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Episode 1: NBL1 East 2023 Mens Rosters
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Welcome to the first episode of an unofficial NBL1 East Podcast, East Got Game!". Hosted By Central Coast Crusader commentator Jacinta Govind and Sutherland Shark commentator Lachy France. Join us this epieode as we analyse the rosters (as they were available) for the NBL1 East Men's teams.
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Transcript
Introduction to East Got Game Podcast
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to East Got Game, an unofficial podcast for the NBL One East basketball competition. Join us as we review, preview and interview our way through the NBL One East to showcase your new favorite talents. My name is Jacinta Govind from the Central Coast Crusaders.
00:00:20
Speaker
Joining me as co-host is the living legend and diehard Sutherland Sharks supporter, Locky France. How are you
Overview of NBL One East Season
00:00:28
Speaker
Locky? I'm great, Squint. It's two days until MBO1 is tips off and I could not be more excited.
00:00:36
Speaker
Yeah, I can't believe it's two days already considering we're still well, well, not well into, but we've just kicked off the WNBL semifinal series. Um, so for me personally, I sometimes like a bit of a break between leagues, but with this overlap, there will be no rest for the wicked. No. And, uh, I think, uh, players like, uh, Lauren Nicholson, Nicole Munger, et cetera, will be in the same boat. Yeah, at least hopefully Nicole Munger.
00:01:06
Speaker
Um, we'll have a little bit of a rest given that the cap season ended the weekend just gone. But for Lauren Nicholson, she's still chasing a championship with a Townsville fire. So hopefully she'll be able to get some rest before she has to come back home for East. Um, but we've also got stars like Vanessa Penousas, et cetera, who we'll probably get into a little bit later.
Rosters and Team Dynamics
00:01:28
Speaker
Um, but as you said, NBL One East does kick off this Saturday, March 11th.
00:01:36
Speaker
So we thought for our very first episode, and hopefully the first episode of many for this podcast, we're going to have a quick look at all of the rosters of the NBL1 East. And it has been a little bit of a struggle, Lockie, to kind of get a good idea of what the competition is going to look like this season, considering a lot of teams didn't upload their rosters until the very last minute, would you say?
00:02:00
Speaker
Uh, that's probably fair to say, you know, you get a, uh, you think you've got a handle on a team's roster cause they've announced seven or eight players and then bang, they drop a former WMBL player into the roster or former Australian junior representative. And all of a sudden they look a whole lot better than they did three days ago. They changed the game almost. So what we're going to do, we'll go through the rosters. We'll go through our predictions of.
00:02:29
Speaker
perhaps who we think are going to be top contenders, perhaps who's going to snatch a place in the finals this season. A lot of forecasting to do, as you could say. So, Lockie, tell us a little bit about, though, you very kindly supplied us with the rosters, as you know it, or as they stand. Tell us a little bit about the hard work that's gone into putting this together.
00:02:56
Speaker
A lot of following on Instagram, a lot of following on Facebook, a lot of checking websites and even the occasional photo that teams post before they've announced a player as well. There's nothing better than a sponsor announcement that has a player in it that isn't actually announced on the roster yet.
00:03:14
Speaker
Yeah, isn't it funny how social media has become such a good tool of trying to find out things like rosters or any kind of glimpse of team news that we can get? Because I think sometimes teams will take a photo of the players at training, not realizing there's some signings in the background that they haven't announced yet.
00:03:36
Speaker
Definitely. You see teams, especially this time of year, we're out on a team bonding session at the park or, you know, doing a group fitness session out somewhere and, oh, who's that in the background that's not played for the club for three years? Yeah, I think Maitland Mustang women actually did us a big favor by going out on their team bonding to a winery, posting some pictures on Instagram so we could confirm their roster. It was very, very helpful indeed. Thank you, Stangers.
00:04:06
Speaker
Thank you, Stangers Classics, Stangers Behavior. Um, but did you also need to consult with the MBO1 official website as well? I did. And the rosters are all out now. So I filled out everything and hopefully there is very little change between now and Saturday because I'd really like to finalize my commentary notes for this game one as well. And I'm sure you would too.
00:04:32
Speaker
My commentary notes are that's something for Saturday morning at this stage without sounding very unprofessional. It's just been one of those very basketball and work heavy weeks. So I think my commentary notes will have to be early Saturday morning before the Crusaders women tip off at 5pm at
00:04:53
Speaker
Central Coast basketball. Now, I know that the stadium has got different sponsoring rights now, so I don't want to say the wrong name. But home of the Central Coast Crusaders in Terrigal, where it's always been, is where we'll be Saturday. What about you, Lockie? What's the time slot for Sutherland this Saturday? Well, for me, it'll be get there at midday to help set up all the audio because somehow I get roped into that.
00:05:18
Speaker
But our game is also at five o'clock, Sutherland versus Newcastle, live on KO Freebies. So we've got the MBL1 women at five p.m. and then the men at seven. Excellent. All right. So we are cutting it fine recording this roster preview episode and our first episode, literally two days before the season tips off. So let's get right into it. Now, Locky, do you prefer to do the women's rosters or the men's rosters first?
New Teams and Recruitment Strategies
00:05:48
Speaker
My spreadsheet's on the men, so let's go with the men first. Good choice. Mine was on the men's too. So before we get right into it, there are some new teams that have joined the NBL One East this season. They are clubs that have been in Warrata or prominent clubs in New South Wales in the past, but just decided not to join.
00:06:07
Speaker
the inaugural season last year for various reasons, but we're very happy that they are back. So the full team list, or I should say the teams competing in the men's MBO1 this season for 2023 include Aubrey Wodonga, Bankstown, Canberra, Central Coast, COE, Comets,
00:06:31
Speaker
Hills, Hornsby, Illawarra, Inner West, Maitland, Manly, Newcastle, North, Penrith and Sutherland. So that is a lot more than we're used to with the addition of Bankstown, COE, Comets, Hornsby, Penrith and I think that's all. Not a bad addition to the league, Haylock.
00:06:54
Speaker
It is. Bankstown only knew in the women's. They were in the men's last year, but they're new to the women's only this year. See, this is why I need you here. Keep me accountable for some of these small errors. Bankstown men did compete last year and despite their placing on the final ladder at the end of the last season, they still managed to be relatively competitive throughout this season.
00:07:17
Speaker
Tell me about it. As Sutherland commentator, I know all about how competitive Bankstown can be. It was, yeah, some tight contests. Who would you say is Sutherland's main rival? Ah, Comets. I would say Comets. Comets. Is that a historic rivalry for any reason? Well, we play, we play Hendo Cup. Uh, so we have Hendo Cup against Comets and I mean, it is
00:07:46
Speaker
With no St. George team, it is kind of our local, most local rivals, I would say. You know, now and then, you know, you have little history with teams, but Hendo Cup every year was always our biggest game. So, I would probably say Comets. I mean, other people who have played for Sutherland have been around the club longer, may have differing views, and I'm certainly no expert compared to some people down at the Shark Tank, but
00:08:14
Speaker
I think we're all looking forward to having Hendo back this year with Comets back in the league. So just for those that don't know, those that are in the east or could be listening from other states, give us a quick rundown of what the Hendo Cup is. So a Hendo Cup is a trophy that we play for in memory of Greg, I believe it was...
00:08:40
Speaker
with Greg Henricks. So Greg Henricks was a radio announcer in both Sydney and Queensland. And his son played basketball in Sydney for Comets and maybe for Sutherland at some point. And we play for that trophy in honor of Greg each season. So it's the men's match. It used to be a pre-season match. It's now men's match top level, so MBL one East now.
00:09:09
Speaker
between Comets and Sutherland. Excellent. That sounds great. It's great to have some kind of club, healthy club rivalry and tradition that continues into NBA One East as well. So let's get stuck into the first one, Aubrey Wodonga. First of all, what are some of the core players that are staying this season lucky?
00:09:34
Speaker
Oh, I think, I mean, they've got, um, you know, Flores and Jacob Chincarac back. Uh, I got Lachlan Cummings, but I think it's more about some of the new players they've got. They've got an import in Mike Parkes Jr. Who's played in the British basketball league and, uh, they've got, uh, Jimmy Coleman as well. And then they've brought in, uh, Shaquille Maharacha, but he's come over from MBL one central. So. Bit of, bit of change actually at all through this season.
00:10:03
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like Albury is a club for men's and women's are quite good at recruiting. I know that they're very active with recruiting quite well ahead of time and really good at focusing on putting the pieces together, not necessarily trying to sign a really big star, but trying to put pieces together that's going to complement the rest of the existing roster.
Albury's Competitive Edge
00:10:26
Speaker
Definitely. I mean, their experience playing in, you know, Siebel and MBL One South I think has really established, you know, all their processes and, you know, made them really professionally run as a club because I think not to
00:10:45
Speaker
put Warrata League down, but it was definitely a step below what Siebel was. So all we having been at this level for so much longer than a lot of other New South Wales clubs means they came in a step ahead. They know what it takes to compete at this level. Yeah, probably almost like a better experience in that level of true level of semi-professionalism.
00:11:07
Speaker
compared to what us in the East and Warrata were quite used to. I would agree. And are there any omissions that really stand out to you? Anyone that's missing? Oh, well, I don't see Kieran Heywood's name there to start with. That's an out for Albury. So that's a big one. Just let me have a walk.
00:11:33
Speaker
Yeah, I think to be honest, that is probably... That would be the biggest one. Of course, they had players in and out their imports last year. But Duwam Duwam is obviously not back either. So that's another player they'll miss. But I think they've retooled really well. So they might miss a few players, but I think their absences may be covered.
00:11:59
Speaker
Yeah, so I'm sure where Kieran Haywood has ended up. To my knowledge, I haven't seen him signed to any other NBA One Club as of yet. However, there is a chance that he perhaps would have signed maybe overseas, do you think? Because I think he has some overseas experience. He possibly could have, or he might have just signed for a team interstate that hasn't announced anything yet. That's also true. Very true. Because I feel like
00:12:29
Speaker
I have a feeling that Kieran may have even had a bit of experience in the G-League, if I'm not mistaken. I think he might have. Yeah, I think with the force, I think. Yeah. Anyway. Yeah. Pursuit. Yeah. The Sioux Falls Skyforce. That's the team name. Yeah. So he's definitely got, um, he's got connections and he's got experience and he's been around.
00:12:56
Speaker
Yeah, so it'd be interesting to see where he pops up. Based on the roster so far, can you give any kind of prediction of where this team might land? Well, if they keep these higher roster together, they're not going to have that massive losing streak they had last season. So if they can avoid doing that, I think they can jump up a couple of spots.
00:13:22
Speaker
this season. It remains to be seen how their imports do. If they fire, then top five, top six, but a lot will rest on getting all the players gelling because they definitely do have a few new names in there to go with, to go with their core. And they've only got 10 players listed so far, so you've got to account for injuries as well.
00:13:48
Speaker
Yeah, you hope that they've probably got some younger players back up or train on players that can step into those roles if injuries are a problem down the stretch of the season too. But let's move on to Banks now. And as you said, they were in NBL One East last season in the men's division, but not the women's. Looking at this roster, tell me about who has stayed and who has gone.
Unpredictability in Basketball
00:14:14
Speaker
Well,
00:14:15
Speaker
The players they've lost are the big names. So they lost Nathaniel Musters, who averaged eight and eight last year. He's off to Norths. Nico Timonero was one of their top scorers. He's headed over to Inner West. Rocky Anderson, who was massive for them in his half a season or so that he played, I think he's gone back overseas. And Isaiah Oste Pinda is headed to Comet. So four big outs.
00:14:42
Speaker
for Bankstown as it stands. They've got Dragun Elkhaz back, Nate Brown, a lot of names here from last season, Akil Alexander, Thomas Dowse, they've got Mark Franco, and Jonah Parris is over from Penrith, I believe. So, a few losses, and unfortunately they haven't brought in a lot of names to replace them yet.
00:15:09
Speaker
So considering that they didn't have the best season last year and they haven't replaced some of those bigger names you mentioned before, at this point is perhaps based on the roster that's available to us, probably not looking good for Bankstown this season. Not on paper, but they were more competitive than the record showed last season. And I think there'll be teams, the new teams coming in.
00:15:37
Speaker
Not sure how they'll go. So I'm not going to condemn Bankstown to the wooden spoon at this stage by any stretch of the imagination. That would just be patently unfair, just looking at the rosters on paper. But they certainly do have some losses to fill. Yeah, you make a really good point as well about how the latter and the results didn't really, don't always reflect how competitive a league can actually be. Because I think we have found with the NBL one East,
00:16:08
Speaker
that, just that, like there'll be lots of games that are very competitive, very close. Sometimes, especially in the women's games, it came down to one, one and a half minutes where one team would just get ahead and the opposition couldn't catch up. And, you know, even if it was a 20 point game, that wasn't really a reflection of a, of a hiding. It was just perhaps a couple of minutes here or there. So I found, I found the same in the men's competition. Uh, did you find the same blocky? I, I teams.
00:16:38
Speaker
you don't expect to play teams close, end up doing so. It's just one of those things that happens. Maybe you're complacent. Maybe they get up for the game. Maybe you just have a bad night. Maybe they just have a good night. Whatever it is, there's always those team, those nights where a team that you don't expect to be competitive just comes out and is. And it seems to happen a fair bit. And like I said before, Bankstown played us close. Really annoying. Yeah.
00:17:08
Speaker
as a, as a Sutherland person. Nice opinion there. They're really annoying. Well, they were annoying from a Sutherland perspective and I'm sure there are, you know, there's always those nuisance teams, you know, and you'll lose to them and you'll end up getting to finals and you'll finish fifth instead of fourth or third instead of second. And you look back on that game and go, I can't believe we lost to, you know,
00:17:32
Speaker
In a West on the night, both their imports were out or we lost to Hills when, you know, and Bocky Charlton wasn't playing or something like that. And that's the game you'll stick when you end up, you know, losing in the qualifying finals instead of getting a buy through to the semis. So on the flip side there, the stories I love, cause I love a good underdog story of when a team has to really band together when they're missing their key players and just, they just find a way to pull off a miracle.
00:18:00
Speaker
NBA team that they haven't beaten before. I love those stories. Um, I guess that's why I love NBA one as well. So much, uh, as well. And guess the WMBL too. Um, but let's just say the game of basketball. That's why I just love the game of basketball. It can be so unpredictable in NBA one East. There's not really a guarantee of who is going to win the game on any day at all.
00:18:23
Speaker
As we roll around to Canberra, now Canberra are the defending champions of the NBL 1 Eastern and then the Canberra Gunners.
Team Roster Changes and Impacts
00:18:31
Speaker
Now they've been pretty good with announcing their roster in the most part. Certainly some major players missing in Will Mayfield and Akech Elia.
00:18:45
Speaker
But they have managed to maintain Glenn Morrison, who's one of my favorite players because he's a textbook five man back to the basket places were all right. And also Petro Badalasi, who was I think their captain. Do you know much about these new additions to this team locky? So
00:19:06
Speaker
Me, Cameron Pender, he is a young player with a lot of upside by all reports. He'll come in and he should contribute. They've also brought in Austin Clark, who was over playing MBL1 West last year. He didn't get a lot of playing time, but I think he'll
00:19:25
Speaker
I mean, they've brought him in and it's a roster that's got a lot of, you know, strong players. So you bring someone into this team, you kind of want someone who can contribute at this stage, especially having lost a catcher Lear and Will Mayfield. Still thinking about Will Mayfield leaving in the first place. But I mean, they've got
00:19:48
Speaker
Dal Feig still there, of course, he of the top two plays in MBL one last season. Um, and as you mentioned, Glen Morrison, the Brindabella Beacon and Battle Assey, the Duke of Double Doubles. They love a nickname down in Canberra. And of course, what's that sorry? Did you give them those nicknames? No, no, they are Canberra nicknames, not mine. Mine, my nicknames for players are not that good. Oh, I don't know. I honestly thought, uh,
00:20:18
Speaker
the double, double nickname you gave about the last year. No, that's, that's all, that's all them. But as you said, they, they return a lot of this lineup and I see no reason why they can't contend for back-to-back titles. Uh, COE coming in, uh, Maitland, you know, that was a three point game in the grand final last year and a few other teams have retooled, but you know, Canberra remained the hunted until someone knocks them off their perch.
00:20:46
Speaker
Yeah, that's a really good point. All eyes will be on them as the defending champions. I feel, you know, William Mayfield, he, I think he was averaging about 18 points per game. For the Gunners, six, about 6.5 rebounds, three assists, based on what I can see is available in front of me right now. But I feel like as well, he had a bit of a good leadership quality about him. He certainly led from the front, played with a lot of intensity. I think that
00:21:17
Speaker
is really hard to replace in such a strong team like the Gunners. And a catcher there, he was just, could do a little bit of everything, was really good at shooting from long range, quite consistently, but very capable under the basket as well. So I think that's another hole that the Gunners might need to fill. Shall we roll onto the Central Coast Crusaders? I think it's your time to shine, Squin, your hometown boys.
00:21:46
Speaker
Yeah. What can you tell us about the Crusaders in 2023? My hometown boys. Look, the roster that's available to us right now only has one, seven players available. And I've been seeing them train on and off on the home court every week. And I can tell you we do have more than seven players. So let's start with that. The biggest stand out to me, well, one of two big stands out to me for the Crusaders is that Aaron Lawton
00:22:15
Speaker
is listed as a player. For those who may or may not know, A.J. Lawton was our import a couple years ago in the championship, I'm going to say 2019 when we won the championship, when Callum Jenkins with the touch of God tipped it in before the buzzer on our home court. Let's relive that moment again, thanks.
00:22:40
Speaker
Yeah, so AJ is back now. It wasn't to my knowledge. I don't think the club has made an official announcement that he was coming back. My understanding is that it was still to be confirmed and that he's recently gotten married and had a baby. So I knew that he wanted to come back, but I was surprised to think that he was going to come back so soon after starting his family. But if he's listed, um, I'm guessing things must be in order for him to come and play.
00:23:10
Speaker
And whereas I know that Aaron Redhead, he was coming off the bench last season, but really stepped up at the end of the season when it came to the crunch and we had some injuries, especially with time again, he was injured during the season with the Achilles. I can say that time again is back training, so we can expect him to suit up despite his name not being on the roster list today. Hamish Lotus back, James Truston's back.
00:23:38
Speaker
Luke Cassidy's back and we've got some younger players on the list in Alex Bailey, Isaiah Walter and Seth Chapman so far on the list of roster. I won't expect players like Isaiah and Seth to get that much court time considering they are emerging NBL1 players. But I'm just trying to think who else the training there is that is missing other than time again.
00:24:02
Speaker
I think also Keiran Osborne I think has returned to play. He played also in that championship winning team. Unfortunately, Callum Jenkins is not returning, which is a big loss for the Crusaders.
00:24:19
Speaker
It's going to be an interesting mix. Actually, Nick Wooler is due to play as well. It's going to be an interesting mix. I feel like considering that Crusaders men have had quite a few successful, say, decade as a whole. They're definitely in a rebuilding phase. So where do you see them landing this season?
00:24:47
Speaker
Well, not high, Lockie, not high. I mean, you say it's a rebuilding season, so it's not so much about where they land this year. It's, you know, are they preparing to land higher in future seasons? I think what might be up their sleeve too, they've got a brand new coach, Tim Hudson.
00:25:09
Speaker
We're all like at the club, everyone's familiar with Tim, but I think it's the first time in a long time he's the head coach of the men's team. I'm hoping that he is going to bring some different systems to what this Crusaders group is used to. I feel like that they were getting a little bit stale in the way that they play.
00:25:30
Speaker
And I think that like a change needed to come because I think they kept resting on what was working before, but all the other teams in the league had caught up to them and they still weren't adapting to that and losing some games. But also a really, really big admission is Jacob Krakmill and Ollie Rabiliot aren't listed. I know that Ollie Rabiliot has decided to move interstate.
00:25:51
Speaker
And I'm not too sure if I've actually seen Jacob Cracknell at Crusaders training it. So that's, if neither of them play on top of Cow Jenkins, that's a really, really big loss for the Central Coast Crusaders. Rolling on to the next, you've got the COE.
Standout Players and Potential Impact
00:26:11
Speaker
Now I know that you're quite a fan of this roster locky. So what do you like about the COE roster for this season?
00:26:19
Speaker
Oh, I'm, I could wax lyrical all day, but I'm going to just focus on three players that I think a lot of fans will already be familiar with. Of course, first cab off the rank, Alex Tui, Gonzaga, Khmert, already a senior. He's already a boomer. Yeah, he is. He is a legit boomer. A legit boomer.
00:26:43
Speaker
He's going to be suiting up an NBA one East. So he'll be playing for COE this season. I mean, he played last season in the wildcard game. He was electric when they came to play subtle and everyone was psyched that it was Tyrese Proctor's farewell game. And he was like, I think I'm going to make this all about me today. And he went off.
00:27:05
Speaker
that day. The guy can do it all at this level already. He can shoot, he can get to the basket and defend. He will be undoubtedly one of their stars this season.
00:27:22
Speaker
Ben Henschel from WA, he was massive at the recent under 20s nationals. I believe he won player of the tournament in that. So he was also, he was also in that team that played last year at wildcard that tout up Sutherland and I believe tout up every New South Wales team they played against. But the one I really want to talk about because he's a little bit younger is the big seven foot two Queenslander Rocco Zukarski. So, uh,
00:27:52
Speaker
Everybody wondering, you know, is he just a big guy? You know, you find a seven foot two guy, you got to get him in the program. You got to do what you can with him. Don't worry about it. The boy can play. Uh, just watching him, um, like he's moved, just dancing around defenders within the paint at times. I think in this league, which trends smaller.
00:28:19
Speaker
He could be an extreme point of difference. I can't think of many teams in the league who are really going to be able to defend a seven foot two player that well. And given what happened last year, I know they don't have Tyreese anymore, but what happened in Wildcard last year, I think CoE are my favorites this season to win it all. Oh, big call. Big call. You heard it here first on Eastcott Game.
00:28:44
Speaker
tip in the COE to take our MBO1 East. Me personally, I'm really, really glad the COE are in competition as a permanent fixture this time. Whether it means they're going to kick our butts in the East or whether they took it to the South, it doesn't matter as long as that they're in a consistent competition where they can actually get proper game time and experience. And sure, they're super talented. There are up and coming young talent in the country, but I think
00:29:13
Speaker
The benefit of being in a competition like MBL-1 is that they're going to come across people who are much more experienced, much more physical. I think the physicality is something that perhaps they've got to get used to a little bit. So I'm really, really looking, I'm really glad that the MBL-1Es can be part of the COEs development. But just going back on the likes of Alex Toohey, his brother James Toohey is returning for Canberra, the Canberra Gunners.
00:29:39
Speaker
So I really hope at some stage they match up against each other. That would be a lot of fun. A lot of fun. And it would be conflicting for their parents, but I think they'll just be cheering for basketball on the day. Bowen Beatty unfortunately has an ankle injury, so we'll have to wait to see when he returns back to court.
00:30:00
Speaker
But also Ben Henschel, Alex Conden and Rocco were also part of I think the wider Boomers group that played in Melbourne in February too. So they've already had a bit of a taste of the green and gold at a senior level. So yeah, no doubt they're going to be very competitive. They certainly are. And speaking of comments, one of the other
00:30:26
Speaker
new additions to MB01 East are also looking pretty good. They've got Archie Woodhill, Ignatius Mitchell. There's a couple other names on there that I recognize, but I... Oh, Matthew Watcher as well. He's an Australian junior, if I'm correct. And I feel like they've got some pretty good imports, Lockie. What do you know about them?
00:30:50
Speaker
Yeah, so as you mentioned, Archie played for Sutherland last year. He was a big part of the Sharks. Iggy Mitchell, obviously getting him to come back from playing for Norse last season. They've recruited John Ichnogarach over from Inner West heading back. And as you said, Matty Wach are heading back from Manly to his home club of comets where his sister Sarah will also play for the women's team.
00:31:18
Speaker
But they have, yeah, they've really built up a team well and they've got, they do have an import in Elijah Washington. It was word he might've been trialing for Bankstown as well, but he chose Comets. So as you said, they do have quite a few good pieces, but I'm really excited to see Mitchell and Woodhill back home and Alexandria. Yeah, Woodhill and Mitchell, do they have much playing experiences juniors together?
00:31:47
Speaker
I'm not really sure. Uh, I mean, obviously both, both comments, you know, I don't know how much it overlapped for them though, but I have a feeling this could be the start of, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship to quote, to quote a movie. I feel like, uh, yeah, I think this would be a really, really nice pairing. Um, I'm looking forward to see how much of the two men game that get involved in this season.
00:32:16
Speaker
That's going to be pretty exciting if they do. Looking at hills, someone who's been consistently in Wartar at least. Their rust is looking a little bit thin, but rumor has it that they also have an import this season.
00:32:31
Speaker
Well, they have one signed. So they have Sean Montague. He's come over. He's played up in New England region, I believe for Southern New Hampshire University. But aside from that, their roster, all their players returned from last season. So there's not a lot of change. It's just, yeah, Sean Montague coming into the roster. Any change in coaching staff for the Hillsmen?
00:32:58
Speaker
I believe they might actually. I don't have it listed, but are you aware of any change? No, no, just out of interest. I think their women's coach changed, but I'm not sure if their men's coach did. I have to get back to you on that one. I know that there was some, yeah, there was definitely some coaching change at Hills.
00:33:29
Speaker
Well, hopefully throughout the season with our East Got Game podcast, we'll be having, um, a couple of guests, uh, co-hosts as well, just because, you know, you might get sick of hearing me and Lockie all the time. So we thought why not offset it with some guest co-hosts as well. And hopefully we'll have someone from Hills Hornet's jump on, uh, every now and again. So they'll be able to give us a little bit of a rundown of what's happening in the hornet's nest.
00:33:55
Speaker
Oh, no. So, no. So, MBL1 men is obviously still Reese Potter coaching. It's just on the women's side. They have, yes. Yes. Just on the women's side. Yeah. That threw me for a loop. Yeah. So, it's on the women's side. They have a new coach, but yes, Reese Potter returns. Yeah. So, I don't, I don't, if, if Reese Potter wants to coach your team, you probably let Reese Potter coach your team. And as of this, as of right now, the, uh, MBL1 website has updated part of their roster to what was available to us before. And they've added Josh Morgan.
00:34:26
Speaker
Okay. So that could be good for them. So just, yeah, just one addition. I mean. Oh, then another player named Wani Guada. Oh, Wani, so they have just updated a few names that, yeah. So I think Wani was on the roster last year. And Kwaku Brefo. Okay. So yeah, a few young players coming up. So yeah.
00:34:50
Speaker
Yeah, awesome. Making their way up to the NBA One East. Have they been playing, what's it called, the Youth League? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And they've also added Jamie Monroe.
00:35:05
Speaker
their list. Okay. Yeah. So they're just tacking a few players on. I mean, as a commentator who needs to make notes each week, I always would prefer that if teams tacked on five or six youth league players that might get a run or anyone that might get a run, rather than me turning up on a Saturday afternoon and finding out I have five players, I don't even know what part of the squad. I mean, we can only dream, right, Locky?
00:35:33
Speaker
All right, next is Hornsby, another of our new additions to MB01 East. I'm going to be flat out honest with you, Locky. I don't know any of these names. Really? So, Sharif Saipa was playing for Bank Sound last year, pretty sure. And Tommy Gillis was playing for Norse.
00:35:53
Speaker
And they both made the move up. It is a lot of players who were not in the league last season and have not been in the league. I'm not sure I've been in Warrata League at all. But I think Hornsby have
00:36:14
Speaker
a geographical issue that does not exist so much for Penrith and Bankstown in that there's no club within 20K of Penrith and there's not a lot within that range of Bankstown as well. Hornsby's got hills to the west, north to the south and central coast to the north. That makes it very difficult to recruit players because players in your area can easily still travel to three different clubs.
00:36:44
Speaker
Whereas Penrith, if you live in the area, especially if you live west of Penrith and Penrith is your nearest club, it's probably a lot easier to get players from a travel standpoint to come back to the club. So I'm not surprised that Penrith have been able and Bankstown to a lesser degree and Comets obviously as well, especially the Noice and George team in the area.
00:37:12
Speaker
have been more able to recruit players and keep them at the club. Yeah, but it's great to see that they have filled what looks like a relatively healthy roster. And I believe they also do have a Waratar 1 men's team. So some players from that could make the step up as well at some point. Yeah, yeah. And I mean, we all know that Hornsby have been great in the past and now that they're back in MBL 1, they don't have to worry about
00:37:41
Speaker
player drain like they did last season, especially on the women's side, but also on the men's side. I mean, they didn't have a senior men's team for a couple of years there now, so they really are starting from square one. And just the fact that they've been able to bring any players back from other clubs is a good start.
00:38:03
Speaker
Yeah, especially to considering they've got like a pretty, in terms of numbers, a pretty decent roster. Someone that's listed here is Kuwabena Brefo. I'm wondering if that's any relation to Kwaku Brefo, who we just mentioned in Hills. I would say probably. Probably, quite a unique last name. So I would say that they're probably related. So it'd be interesting to see where Hornsby land. Based on what you know with this roster, have you got any predictions?
00:38:31
Speaker
I think it's going to be probably a fairly, you know, it's going to be a fairly rude awakening, you know, a tough initiation into the league. But you get a year or two under your belt, you start bringing up players if you've got a good pathway. This is going to be a slow burn for Hornsby. I mean, it's a slow burn for any club entering any league for the first time.
00:38:56
Speaker
We saw our inner west on the women's side, you know, they've finally won their first game last season, you know, and now they can, you know, they hit that landmark, they can move on and Hornsby could be in the same boat. They could, they could surprise. They've got other clubs that are in the same position as them, Penrith, you know, it's their first season as well. So they are not alone.
00:39:20
Speaker
No, not by any means. Like we said, it can be unpredictable in any given day in the NBA One East. As we roll down to the South Coast for the Illawarra Hawks, now let's just get straight to it.
Major Signings and Team Strengthening
00:39:34
Speaker
Biggest addition in the league, in my opinion, is William Davo Hickey.
00:39:42
Speaker
straight from his season with the Illawarra Hawks and the NBL. He's decided to stay to play NBL one East. I am very excited that he's back in New South Wales and we get to see him again in the flesh. I am extremely excited too because it's biggest departure, Kiwi Gardner, being replaced by, as you said, probably the biggest signing, Davo. It's just, you know, Illawarra, when they,
00:40:11
Speaker
I don't know how long ago they knew they weren't getting Kiwi back, but if they knew, you know, like, what's Kiwi, what do we do? Dave was like, I'm your man.
00:40:22
Speaker
Yeah, I'm so stoked that he stayed because he could have gone anywhere. He played for Casey last season because he, as far as I still know, he is in a relationship with Monique Conti, the WNBL and AFLW star that she is. They both played for Casey in the NBL one South last season. Big season before that he was with, I want to say Ballarat Miners, with Matt Kenyon and not Jock Lando, the other Jock
00:40:52
Speaker
Jock Perry. Um, so for him to stay, uh, yeah, I'm really, really stoked. But is he correct me if I'm wrong. Is he a Sydney Comets junior? I think he is. Yeah. Yeah, he is. Yeah. Yeah. So not even the, um, I guess the attraction to going back to playing for your home club with the likes of Iggy Mitchell and Archie. I'm really stoked that he's decided to stay with Illawarra. So on there, Austin to Tim Conrad is just the guy that doesn't quit.
00:41:22
Speaker
He's coming back, back, back, back, back again. As is Lucas Walker according to the roster available to us. So there's your big three for the Illawarra Hawks. Definitely. Tim Conrad, some sort of non giving up basketball guy.
00:41:38
Speaker
And of course, they've got Harry Morris, who just spent a year as a development player with the Illawarra Hawks and did see a little bit, sorry, Illawarra Hawks, MBL. So, you know, saw a little bit of playing time and they return a lot of the same players. You know, they don't have Kiwi anymore, but as we said, they got Davo and they finished third on the table last year. And yeah, they got blown out in a semifinal by Canberra, but that was without Waxy and Tim Conrad.
00:42:06
Speaker
Yeah, that's right. And look, we tried to find out where Kiwi is gone and where he's playing next. And we couldn't find anything just as yet online as we are recording. So if anyone wants to let us know on social media where Kiwi is, we'd love to know. But yeah, very excited. I think I, I hate making these two kinds of decisions, but I love asking everyone else. But I think Illawarra may be the top team this year in NBL One Eastman.
00:42:37
Speaker
I'm going to go. I'm going to say Illawarra. You're going to say Illawarra. Yeah. Well then, all right. New South Wales country team. Why not? Fair enough. Yeah. I mean, they've certainly, you know, finished third last year and, um, as you said, Davos, Davos there, they've got plenty of big names. I see no reason they can't be among the top contenders. And a snake pit is not somewhere you ever want to go as a visiting team.
00:43:07
Speaker
No way. Those fans get up, those fans get up there, stand on the fence in front of the bar and make it quite a rowdy environment. It is plenty of fun to be at if you're an ill or a fan or a neutral. If you're supporting or playing for the opposition, it is not. It is not, not at all.
00:43:30
Speaker
All right, so looking forward to those games at the Snake Pit. We're going to head back into the metro area with the inner west bulls, a relatively new team, to be fair, in the whole basketball landscape in New South Wales. So they've only really come on the scene and say the last three years, I would say, especially at least at a senior level. When they entered the Warrata League a few years ago, they had the likes of Daniel Kickett and Mola,
00:44:00
Speaker
when he was kicking around playing for the Sydney Kings. But now another big healthy roster. Looks like they've maintained some core players, but like you said before, they've definitely lost some too.
00:44:16
Speaker
What do you gauge from this team, Locky? Well, they've lost, um, Chairmaker and Troll Adorpe as well as, uh, Jonas Lapikas from last year's team. So those were three big players and Christian Moran's headed up to Mackay. So he's bounced around a few, he's played for Sutherland, Penrith, Inner West, and now he's off to Queensland.
00:44:40
Speaker
So a few, definitely a few outs for the old Inner West, but they do have two imports coming in. Christopher Bryant, he's from Florida. I believe the other one might be Blake Morrow. It's the other import, but they're certainly not the only additions because they've also managed to lure Nico Timonera over from Bankstown, as we mentioned before, and he was a big scorer.
00:45:06
Speaker
for Bank Sound last year and they've got a one-time NBL player Tony Tolleve. A bit of a blast from the past. Yeah and the thing I like about Inner Westmen's team is that they had a really good energy about them. They were really supportive of each other, lots of hype on the bench, lots of hype on court. I think there was always going to be games where people lose their cool but certainly times when they played against the Crusaders they did a good job of keeping most of that
00:45:36
Speaker
Um, kind of under wraps as best as they could, but also delivered us with some really, really big dunks as well during the season. Would that have been, uh, Alex Higgins teacher. Correct. It's sure was done on Ollie rebellion's head.
00:45:53
Speaker
He does love it. He does love it. Doug does, Alex. Yes. I was, I was actually interested to see if he would head back to, back to Comets. Cause he was playing for Comets before maybe the inner west, but I've managed to hang on to him and he will remain a massive part for them as they look to, I mean, they only just missed out on finals last year. It came down to if they beaten Sutherland in the last couple of weeks, it would have come down to a tiebreaker.
00:46:18
Speaker
Yeah. And I think the, whether they went to the finals or not also depended on that game. They played against Crusaders where Higgins, Titscher absolutely annihilated, rebullied on that dunk. They had to beat the Crusaders by a certain amount to make sure they went ahead of Sutherland and they didn't. So heartbreaker. You don't want your season to get to that point, but I mean, as us as spectators, it's very exciting.
00:46:43
Speaker
Yes. And that game against Sutherland that they had to win, I remember Reggie Ridlin just hitting this massive three and Sutherland, like the air went out of the stadium at the Shark Tank and somehow Sutherland managed to just hold on. All right. Rolling up the freeway back into country area.
Challenges and Veteran Losses
00:47:05
Speaker
We're going to talk about the Maitland Mustangs who came second.
00:47:09
Speaker
in the MBL1 East final last year, or comp I should say, or also a bit of a heartbreaking tale. They were up for most of the grand final against the Canberra Gunners and just slipped out of their hands in the dying seconds, or not seconds, I shouldn't say that, but you could just feel it in like that fourth quarter that it was slipping away from them.
00:47:31
Speaker
It certainly was and they return a lot of the same players, though, as last season. They're missing. There's no more Sharif Watson and Tyrell Turner has finally hung up his basketball shoes after a very long and distinguished career up at Maitland. But aside from that, they return a lot of the same players and importantly, a lot of those young players are now a year older.
00:47:58
Speaker
You think of guys, obviously they've got Daniel Milburn, big James Hunter in the center. I'm sure you love as the fan of the five man.
00:48:07
Speaker
Oh yeah, he was really good, really good. Also a great textbook centre, back to the basketball. Just play your role. That's all I ask, guys. Just play your role. So they've got both of those. Josh Clifford, Billy Parsons is a young player who's made his way up. But guys like Matt Gray and Will Cranston-Lown coming out from the Central West, they've got another year of experience under their belt, which will serve them well. And then Will Mortimer from the
00:48:33
Speaker
played for representing New South Wales. He's only going to get better as the years roll on. It's a present and future that looks quite good for Maitland as it stands. Yeah, see, when we were talking offline about who we're tipping, I mean, my instinctive tip was Maitland, purely because they were so successful last year. Sure, they're missing Torell and Turell.
00:49:04
Speaker
Um, but I feel like they've played together for a long time. They were very consistent. Um, and I thought they probably had some unfinished business hitting the way their season ended last year. So that was one of my initial tips too. But I mean, they don't have Davo, but listen, a matchup between someone like Will Cranston-Lown and Davo Hickey would be very, very interesting to watch. Um, I am glad that Jack Edwards is back to steer the ship.
00:49:34
Speaker
But I'm hoping Daniel Milburn and Matt Gray can produce a little bit more this season compared to what they did last season. I mean, they still had great seasons, but I'm being greedy and I'm asking them for a bit more. Now back into Metro, we're going to go to the manly Waringa Sea Eagles. Lockie, you managed to catch one of their pre-season games against your beloved Sutherland Sharks. What did you take away from that pre-season game?
00:50:04
Speaker
What I took away from that preseason game between Manly and Sutherland is that it is all change on the men's side at Manly this season. New coach in Brad Dalton and of last season's roster, I can see Jock McHugh, Stefan Valkovich. That might be it of last season's team that is actually here this year.
00:50:33
Speaker
So, a lot of change at Manly. They do have Banjo Talbot coming in, former King's Development player. And Krenz Carlos, who spent time with Penrith and Hills. I played Boratarl 1 last year rather than MBL 1 East for Hills. So, yes, definitely a lot of change. Manly Waringa Sea Eagles. So, that...
00:51:00
Speaker
pre-season game, a big win by Sutherland on that occasion, but also a manly team looking to gel a lot of new players in the process. And did you talk, did you tell us about the manly's new coaching staff as well? Yeah, so Nathan Curlin, who was their men's coach last year, shifted over to take on the head coaching role of the women's team and
00:51:27
Speaker
Basketball legend Brad Dalton is going to be the manly men's head coach this year So that's that's definitely a turn up Yeah, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how he goes And welcome him welcome him into the NBA one East for sure and as we roll on to the Newcastle Falcons and
00:51:51
Speaker
I think their roster to me looks pretty similar to last
Recruitment Success and New Additions
00:51:57
Speaker
season. Now correct me if I'm wrong. Did Tom Dawson play last season as well? He did play last season. Yes, he did. He just keeps going. Does Tommy Dawson form a Comets player?
00:52:10
Speaker
Yeah, that's right. He was a long time standout for the Comets when we were still at Warratai League. Married to someone who was also a great basketballer. They met in Sydney, but she's originally from Newcastle. So it looks like they've moved up to Newcastle and now he's a Falcon for two years running now, which is, well, New South Wales country, we're happy to take him, that's great. Take any of you good people from Metro.
00:52:38
Speaker
But as this roster is in front of me, the big one that I'm circling is Thomas Akamamoi. Yeah, interested to see his name listed on the website as playing for Newcastle instead of a team slightly south on the freeway. He is a long time Central Coast Crusader. He grew up playing Rebels with the likes of
00:53:03
Speaker
Ollie Rabiliot and Jacob Cracknell and Matt Kenyon, as some of our listeners will know from the Tassie Jack Jumpers. Really great history. That age group with our club continued to in Youth League men where they won a couple of championships.
00:53:21
Speaker
Yeah. So, and Tommy has actually been interstate for a little while. I think working in the mines or something like that. So, it was really nice to see him back. To be honest, I did see him at training not that long ago. So, I was even more surprised to see he's on the roster for Newcastle. That's right. But one out is the import from last season, Jason Smith.
00:53:43
Speaker
is not listed. But it looks like they might have Anthony Gaines as the name. It's not what I recognize, but a quick Google suggests there are some import players out there, some American basketball players named Anthony Gaines. So we'll see if that is indeed the import. Yeah, very interesting. If you look at the current MBO1 East website, here's just a shadow with the
00:54:11
Speaker
logo behind him so you have to watch very carefully for when he is added to the roster officially or once he steps on court. Which we will see hopefully if he's here yet on this Saturday.
00:54:27
Speaker
Yeah, hopefully we will see them this Saturday. Yeah. Cause they're matching up against Sutherland for round one. Is that right? They are teams, you know, the clubs, you know, teams have a bit of history on the men's and the women's side. Um, should be very exciting contest between two teams that made the finals in both men's and women's last year. Yeah. Definitely. Um, not wasting any time there with that match up for round one.
00:54:54
Speaker
Um, as we go back into Sydney with the North bears, uh, very competitive and, um, consistently good men's and women's team in the Waratah and MBL1 East. Looking at this roster, Anatoly Bose is back. Uh, we've also got Mike Golding back and the biggest signing for the North is Junior Medut. I mean,
00:55:22
Speaker
I've said it, I've been watching Warrata League for a decade now, or the Warrata NBA one. The thing I say about Norse is they always retool. They always reload. You could sign their entire squad away to other clubs and I still reckon they find a way to find 12 good men and women's players to put on the court. And they've done it again, getting Junior Medut into this squad. They've picked up Nathaniel Masters from Bankstown. And of course, Brennan Reimer's back after absolutely lighting it up all of last season.
00:55:53
Speaker
Yeah, that's a really good point. They are really good at recruiting. And as you put it, reloading, I think nearly on par with Aubrey, I suppose. So the coaching staff and the back office at North are always doing a really, really good job with recruiting. And they must look after their players as well, because both men and women, they consistently maintain like a core group of their roster. So they must be well looked after.
00:56:19
Speaker
Definitely. And I think with the addition of Junior Meduit to a team that already, you know, made finals last season, I definitely think that Norse will be there or thereabouts again. It is, as we said, it's a far more competitive top end of town this season, but they always have a competitive team. I mean, they don't have Patrick Sanders anymore.
00:56:47
Speaker
or Marquis Navarre, but that team is still very, very good. And I'm sure they'll sprinkle in a few of their better youth league players to shore up the numbers as well. And then the last two teams. So the last two teams, before we wrap up, we first got the last new edition in the Paneras Panthers. I'm going to be honest again, Lockie, a roster of names that I don't know.
00:57:12
Speaker
Okay. So a few players that have had some, uh, Penrith Youth League experience, um, Blair Williams, Brody Schwartz, uh, uh, Luke Griffith, uh, Caleb and Jayden for Amai. Um,
00:57:27
Speaker
Pranayya Sakia, he actually played a season for Sutherland. So the season after St. George won the Waratah, I think it was called Waratah 2 back then, or maybe Div 1, man, their coach DeMarcus Berry took on Sutherland and now he came over with him and was a very good backup foil for Locky Hutcheson that season. I believe Norman Massimino has played a bit in Waratah and MBL 1, maybe for Illawarra.
00:57:58
Speaker
So probably a young squad for the most part, but a couple of experienced players and, you know, probably, probably good building blocks for the future. A little bit, maybe a little bit like Hornsby in that sense, but definitely having a couple of players with some higher level experience is good. I think, nay, if he, if he's playing plenty of minutes, he'll definitely keep the team headed in the right direction.
00:58:27
Speaker
Yeah, and they're also another club, especially in their men's program who seem to have a really good brotherhood, a lot of hype on the bench. So I think sometimes that can really be their X factor coming into games. And they've also had a long history of being very competitive in the youth league men. So it doesn't sound like they're definitely the ones to count out just yet.
00:58:48
Speaker
100%. I mean, they won Youth League last season. They must be producing players who are quite good. You can hopefully make the step up to the next level. That's the thing though, that step up to the next level from Youth League to MBL1, it's not just a step, it can be a bit of a leap. So it might take them a little while to adjust or maybe they'll just blow us all away. I don't know. Who knows?
00:59:19
Speaker
And the final team, your beloved Sutherland Sharks. A healthy roster in terms of numbers. The names I recognize that are returning are the likes of Asia and Cabrera. Kevin or Shampong. Now, for those who don't know.
00:59:35
Speaker
Kevin of Champong to me is also Instagram famous. I actually knew him from Instagram before I knew he was a Sutherland shark. He does some very good, very funny reels on Instagram. So I recommend that you go and follow him on social media. I think it's like kev underscore pong. And obviously the golden boy, Lockie Hutchinson is back and he shot you to Callum Norris. So you guys are looking pretty healthy.
01:00:01
Speaker
We're looking pretty good. I'm pretty happy with how things are. We got, um, oh, there's another player, uh, Bankstown have lost is Aaron Waban is coming over and Angus Lake, who did not play for Bankstown senior team last year, but has represented New South Wales. Um, I think at New South Wales Metro 18. So, uh, big steal away to get him. Uh, as you mentioned, some of the big names and then also the shark man, Jeff Gerlach every time he hits the three.
01:00:30
Speaker
For a big man, he can shoot the three really well. So just allows that option in the pick and pop that not every center can provide. And then we've got a couple of couple of imports, you know, Jordan Mitchell's back. So he's had a couple of stints with us and he's back again this season. And then we recently announced Mark L. Beasley. So apparently he is actually Michael Beasley, former number two NBA draft picks cousin.
01:01:00
Speaker
Wow, it's so funny that you say NBA draft pick cousin because I'm not too sure specifically what it's like in the other NBA one conferences, but it seems to be like a little bit of a theme or a very New South Wales thing that sometimes we get imports and look, to be honest, a lot of our clubs for those listening interstate
01:01:22
Speaker
A lot of our clubs in the NBL1 East probably don't have the same financial backing that a lot of clubs in, say, South and North have. So sometimes imports is truly a luxury for us. But I've noticed that the imports we're able to get is kind of like the last import the Crusaders had was like
01:01:42
Speaker
someone's grandson, uh, the one before that was someone's half brother. And so now you, Sutherland Sharks have signed someone's cousin. So it just seems to be like a, it's becoming like a funny thing with our comp. So, so Marco Hill, um, definitely provide us with some help inside. You probably buy the four spot alongside Gerlach just looking at what I think this roster could be.
01:02:08
Speaker
So that would be good. We've of course had great success with players like Taj Davis, Taj Davis Spencer playing in the paint for us in previous years. So hopefully we get another successful import this season.
01:02:26
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And Sutherland Sharks, again, going to be super, super competitive. I feel like they have been in, whether it's NBA One East or Waratah, I reckon they've been a top, at least a top 16 for the last, what, five seasons, would you say, Lockie? Yeah, just haven't quite been able to get over the top, you know, make semis, make finals, make a grand final, but not quite been able to get there. You know, did that three-peat way back in the day.
01:02:57
Speaker
We had a great team back then, but yeah, just looking to get, oh, get that final stop to step to the top of the podium. Yeah. It sounds kind of frustrating where you get so close, but so far away. Hey, but, uh, so just to wrap up our episode of reviewing the MBL one East men's rosters for 2023. Lockie, your peak four champion is going to be COE. Uh, I'm taking a gamble.
01:03:25
Speaker
going against my instinct and saying Illawarra, even though my instincts were saying Maitland. Who would your second pick be if COE is one? Okay, so I'm going to go Grand Final, COE defeat Illawarra. Whoo. Okay. All right.
01:03:43
Speaker
I hear you there, I hear you there. All right, so just before we wrap up, remember everyone, MBL One East starts this Saturday, the 11th of March. You can catch all the games on KO freebies with the game of the week this week being the Sutherland Sharks versus the Newcastle Falcons. Lockie, always a pleasure. I'll join you again for the next episode where we review the women's roster for MBL One East, 2023. Until then, see you later, buddy.