I think it would be pretty on brand if they accidentally released the candidates names in their actual order of finish for each award.

1/1 so far.

I can't see either of the Boomers players winning it. Their whole starting line up is strong and pretty well balanced.

Bendigo Spirit Awards

Spirit Award - Cassidy McLean
Coaches Award - Maddie Garrick
MVP - Anneli Maley

---

Southside Flyers Awards

Val Ryan Players Choice - Aimie Rocci
MVP Runner-up - Sara Blicavs
MVP - Bec Cole

I think it would be pretty on brand if they accidentally released the candidates names in their actual order of finish for each award.

1/1 so far.

No Wallace for DPOY? I'd take her ahead of half that list.

I agree.

Sykes is our 2022 DPOY

Deserving winner. She has been a menace.

Just saw the official release.
The votes were:

Brittney Sykes: 30
Kalani Purcell: 24
Steph Talbot: 14
Jackie Young: 7
Steph Reid: 6

Votes:
Kristy Wallace: 22
Alex Ciabattoni: 14
Jade Melbourne: 12
Steph Reid: 10
Chelsea Brook: 8

No vote tallies provided for this one.
Article Link

Maley MVP. Well deserved!

Still overlooked for opals..

Votes of top 5:
Anneli Maley: 78
Steph Talbot: 77
Jackie Young: 66
Alanna Smith: 63
Britt Sykes: 62

Just scraped in by one vote. I would've been happy with either Maley or Talbot to win. Both are incredibly talented players that I've really enjoyed watching this season.

Maley would have to be a lock for the Opals. After this season, surely they can't leave her out?

I think it is a perfect selection.
(They gotta thing 'bout leaving the WNBL MVP outta Opals. Batkovic, Griffin.
now Maley. It's frustrating to see that.)

Maley a well deserved acknowledgement for working her ass off all season, but she still probably won't make the Opals , she’s up against Bec Allen and Talbot , both stronger more experienced players and we all know Brondello doesn’t pick youth unless it’s to decorate the bench

Bye bye Bec Allen. How many chances did she want?

^ what is the Bec Allen thing referring to?

Under brondello

Talbot has always played the 2, Allen the 3.
Maley is a undersized 4 atm so she's up against magbegor, smith, Blicavs, Garbin.

A modern coach would have players playing different positions

That means

Whitcomb 2, not 1
Wallace 2, not 1
Madgen 2, not 1
Talbot 3, not 2
Allen 4, not 3
Blicavs 4, not 3
Magbegor 5, not 4
George 5, not 4


Brondello WC roster looks to be

Whitcomb-Lavey-(Rocci, Heal or Wallace)
Talbot-Madgen
Allen-Blicavs
Magbegor-Smith-Garbin
George-Tolo

Ohea retiring puts Blicavs and Garbin almost certainties under sandy.
Maley can only push out Garbin it seems.


I think a another coach, possibly foreign would probably be looking at removing Heal, Madgen, Blicavs and Garbin from contention and adding other players to the list like Reid, Garrick, Nicholson, Kunek and Maley. Scherf also a likely replacement for George or Tolo in the 1-2 years.

International Coaches that have been shafted over the last year all played big ball and played veterans too long. Sandy unfortunately is one of these types of coaches and imo we will fail miserably once again. Nowhere near enough ball handlers in the current squad and we will be overwhelmed in the backcourt. It’ll be evident depending on who we play in the 12 lead up games.

Whats the bet that the big Gerry Ryan cheque book will be opened up for Maley to return back to where she started at the Flyers especially with O'Hea now retired.

Bendigo shouldn't be a wnbl team nor should canberra with no venue.

If the wnbl was serious, the new 22/23 teams would be Tassie and Brisbane.
Unlikely to happen given the timeframe but the aim for 23/24 should be to align most or all teams with nbl locations.



Southside dropped - small main court, too close to sbc and sem fan base
Canberra dropped - no location atm
Bendigo dropped - no big market, forever scrambling for cash


Existing
WNBL/nbl
10 teams

Melbourne boomers becomes sem - same location
Sydney / Sydney
Perth / Perth
Adelaide / Adelaide
Canberra becomes Illawara - Canberra has no ve us anymore
Townsville / Cairns - ok support for both, eventually have a team each
Tasmania / Tasmania
Brisbane / Brisbane
Nz / nz
Melbourne new team / Melbourne


Future expansion short term 5-10 years
WNBL/nbl

Cairns/Townsville - Townsville stadium needs little refurbish.
Canberra/Canberra - new stadium required
Wellington/Wellington - obvious rivalry for 'Auckland’


Long term possibilities - beyond 10 years

Newcastle/Newcastle
Darwin/Darwin
Sunshine Coast/Sunshine Coast
Geelong/Geelong
Canterbury/Canterbury
Gold Coast/Gold Coast
Western Sydney/western Sydney

But...why?

I wish the playing field was more even in the WNBL but if Bendigo is able to field a team and they're able to finish above rich clubs like Sydney & Southside then who is anyone to say they shouldn't stay here.
I'm not sure that "forever scrambling for cash" is accurate either.

It's not about placing but sustainability. Bendigo has struggled with cash, that has been the case for sometime.
I can tell you that Southside and melbournes budget is close to 3 times that of Bendigo.
No salary cap in the wnbl is a huge issue.

The last few seasons teams have pretty much purchased a championship.
Cambage alone was set to be on over 100,000. The almost unchanged lineup since then went from first to second last.

The top 2 spending teams this year supposably are Perth and Melbourne, both in the gf.

Sydney next year has a significant increase in the budget, would not suprise me if they go from last to top 3 given te talent they could bring in, spend on.

I believe 3 clubs currently pay some serious luxury tax because they spend quite a bit more than the 420,000

Where are Lynx getting their money from? I'm surprised at their spend since BWA ownership usually means cheapness.

I honestly still can't tell whether dropping Bendigo, Canberra & Southside from the WNBL is a legit post or an April fools thing gone wrong. While getting rid of Canberra we should probably lose the Wildcats from the NBL too.

no April fools, it's just good business sense.
Feelings and nostalgia for a legacy club won’t save the wnbl from sinking.

If Bendigo were a strong club, where’s the support? the money? The sponsors?
If Canberra was strong, where’s the infrastructure? They are now in Tuggeranong.
If Southside was strong, why are they playing on a 500 seat showcourt next too a major hub location from 2024?

Yes they disappear for a while but they are replaced by bigger locations and tapped into the nbl marketplace.

Canberra as I said may have a short hiatus before returning alongside the cannons nbl team and a new stadium or ais refurbishment in the future.

Atm,
Bendigo being replaced by Tassie
Canberra replaced by Illawara
+ brisbane team

That is the best direction to head direction in the short term.

The caps have the NCCC. It was only unavailable throughout the finals period. Should they have a dedicated facility? of course! But renting a convention centre with adequate facilities shouldn't see them removed from the competition.

It would be great to see membership numbers and attendance at games for each club... caps would be right up there.

The Wildcats had to play a couple of playoffs at Challenge Stadium back in the late 90s, because the Entertainment Centre was unavailable. Should they have been removed from the NBL?

Sure Canberra have been one of the best supported (in terms of both spectators and financially) teams in the league, and have by far the most titles including 2 of the last 3, but Covid caused them some stadium issues so the league really needs to get rid of them for good.

What the league needs is more teams not less, so anyone who wants to spend some money on a new team is welcome.

Spending time even thinking of removing teams is a waste of energy, which should be put to good use finding investors willing to create new clubs, the first should be in Brisbane.

Weedy you are clueless. Dandenong is not a 500 seat stadium. Its 2000

Why would anyone invest in a new team when the leagues own players have spent the entire week bad mouthing it and calling it amateur lol

Wait and see...

Hopefully...

Perth 22/23
(Bendat basketball centre + RAC arena)

Adelaide 22/23
(Lights sports centre + Adelaide entertainment centre)

Townsville 22/23
(Townsville entertainment centre)

Sydney 22/23
(Byrdens stadium + Qudos bank arena)

Brisbane 23/24
(Nissan arena + YTBD)

NZ 24/25 perhaps
(Spark arena + YTBD)

Illawarra-'Canberra capitals' 22/23 maybe combined over 5 or so years
(WIN stadium + National convention centre)

Bendigo spirit 22/23 >
Tasmania 23/24
(Mystate bank arena + Silverdome)

Melbourne boomers 22/23 >
SEM 23/24
(SBC arena + Dandenong stadium)

Southside flyers 22/23 >
Melbourne 23/24
(Melbourne sports centre + John Cain arena)


22/23
8 teams

23/24
9 teams

24/25
10 teams

Beyond that,
splitting of Illawara and Canberra would require a new Canberra stadium.
Introduction of a cairns womens side coincides with Townsville crocs returning and entertainment centre upgrades.

Why do you just keep posting the same dumb idea over and over?

Dumb is keepin the wnbl as is.

WNBL ALL-STAR FIRST TEAM:
Jackie Young (Perth Lynx)
Anneli Maley (Bendigo Spirit)
Brittney Sykes (UC Capitals)
Steph Talbot (Adelaide Lightning)
Ezi Magbegor (Deakin Melbourne Boomers)

WNBL ALL-STAR SECOND TEAM:
Lindsay Allen (Deakin Melbourne Boomers)
Marina Mabrey (Perth Lynx)
Alanna Smith (Adelaide Lightning)
Cayla George (Deakin Melbourne Boomers)
Kelsey Griffin (UC Capitals)


Article Link

What the WNBL needs is to be taken out of the hands of BA... then you will have viability, visibility and a world class competition

Perth Lynx Awards

General Manager Award - Emma Gandini
Commitment to Excellence - Sami Whitcomb
Youth Player of the Year - Tayah Burrows
Runner-up MVP - Lauren Scherf
MVP - Jackie Young

What on earth is a general manager award?

Maybe the team all played in a fantasy league and she won

Is it a coach's award type thing? I figured that's what "Commitment to Excellence" was, but Sami doesn't really fit the typical coach's award archetype as much as Gandini does...which then leads me to question what a "commitment to excellence" award is. Runner-up runner-up MVP?