Photo Credit – Sarah Reed (Via Basketball SA)
3-Minute Read
Over 200 people attended the Halls Woollacott Medal for 2024 at the Hotel Grand Chancellor Adelaide in a night of glitz and grandeur to celebrate one of the most competitive seasons of the state league ever seen. Hosted by “Downtown” Allan Browne – the consensus this year was both awards there weren’t any runaway favourites as the league concluded one of it’s closest in both the womens and mens in it’s history.
The tight count was evident in the women’s with it coming down to the last three rounds with Casey Samuels emulating the feats of the previous sole Halls medal winner Jess Mahony at the same venue 12 years ago. Casey becomes the first local player to win in the Halls in over five years with the last being Chelsea Brook in 2018. Samuels of the Bendigo Spirit beat out Brooke Basham and Brittany Hodges in the final rounds with Maddy Freer polling much stronger than expected and along with Tayla Levy rounded out the top five. All five were named in the all-star five in a strong field.
Tim Shortt of the Sturt Sabres won his third coach of the year award in a row to be the first coach in the women’s to do so since the introduction of the award in 1998. Maddy Freer became the fourth winner of the Merv Harris award for the best U23 Youth Player of the Year from the Forestville Eagles in consecutive years and a back to back winner and two time winner following after Sam Simons (Eagles) and Cayla George (nee Francis for the Eastern Mavericks). Sturt Sabres Zoe Walker-Roberts capped a remarkable year for the top of the table Sabres with Defensive Player of the Year and joined Jess Mahony, Monique Bowley, Caroline Burgess and Tayla Brazel as the fifth winner from the Springbank based club.
In the mens it looked like several challengers took take out several of the awards but the night belonged to the storied journey of one Alex Starling who created multiple strands of history. Starling’s third Woollacott medal beating out Sabres pair Jacob Rigoni, Jordan Forbes and Forestville Eagles Greg Mays and Daniel Johnson is a historic one. Alex is the first player to win three Woollacott Medals at three different clubs (2014 Woodville, 2018 North Adelaide and now 2024 at South) and elevates himself to equal third overall with Jacob Holmes (2003, 2004 and 2011), Bearcats legend Werner Linde (1966, 1969 and 1971) and a Panther great in Ron Nunnelly (1993, 1994, 1997). Starling can now chase down Legendary Norwood Flame in Huba Nagy with four across 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1972 and the great Panthers himself in Mark Davis with five across the late 80s into early 90s with medals in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1992.
The accolades continued for Starling taking out his third MVP award, fifth defensive player of the year and sixth all-star five nomination. No player across Mens or Womens has done that since Vikki Kelson at the Southern Suns in 2001 taking out the brace of Halls/Woollacott, MVP, DPOY and All-Star Five. He equals Jason Dix of the Forestville Eagles (2002, 2003 and 2005) as the top MVP award winner and is now second in the all-time defensive player of the year award winner behind Todd Matthews of the Norwood Flames (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014).
Ineligible to win the award Starling of course could not take out the Frank Angove Medal for the best U23 Youth Player of the Year (although at times he may look like it on court) – that went to 21 year-old Cairns Taipans recruit Akoldah Gak for the West Adelaide Bearcats to make them back-to-back medallists while the all-star five included Forbes, Rigoni, Mays, Starling and Central Districts Lions Branden Jenkins. Paul Rigoni was once again recognised by his peers as the Coach of the Year for the fifth time and making it a Sturt Sabres double across the Womens and Mens for the second consecutive year.
For the officials the Phillip Yuill medal for the Womens was awarded to Nathan Davis for the second year in a row and for the Mens to Nathan Durant – his eleventh award in either Mens and Womens since 2007.
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