretty sure it's the latter, volunteers are tough matchup every game. All right, coach of the year nominations. So for the men's coach of the year nominations, Luke Boyle, Maitland Mustangs is in there again. Tim Hill from Manly Waringa Sea Eagles, who Locky and I in previous episodes were like, surely he's going to get in there. And here he is. Robbie McKinlay from the Center of Excellence.
01:01:34
Speaker
Pete Herrick, again, cemented as a regular Coach of the Year nomination for the men's competition from Canberra Gunners. And Curtis Saadi from Bankstown Bruins has found himself in the Coach of the Year nomination. So congratulations to him as well. ah Matt, pretty standard list, I think. Yeah, pretty much. um Yeah, well done, Curtis. That that was probably um a bit out of left field for mine, if anything. But um when you think about it, I think you did a terrific job this year. I mean, that's a program that's that's had its struggles, you know, over the last couple of years. And he he picked them up. And I was impressed with the work he did. But, and ah I thought Tim Hill was fantastic. He talked about picking up a program and manly were nowhere last year.
01:02:21
Speaker
No way and yeah they've made some great additions no no doubt about that i mean my some brag alone was outstanding but um it you know it was a bit of a downtrodden program and i have a sneaking suspicion that he might actually win this because you know obviously you've got. um And I've said this, sir Peter Herak and Luke Ball, the two best coaches in the league, hands down. I just, I won't brook any argument with that. These two guys are outstanding and it's not to down the other guys that are on the list. I just think they've proven it time and time and time again. And when you lead your teams to the the two best records in the league um and you have this consistency
01:03:04
Speaker
of production and effort from you guys. You've got this unbelievable buying from you guys, um the chemistry and the the the culture, you know, there's that word again, but it's true. There is such a thing as Maitland culture and there's such a thing as Canberra culture and those two guys are the ones that they' at the head of all of it. So um But I suspect Tim Hill wins this because I think it was such a great job that he did, yeah putting together the, first of all, putting together the team that he did, second of all, turning them into a team that was challenging ah the the top two all year, really. um And just, I loved the way they went about it and and I loved what he did, the adjustments that he made and the program he put together. So for me, I think Tim Hill wins it.
01:03:51
Speaker
Uh, even though, you know, certainly, uh, Pete and, um, and, uh, you know, I forgot my mate, Robbie McKinlay, who's outstanding, but you know, ah it's hard to see Robbie winning it because of the the talent obviously that he has at his disposal, uh, and, and the different kind of situation those kids are in where they're playing and training. And that's pretty much all they're doing. So, whereas everybody else has kind of got jobs and they train, you know, two, three times a week and. and at most and yeah but and And obviously with Pete and Luke, I think it's more a case of, okay, you know, being there done that. So if I had to guess, ah my money would be on Tim Hill to win this.
01:04:31
Speaker
Yeah, I 100% agree. I mean, when you get Coach of the Year awards, it generally goes to someone who's coached a team up. So Pete and Lou, they don't have very far to go. I know Maitland finished seventh on the table last year, but they still made the grand final there, two grand finals in a row. Canberra in the same position. Robbie, as you mentioned, they're very tough to, to win a coach of the year with COE. So I think Curtis love what he did with Bankstown, kind of a little bit of a money ball approach, getting those new players, found players that he liked that weren't getting a lot of minutes, went to Warrata League to get Andre Walford from Port Macquarie, which I thought was a great, oh, surprise, Locky thinks that's a great signing.
01:05:15
Speaker
but um But, and I mean, people, people, might say, Oh yeah, but manly had a more stacked roster this year, but who went out and got those players? It was Tim. Tim, you know, i said, you know, I want Jonas Harper. Um, you know, we, we talked to Mason Bragg, um, in an earlier episode, um, and he didn't even know Tim. And you know, Tim got him on board, got Jonas on board, got Eldridge back.
01:05:47
Speaker
Uh, he's got Zachary Kimball as a youth player of the year. He's got other players stepping up mid range. Mitch Evans is in there, you know, he's, he's kept who he wanted and added better pieces. Yeah. So there's, there's starters that from last year, all guys were getting big minutes. We're getting less minutes. They're still buying in and they've been replaced by guys who are absolute stars of the league. And, uh, you know, he didn't lock into this roster. He built it.
01:06:15
Speaker
Yeah, I saw them and obviously I went to Maitland for the Blitz and I saw them there and I thought, oh my goodness, this is not manly that I'm used to straight away. Like even back then I knew that they were going to do something special this year. So yeah, and who knows how they beaten Maitland in that that absolute classic. ah playoff game, you know, things could have been different. We could have been talking about them in the grand final quite easily. So yeah, he he just did a fabulous job. No two ways about it.
01:06:48
Speaker
And interestingly, as well, ah for the Women's Coach of the Year nominations, of the five nominated, only one of the five has found themselves in the grand final. Whereas in the men's, you know, we've got Luke Boyle and Pete Herrick, again, finding themselves in the grand final. So the Women's Coach of the Year nominations are Christie Bultitude from Newcastle Falcons. Sammy McDonald from Albury-Wodonga Bandits, Renee Garlett from North Spares, Nathan Kerwin from Manly-Waringa Sea Eagles, and Rachel Manpah from Central Coast Crusaders. ah Great to see three of the five also as female coaches in the league. Very nice there. um Great to see Rach get a nomination in her debut season as head coach of the NBL One East team.
01:07:37
Speaker
Renee and Nathan Kirwan, you know, just also cemented themselves in this nomination pool, similar to Luke Boyle and Pete Herrick in the men's competition. Also really great to see Christy Bultitude get her first nomination. She's been a coach for a very long time, always been an assistant in the NBA one competition or the semi-pro level. So good, big shout out to her and congratulations for her nomination. Lockie, what do you like the looks? Do you like the look of this list? I do. I think it's, I mean, it's, it's a lot of the usual suspects, the entire top four then, and then a coach of a central coast team that, uh, moved a long way up the list. It wasn't a season where we had a team like Manly that apart from, I mean, central coast went from low to bottom, bottom half of the eight, but we didn't have a team like Manly that rocketed up the standings and you know, like we got with Tim basically engraving his name on the trophy already.
01:08:36
Speaker
I mean, if you look at the regular season, it's it's tough to go past. Aubrey Badonga being 20-0 and Sammy Mack in his first season as a head coach. Yes, you can argue stacked roster, but, you know, we had Sam on the pod the other day and, you know, he still had to go out and, you know, he basically had to, you know, recruit, re-recruit player as a head coach for the first time. You know, so this wasn't, wasn't his job as an assistant coach for a long time. I mean, you know, you get LJ as a, a walk-up start, obviously, but, you know, you still got to get, get unique back, get pivot back, get Hannon back.
01:09:12
Speaker
I mean, like Pete at work, it's tough for Renee or Nathan to get this award, staying at the top kind of thing. Depending ah depending on when the voting finished, I think it'll go to McDonald or Bultitude. If the voting's not on the regular season, I think it goes to McDonald. um i The problem is they can call it a regular season of war, but if you let Vodie stay open until two weeks after the ah after the regular season, people might go, oh, I don't know. People may take liberties. I mean, you can't argue with, I don't think you just dont think you can argue with 20 and 0. Yeah. It's fascinating, isn't it? Because the, you just said the argument is going to be LJ.
01:09:55
Speaker
The argument is going to be Michaela Pivock. The argument is going to be Eunique Thompson. I mean, that's the argument. And as brilliant as 2010 was and, you know, incredible. um If they do it, if they do the voting, does the fact that they got bundled out mean anything? It shouldn't. I completely agree with you. I think it's ah i think it's between Kristie and Sam. um My vote would be for Kristie though. I think, you know, I was really impressed with her this year and and what she did with that program. And again, you know, people can throw the world. I've got Nicole Munger, they've got Ayla Jufflemans, but is that the same as an LJ? You know, the greatest we've ever seen? Probably not.
01:10:37
Speaker
I wouldn't be unhappy with, with all five. I mean, look, I think all of them did a fantastic job. Obviously a massive Nathan Cohen fan. I'm a massive Renee Garlett fan, always have been, but Lockie makes that point. They're, they're programs that are well-established, that have a particular level of consistency. I always argue though, that I think Manly have had less overall talent. ah through kind of that that period, even though they have had talent, don't get me wrong. But if you kind of, you know, between them and Norse, who's more talent? Probably Norse, maybe. But yeah, but they're still outstanding coaches. I personally would give it to chris so Kirsty, but I completely understand about Sam because, you know, the flip side to the stacked argument,
01:11:21
Speaker
is that you've got to bring them all together. You've got to have them. You know, basketball is all about chemistry. It's all about sacrifice. It's all about, and yeah, you've got the greatest dropping 35 whenever she feels like it. But you've still got to be able to defend. You've still got to be able to get by and from your players. um You can't be selfish. you As I said, it's it's got to be about sacrifice. It's got to be about establishing culture. And Sam McDonald did an amazing job and did something that you know hasn't been done. Before, regardless of how it it finished. He went and got Pivok back. I mean, which we know from last season, how selfless she can be as a player. If that import spot goes wrong and, you know, whoever they get decides, oh, I'm, I'm coming into a semi-pro league. I'm going to grow horns and become an ISO player because I want to drop 40 a game again with WNBL.
01:12:13
Speaker
the The entire season changes. Yeah. A hundred percent locking in. Let's face it. Michaela pubic. What sort of numbers is she putting up elsewhere in this one? Ridiculous. I mean, it just defies to see, I mean, she put up great numbers anyway, but what would she do if she was the focus? And so that's another part of it. And yeah, you say, okay, a lot of it has to do with a player, but a hell of a lot has to do with, with Sam basically just getting that buy-in and saying, look, we need you to be this for us. So that's where you go, the guy should just get it hands down. um But I'm more sort of predicting how it'll shake out voting wise. And I have a sneaking suspicion that the LJ factor may be more of a factor, as it were, than maybe we think of it will be. But I could be completely wrong, obviously.
01:13:04
Speaker
I will apologise as well to Sammy Mack. He's also ah ah day on his debut as head coach and getting a nomination in his first. So that's Christie, Sammy and Rachel, who are all on their debut as head coach and getting a nomination. So that's pretty outstanding. I guess the plus side that I will mention, if Tim Hill gets the men's coach of the year, and if Sammy Mack say gets the women's coach of the year, The plus side is that neither of them will fall to the curse of winning the award and losing the final. Because ah unfortunately they hadn't got there, but they still get to, you know, that it's it's such a common curse. It was broken up here in North. um The head coach at Mackay Media's won coach the year and then the men's team went and won the championship on the weekend. But it's such a common curse. You win coach the year, you don't win and you go into finals weekend, you're not winning the chip.
01:14:00
Speaker
All right, let's roll on to the very last and possibly the most controversial award nominations for 2024 in MBL One East. It is the men's and women's MVP nomination. And I think I'm going to start with the women's first, because the men's MVP nominations have been creating the most drama online. Save the controversy to last. yeah We're going to make the EGG listeners hold on there for a little bit longer. Uh, women's nominations for MVP are Lauren Jackson from Aubrey Wodonga Bandits, Maddie O'Hare from the Norse Bears, Michaela Pivik from Aubrey Wodonga Bandits, Nicole Munger from Newcastle Falcons, and Talia Tupaya from Penris Panthers. So I will also preface this by saying I've been informed that this year only the coaches got to vote for MVP in a 3-2-1. So not coaches and captains, just coaches.
01:14:56
Speaker
What do you think that is? No idea. No idea. So is it straight 3-2-1 or 3-2-1 through the season, then a final vote? Ooh, I think from what I heard, it was just three to one. That that changes things. So that I would have to find out. If you do know the answer to that, please send us a DM on Instagram at escotgame. But Locky, kind of a few usual suspects and predictable people nominated and a couple of surprises. What were your thoughts?
01:15:27
Speaker
I mean, you were the one who shouted out Mattie O'Hare a few weeks ago, Squint, so... Put that in the universe. Congratulations there. Can't really argue with much of this. Tarlia Tupai are obviously just banking three-point games on the regular for Penrith, just... um helps, kind of has a r ah Matt Prittus Brownlow feel about it, where he was just so much better than anyone on that West Coast team that he won a Brownlow. Talia's a bit the same here. Jackson, Pivock, Thompson, you were only ever going to get two of them. They can't split. You can't split three, two, one votes that often and end up with all three, especially with Unique coming in late. Munger's just a, could ah you could have made the graphic for her in pre-season. She was always going to be there.
01:16:15
Speaker
And I think Maddie O'Hare has come along in leaps and bounds, and I don't just mean that in the way she drives to the basket. she has got better as the season's gone on. I mean, that I mean, that's probably why we weren't really mentioning her in that way until a few weeks ago, but she certainly has. a She was good at the start and she's become great at the end of the season. So I want to say it's down to the two Aubrey Wodonga players, but then I think of that three, two, one split. Did they take points off each other? Is Munger going to come through and win it? Because, you know, who's feeling what on the day? Does a triple double beat a 35 pointer or does a 35 pointer beat a triple double?
01:16:51
Speaker
when it's Pivok and Jackson. I think it's between those three. I picked Pivok in pre-season to win it, but I hear you chuckling, Squint. Next to Loz Nicholson, your favorite player, so. But honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see Munger get it. Just on the maths. Just on the maths. And you're pretty good at maths, Lockie. I mean, it I guess that, that assumes that so we we as we just spoke about, we don't know how the voting structure works. I mean, it could just be throw it to the coaches. Here's the top five. Who's your three, two, one. And then work it from there. Or was it on a game by game basis? In which case that's where it becomes really interesting. The first thing I'm going to say to Sinner is there's a glaring omission here. It's P.S. Gabriel. I mean, come on. Oh, that was the line drop you didn't expect.
01:17:37
Speaker
ah helping her brother Wenyan play for South Sudan, who unfortunately are out now, but working herself in massive trouble probably, like ah wouldn't not the first time, won't be the last. I don't have a problem with any any of them on this list. I mean, I suppose you could say from from Talia's perspective, and I thought she had a terrific season, obviously. that it was wasn't a winning team. It wasn't ah a team that was going to challenge, whereas you know everybody else on the list was. um Yeah, the ah the obvious is LJ. But for me, I think it should be Nicole. I just think she's been brilliant all year. The the the fact that she got a nod for Defensive Player of the Year, and I said this before in the podcast, the fact that she got that nod for Defensive Player as well as this,
01:18:23
Speaker
Kind of leads me to believe that, you know, cause I don't expect her to win defensive player, but um it sort of has, it it has that smell or or that vibe about it that I think it's probably going to be her because of her overall importance to that team. And, uh, as look, you know, it it sounds ridiculous, you know, saying that Lauren Jackson's ah a finalist and not going to win. for what she did.
MVP Controversies and Standout Players
01:18:47
Speaker
LJ's the GOAT, end of story, that's all you need to say. But in terms of this year and and what, because she obviously had Ashley Hannon, she had Michaela Pivik who was incredible, you know, a walking triple double machine. And, you know, she's one of my favourite players too. And it's pretty, you know, I mean, she'd be a lot of people's favourite players, quite frankly. like But I just think and I would like to see Nicole get it.
01:19:12
Speaker
um um Yeah, but it's just her importance to that team and then and then the fact you add in the D because it's not you just think of Nicole dropping 30 on people and you know like grabbing rebounds and and dishing off and just doing all those things but then to be also Acknowledged as one of the best defensive players in the league as well um That just for me if you're talking about value or most valuable um As great as LJ, undeniably is, I personally would like to see Nicole win this.
01:19:46
Speaker
Just ah another just to add to what both of you said, ah no nominations from Manly Waringa Seagulls despite their success this year, but I think that's really a ah reflection of their very strong team style basketball where any on any day anyone stepping up for being a stud. um And I'd love to know how many overall votes players like Lizzie Tonks and mcta and Michaela Dompkins and Jesse May Hall. This is probably the one, but did you know, that that's on. I think that probably was unlucky to miss, but I still don't have a problem with any of the five. I think it's, you know, but and there's always someone that's going to miss that you go, Oh my God, how did that happen? Are you going to knock out? That's right. Well, let's get into the final and probably the most controversial one online so far now. um
01:20:36
Speaker
The men's MVP nominations, the the chat online has been spicier than a packet of bulwark noodles. Yes, so the men's MVP nominations are as follows. We have Alex Higgins-Titcher from the Inner West Bulls, Mandrel Worthy from the North Spares, Chris Bryant CB from the Hills Hornets, Will Cranston-Loud from Maitland Mustangs and Davo Hickey from Aubrey Woodnong Bandits. One of them, one of the five are making it through to the grand final. Biggest omission on, according to the fans in inverted commas, if you want to say that online, is Boalie Bales from the Sydney Comets who, according to some outlets, had a historic run at the end of the season.
01:21:25
Speaker
uh, being an integral part of their 9 and 1 win-loss success towards the end of the season. You have fantastic performance nonetheless, but was it a little bit too late to be considered as an MVP nomination? What do you think, Matt? I, yeah, it's, it's hard for me. I, cause I was probably one of those people that, that said, yeah, that's ridiculous that he wasn't nominated. But then when you sort of. Think about it. um His numbers were extraordinary. Lead the league in scoring, obviously, was up, you know, was up there in assists. Did he play enough games? He obviously was hurt for for quite a bit. um Was Sydney his dominant, um you know, a dominant force, obviously?
01:22:10
Speaker
yeah they They were terrific against the Bulls. They were terrific late in the season. Was it his run enough? you know Was he as good earlier in the season? Because you you got to take it holistically, obviously. I think he's unlucky. I do think he's unlucky. ah ah There's probably one or two people on the list that I, you know not that I'd knocked them out, but ah they could have easily been replaced. I think the other guy that no one talks about is Mason Bragg. I think that's the other one. I think Mason Bragg is a better playmaker and I think Mason Bragg was tremendous for Manly. I you know saw him up close and personal a couple of times and you know he was sensational um in in Manly's win over the Bulls at Ride and just basically was the difference maker in the end. As I mentioned, better playmaker, better defender. ah I'm um'm a fan of Bewale. He was awesome in that elimination final.
01:23:05
Speaker
Um, you know, and and then again, the next week can understand the controversy because of the numbers. But then, you know, having sort of stepped back and have a look at it, I can kind of see why not in a way. And as I said, I think Mason Bragg is, is just as, you know, he's as unlucky if you you want to be controversial and say, or, or, you know, you not controversial, but if you want to say that Mowale deserved to be there, well, I think you've also got to say that so did Mason because there's manly, manly, Without Mason Bragg this year, I don't think so. Lucky, what do you think? 100% agree. I think if you think Bewale is unlucky for playing 12 games like he did and missing out, think how unlucky Mason Bragg is to play 20 and miss out the way he played. Well, the only thing I can say is, well, Harper, Eldridge and Bragg all taking votes from each other. That's the only reason I can think that none of them got in. I reckon again if we get a breakdown of the entire voting,
01:24:02
Speaker
They'll all sit somewhere between six and 12. You're a hundred percent right. But while he bails put up ridiculous numbers, his numbers right at the start of the season, especially secondary stats and like he's shooting percentage were not as great. At the end of the season, he was ridiculous. I think Squint said earlier that, that game he played for indigenous basketball Australia was a turning point. He came back and just looked like a different player, but very hard to play 12 games. and get into the top five in voting. That's the thing that that really counts against him. There's no two ways about it. yeah You can talk about what we just did as far as the end game for him, yeah the last, what was it, i eight to 10 games, and then what he did in the playoffs. But then if it's a regular season award, as we've talked about,
01:24:54
Speaker
You know, 12 games just probably ain't enough against some of the guys that you got. And as I said, and it was pointed out to me, I mean, Mason, what he did, you know, and you're right, Lockie, that that's the thing played. He was there. He was an iron man. He ran everything for that club. He, he really just, he changed a lot of what manly was doing last year. to the and and did it in a very selfless manner at both ends of the floor. I mean the thing about Boali is he's still not a great defender you know and and and I'm a I've look I've been critical of him i'm I'm more of a fan now than I was before but I just think you know as an overall point guard playmaker and the importance to his team other than putting up ridiculous numbers as he did I think it's got to be you know if you're going to be upset be upset more about Mason Bragg than about
01:25:44
Speaker
wali but And that's me then, you know, again, going back on what I tweeted saying, or put on, can't remember, whatever platform it was, I said, it yeah, that's ridiculous. But old, so forgive me. But um yeah, that I think those two guys, I still think they're both unlucky though. You know, I do think they're unlucky. And there's probably a couple other couple of others that I'm not quite thinking about that maybe be deserved a bit more acknowledgement as well. Totally agree with Mason. Like he said, Matt, he is also a playmaker as well as a scorer. I wonder as well, because Mason may have only had 10 points, one game, but he'd still have eight rebounds and 10 assists. And that stuff sometimes goes a little bit unnoticed. I mean, Davo, perhaps the exception to the rule, because he was always flirting with the triple-double this season and last. So it's no surprise that he's in there, but I think, yeah, it's a shame that Mason isn't isn't nominated. But look,
01:26:41
Speaker
It's all ah like Will Cranston and Nicole Munger could go back to back in their respective categories. Yeah, it'd be fine. I mean, I, my preseason pick was Davo because i I figured he'd have that coming off what he did for Little Warrior in the NBL. Yeah. You can't, okay. This guy has taken another step. He's, he's next level now. he It had been almost there for him. And, but, but it wasn't quite, you know, able to sort of go to that next step, but definitely did with Little Warrior and I thought, oh, he's going to tear this leg to pieces. And he did. And.
01:27:15
Speaker
You know, I think it's between him and and um Will. I really do. I think it's a two horse race. And don't disrespect to my guy, Alexander Higgins-Titcher, who I probably yelled about 20 times during the season in commentary for one of his, you know, as I call him, the human pogo stick. ah But, you know, and Mandrel was good for a Norse team that was yeah kind of Kind of middling, um but he had a good year statistically again. Um, and then CB was great. You know, we haven't even talked about him and he was awesome. He put that Hills team on his back all year. So I'm really, I was really thrilled for, I mean, look, we all know him just a fantastic guy and, and really a fantastic addition to this league. You know, I talked to him, he was actually at the Bulls comments game and I talked to him after I said, man, we got to get you back. He's like, Oh man.
01:28:07
Speaker
I love it here. I'm hoping to come back. So fingers crossed he does because yeah he's just one of those guys, totally excitement machine. He's great on and off the floor. And what he did for that Hills unit um was was extraordinary this year. And he just adds so much to the league. So well, well deserved nomination for for for my guy. and and um But I do think it does come down to Will and Davo at the end of the day. Gentlemen, thanks again for joining us for such a comprehensive episode. Please enjoy the MBL One East Finals weekend. Make the most of it however you choose to celebrate. And yeah, excited to see who ends up on top and booking their ticket to national. So just a reminder that the MBL One East Grand Final is on Saturday, the 10th of August. Women's game is at 2pm. Men's game is at 5.30pm.
01:29:04
Speaker
held at the Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre. It is essential to buy your tickets for both games. Both games. If you want to attend both games, buy tickets for both games. Don't come to us when you miss out. And a reminder that the MBL One National Championships are going to be held on the Sunshine Coast this year from the 16th to 18th of August. Gentlemen, I'm sure that you'll be tuning in for that on KO Freebies. And most of all, don't sleep on the East because the East got game. Please enjoy the NBA One East grand finals this weekend held in Penrose and go ahead and like this podcast and subscribe to our podcast on your preferred streaming platform.