Year Three of House of Hoops - Picture by NBL/NBL1 Central/Sarah Reed
3-Minute Read
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Round 1
Saturday 25/03/2023
Central District Lions vs North Adelaide Rockets (Starplex – The Den)
Women (6:30pm)
It’s a new year with returning coach Joe Noone having a big chance to make an impression early in the season with a first up home game to set the tone for the season. Jayden De La Cerda will be a challenging matchup for any opposition and the new recruits in Imani Guy and Tiahna Sears really add to the stocks of the Lions. On the flip side the Rockets have recruited well and there will still be intrigue if Lauren Mansfield makes it back in time from 3×3 Australia camp – so much will fall onto new import centre Erica Meyer.
Key Stat – The last time Centrals beat North Adelaide was pre 2015 – nearly 8 years ago…
COD Prediction: Rockets by 6 points
Men (8:15pm)
New coaches for both sides and different focuses with the Lions looking to build on their youth development by complementing their lineup and the Rockets looking to relaunch back into finals contention aggressive in the trading market. Brandon Jenkins was huge the last time they met in 2022 with 20 points as was Riley Harrap for the Rockets with 19 points and seven rebounds. Covering the absence of Jamar Akoh is key who was important in both fixtures last year – with new import Donoven Carlisle likely to cover that position I expect the Rockets to have just enough depth to get the win.
Key Stat – The Rockets in 2022 were ninth in average scoring with 79.2 points and the Lions were the same with 90.1 points per game in points conceded.
COD Prediction: Rockets by 10 points
South Adelaide Panthers vs Eastern Mavericks – (MPSC – The Jungle)
Women (6:30pm)
A fitting opening fixture for both sides with South Adelaide Panthers four-time halls medallist Vikki Kelson taking charge of the visiting Mavs. While we won’t learn too much about how much impact the additions of DeFrancesco, Troia and Gibbons – getting off to a winning start should be the priority for Richard Dickel. However with not much intel on new import for the Mavs Jannon Otto – I’d say this will be pretty close till halfway through the third before the Panthers experience and depth takes over.
Key Stat – The Mavs were second in turnovers in 2022 with 21.2 per game with key point guards Kaila Gabriel, Allie Garcia, Emily Dawe averaging 10 games for the season. Taylah Levy at the point is a huge in for the Mavs.
COD Prediction: Panthers by 17 points
Men (8:15pm)
Unveiling the championship banner and a former Panther gets his shot in Daniel Wray are the subplots of this one. My chief worry for the Mavs against the defending champs is how they guard Daniel Johnson and Alex Starling. Jordan Robertson and new import Jack Hemphill are going to have their hands full in the paint with those two no doubt. Unveiling the championship banner can be fraught with danger and even with a former Panther standing at the other end – I think the Panthers take this one comfortably.
Key Stat – The Mavs were eighth in three point shooting and with Legan, Rentoy, Ciabattoni and Raneburg off the pine – we should see more production from the outer from Wray’s men.
COD Prediction: Panthers by 21 points
Southern Tigers vs Forestville Eagles – (Morphett Vale – The Cage)
Women (6:30pm)
The Tigers women have gone bang this week on the recruiting front and while they won’t have all their pieces – they are starting to emerge as a dark horse for the 2023 championship. They have made a change as announced this week with power forward Brittany Hernandez replacing Julie Brosseau and their point guard import is bound to be confirmed in the coming days but their agency has also confirmed their signing. The Eagles main problem in 2023 will be utilising their best lineup when they have it. Izzy Borlase is no doubt the recruit of the upcoming winter however there will be stages where given the player she is – will be called up to higher honours. To note Opal’s training camp at the AIS is between March 31 and April 5 so whether the Eagles have access to Borlase before or after camp plays a big role in how the Eagles play this Saturday. They still have Rachel Hines and the Brett’s but even with mystery surrounding the Eagles lineup for Saturday night – I think the Tigers might sneak this one in one of the games of the round.
Key Stat – Yaeger played just the 15 games in 2022 and clearly had some injury issues. They need her to play majority of this season to control the tempo and flow of games.
COD Prediction: Tigers by 4 points
Men (8:15pm)
Rookie versus one of the regulars when Scott Freer’s new side clashes with a strong squad of the Eagles led by Andy Simons. The combination of Jimma Dau, Fabian Johnson and Anthony Green will be intriguing to watch against the familiar names of Doyle, Machar, Rios on return, Mays and Owen Hulland. It looks like from a personnel point of view the Eagles have the balance right this time around and we should get a first good look at it. I think the Eagles might take this one comfortably – but the Tigers are going to be fun to watch in the mens this year.
Key Stat – The balance of last year’s Eagles lineup reminded me of the big heavy Melbourne Tigers of the mid-2000s lineup – that showed up in the stats with the Eagles number one in the league for rebounds (47.3) however they also allowed opponents to shoot within eight feet 42.5 percent and gave up 73.9 attempts per game compared to the team that unravelled them in the Panthers 67.4.
COD Prediction: Eagles by 16 points
West Adelaide Bearcats vs Woodville Warriors – (Port Adelaide Rec Centre – The Bearcat Cave)
Women (6:30pm)
The scary thing about this opening wild west showdown at the Bearcat Cave – the reigning champion won’t be at their absolutely best. There are still many moving pieces over at Port Adelaide whereas the Warriors coincidently at least have their pieces in place for the first half of the season. You can expect to see familiar faces like Fejo, Langenbrinck, Brenton and Pearce but also the additions of Coleman, Genna Anderson, Simmons and shooting gun Annaliese Watkinson. The Warriors lineup carries plenty of former Rockets with Allotey and Calvert likely to make appearance alongside other NBL1 names such as Chelsea Apacible and Serena Waters joining Katherine Perkas and Emily Winter. The final piece is in place with 6’2 Canadian Nicole Fransson available for Saturday which will make a huge difference to the outcome of this one – but with that in mind I think the reigning champs will be a little bit too strong in this one.
Key Stat – The Bearcats championship formula was built on being the number one rebounding team in the league with 51 per game, scoring team with 79.4 and assist queens with 21.3 per game. They also dropped 46 percent of their shots from inside the paint.
COD Prediction: Bearcats by 14 points
Men (8:15pm)
Both teams had a cracking set of clashes despite the ladder position and now with both teams slated for the top five – its going to go to another level. Bearcats have added some magic in the form of Northside Wizards McCarron and Drmic who I’m sure you already knew were Adelaide 36ers however you can also add a current rookie in Fraser Roxburgh and a former rookie in Joel Spear to that list. On paper Nyberg’s Bearcat team looks strong and has plenty of experience but the Warriors despite some key losses of Wurm, Boonstoppel and all-star five player Humphries – have plenty of continuity with “special J” Stepney and Jackson, Meldrum, Maiorana and of course Osborne. Defence is where this game comes down to early in the season with both teams looking to make shots at either end of the floor. I think the Warriors have had a little more time together and will get the win in this one as the Bearcats continue to gel – but it only take Drmic and DeSantis to go off for it to turn around the other way…
Key Stat – The Bearcats lacked firepower in 2022 averaging 80.5 points per game with the Warriors number two in the league with 95.6.
COD Prediction: Warriors by 5 points
Sunday 26/03/2023
Norwood Flames vs Sturt Sabres (The ARC – The Firedome)
Women (11:00am)
All is going to be revealed for the Flames who seem to have had an “interesting” off season. Exodus of key players, late signings and decisions have been made right at the eleventh hour and still we won’t know the true extent as to how that affects the outcome. It appears Ally Wilson leads the charge for this Flames teams with Demi Skinner and Sharni Thompson needing big games weekly to keep this side up near the top – time will tell if the next generation of youth can make it through at the ARC. The Sabres meanwhile seem solid, with plenty of continuity and armed with dangerous returning players like Tayla Brazel and of course the Halls medallist brilliant Mikayla Williams. I think the Sabres just have had more time together to understand what they want to do and will take them in this one.
Key Stat – The Halls medallist had one key deficiency in her game – shooting the mid-range at 26 percent and the three ball at 14 percent on one of seven attempts – watch out if she’s improved this area of her game.
COD Prediction: Sabres by 11 points
Men (12:45pm)
Similar to the Flames women – the men have also had their lineup shrouded in mystery. While we’ve seen the announcement of a potential star of Collin Smith and some familiar names like returning import Trey McBride, Seb Vozzo and Tom Goodall – some of the star power of previous Flames outfits seems at the moment to be lacking. The same can be said for the Sabres which this match looms as a battle of which team’s junior players can step-up to the plate. Look for names like Darcy McNamara, Robert Brennan and a guy who’s been around for a while that is having a red-hot preseason in Daniel Nash. For continuity and a game breaker in Jacob Rigoni – I think the Sabres get off to a winning start in the game of the week for Kayo.
Key Stat – The sixth placed Sabres of 2022 missed by the barest of margins as number five in the league for scoring, eight in free throws made (63 percent), fourth in score conceded and fifth in turnovers – changing these numbers via their lineup needs to be a priority if they are going to get back into the top contenders.
COD Prediction: Sabres by 6 points
We are back to doing recaps for the NBL, Catch all the NBL1 Central action this weekend on the NBL1 website, app and game of the week in Round 1 between the Norwood Flames and the Sturt Sabres on Kayo and Kayo Freebies Sunday.
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