It was a first in over a decade for the West Adelaide Bearcats with the inaugural Lorraine Eiler Medal and their first top Women’s award in the NBL1 Central since 2006 while also taking the Noel Woollacott Medal for the first time since 2013…
Photo Credit – Sarah Reed (Via Basketball SA)
3-Minute Read
This year’s newly named Basketball SA Awards afternoon was where for the first time the Lorraine Eiler Medal (formerly known as the Halls Medal and named after a pioneer of Women’s basketball) and the Noel Woollacott Medal for the Fairest and Most Brilliant players of the league was presented.
For the first time since 2006 – a West Adelaide Bearcat took out the Women’s top award with Olivia Levicki‘s comeback complete becoming the first since Sam Woosnam and the ninth in the club’s history to claim the award. Levicki on 46 votes finished just ahead of Forestville Eagles Sam Simons on 41 votes while Woodville Warriors Jasmin Fejo‘s second half of the season saw her storm home into third place with 39 votes – 15 clear of fourth place and below. Joining the three in the All-Star Five was Ke’Shunan James and Jordyn Freer with Freer named an all-star for the first time after several strong seasons.
Mark Billington of the West Adelaide Bearcats won his first Coach of the Year award to beat out three-time winner Sturt Sabres Tim Shortt and Forestville Eagles Toby Schaftenaar. Keira Gardiner became the first ever winner of the Merv Harris award for the best U23 Youth Player of the Year from the South Adelaide Panthers beating out sister Hannah Gardiner and Eastern Mavericks Daisy Hocking. Jasmin Fejo added to her accolades with a first Defensive Player of the Year making her the first Woodville Warrior to do it since Tamara Norris (nee Haase) when the award was first given in 1999 – and the Coaches MVP to be the third Warrior to achieve it since Callan Taylor and Teige Morrell
The Mens was much tighter than anticipated but Keanu Rasmussen took the Woollacott medal for the West Adelaide Bearcats for the first time since 2013 on 31 votes. He beat out South Adelaide Panthers Christian Brandon on 26 votes and a fast finishing Eastern Mavericks BJ Symons on 24 votes. Alex Starling going for his fourth Woollacott Medal finished just behind in fourth on 22 votes.
Rasmussen also took out the Frank Angove Medal and Coaches MVP completing the quad for the first time since Jacob Holmes in 2004 named in the All-Star Five along with Brandon, Sharif Black (Sturt Sabres), Daniel Johnson (Forestville Eagles and last Bearcat to win the medal in 2013) and Efe Abogidi (Central Districts Lions).
Coach of the Year went to Rupert Sapwell of the Central Districts Lions just over 2022 winner Scott Whitmore of the Woodville Warriors and Andy Simons of the Forestville Eagles
Joe Jackson of the Woodville Warriors took out Defensive Player of the Year – the sixth Warrior to do so behind Craig Gilbert, Andrew Puddifoot, Paul Vandenbergh and Mitch Creek. He held off Efe Abogidi and five time winner Alex Starling to win the award by only a few votes.
For the officials the Phillip Yuill medal for the Womens was awarded to Bailey Dyer for the first time and for the Mens to Nathan Durant – his thirteenth award in either Mens and Womens since 2010.
We want to continue our work telling the stories of SA Basketball this winter and beyond with world championships, local legends, NBL and WNBL previews, reviews and NBL1 off season news and predictions – Can you PLEASE HELP US with a shotclock sub of $14 or $24 a year to help us do this?
NEW – PITCH TO THE PUBLIC
It takes 4 hours a week to write, research and produce our content but we want to write extra content this next few months so we thought we’d pitch to the public
Here are the next lot of articles up for pitching – subscribe to get these written
“All about Ability – the last five year’s of the Men’s Ivor Burge Program”
“The all-time Adelaide Lightning All-Stars Team – Naming the team of the past 30 years of Adelaide Lightning players”
Eight new $24 Shotclock subscribers will have the remaining of piece produced on the topic of
Photo originally supplied by Rachael Sporn for ESPN Australia
Another eight new $24 Shotclock subscribers or contributors directly will have both pieces done for production
Please DM if you’d like to support another way than subscription
See if you can provide the assist we need to tell the South Australian Basketball story
All Episodes of the SA Shotclock available on podcasting platforms in the coming months
A set of previous winners take on the old team-mate of a previous winner while could one player be the first for their club in 12 years???
Photo Credit – As Supplied
3-Minute Read
A huge thankyou to our experts, the commentators of the NBL1 Central that cast their own 3-2-1 each match of the season to help with the predictions below for the award…
Previous Decade Winners
2013 Daniel Johnson (West Adelaide)
2014 Alex Starling (Woodville)
2015 Matthew Lycett (Norwood)
2016 Nelson Kirksey (Woodville)
2017 Eian Davis (South Adelaide)
2018 Alex Starling (North Adelaide)
2019 CJ Turnage (Southern)
2021 CJ Turnage (Norwood)
2022 Jeremy Smith (South Adelaide)
2023 Jawan Stepney (Woodville)
2024 Alex Starling (South Adelaide)
Did you know???
In the Mens the club with the most Woollacott medals won is Sturt who were also United Church prior to 1972 with 12, West Adelaide and Norwood each have 11. Out of the 10 current clubs, everyone has posted a winner with Steve Brekke the least recent club player to win it for Central District Lions way back in 1984.
The biggest multiple winner of the Woollacott is “Chairman of the Boards” himself Mark Davis who has won it five times between 1986 and 1992 including a tie with former 36ers teammate Mike McKay in 1987. There have also been 14 back-to-back winners of the award with the most recent CJ Turnage in 2019 and 2021 and the first Don Collins for West Torrens in 1951.
The Favourites
Daniel Johnson(Forestville Eagles)
We listed the past 11 years above because that’s when the veteran star of our league last won it – he’s a chance to do it again even stronger this year. The ultimate plug and play player has been elite this year in his work for the Eagles averaging 20.1 points (#6), 7.6 rebounds (#14) and 5.1 assists (#6).
This in a team of stars has arguably been his strongest season in multiple years and in those seasons he polled right near the top – that paves for a possible entry into the multiple winners club in 2025…
Keanu Rasmussen (West Adelaide Bearcats)
A breakout NBL season at the Adelaide 36er, given the keys to the point guard position and under the coach who masters the stars of the league equals very warm if not red hot favourite for the Woollacott. Rightly so for Rasmussen who has had an outstanding season in his most productive stint in the NBL1 Central with 24.1 points at 54 percent (#1 with a plus nine point lift since last stint in 2023), six rebounds and 5.3 assists (# with a plus three lift as above).
14 likely games are likely to yield votes with not much chance of too many steals off him. The work in the NZNBL with Hawke’s Bay and the NBL time has elevated his game to another level as a genuine superstar – his chances of taking the Bearcats first Woollacott since his this season contender in DJ highly probable.
Christian Brandon (South Adelaide Panthers)
The team-mate of a previous winner may be a good omen for the athletic import forward and he started with a bang. Expecting he’ll be leading early out of the blocks with his first seven likely to produce some big numbers on the leader board.
A patch in the middle of the season, some missed games and an on fire Lloyd McVeigh may possibly keep him out of the final picture but you just never know for a player in the top ten for points (#7 at 19.7) and rebounds (#7 at 8.9)…
The Smokeys
Greg Mays (Forestville Eagles)
Can’t talk the Woollacott Medal without looking at the Grand Final MVP of 2024 who to be honest has probably at least equalled his previous season output. If last year was an indication – Mays polled more than we all anticipated in 2024 and there is no doubt the all-star five member will be amongst the numbers again.
The statistics don’t talk to the influence and impact he has – the issue this year is he has at least three other team-mates taking valuable votes off him including the next smokey…
Alex Starling(Forestville Eagles)
Never write off the three time Woollacott Medallist and last year’s recipient of the award. Gunning for his second in a row and fourth to equal Huba Nagy of the Norwood Flames – this year is difficult to see him chasing down the leaders at his own club let alone the rest of the competition.
But we also wouldn’t count him out on his impact being measured in the key numbers including #1 in rebounds with 11.8 points and his defensive qualities having won DPOY five times – which also has him trying to equal Todd Matthews of the Flames across the late 2000s.
Nick Wurm (Woodville Warriors)
A career best season (at least to the eye) for the dynamic guard who has won more games off his own back than we can recall in sometime. Wurm’s impact has seen the Warriors rise from a challenger to a genuine contender for the championship in the second half of the season.
A plus five points per game rise has shown he may be the clutch player the Warriors need and this will reflect in the count – likely to take votes in at least six of the last nine matches but will it be enough to catch the leaders by counts end?
Keep An Eye on
BJ Symons(Eastern Mavericks)
TP called it before the season started that the skillset the Diamond Valley Eagle would bring to our league would be a problem for a majority of teams. The dominant paint player has grown on all of us having produced big time performance after performance to nearly steer the Mavs to a first time finals appearance in over twenty plus years.
That’s where the votes may fall short for Symons is number of wins for his side but with all 18 games played he likely has polled in 12 games and likely more as his unique style of play has a greater influence than the numbers suggest.
Efe Abogidi(Central Districts Lions)
“The Monster of our League” as dubbed by Downtown Allan Browne certainly proved to be a matchup problem at his best in 2025 and looms also as an X-Factor for the Lions in the upcoming finals series. Abogidi at his best has been unstoppable with not only power around the rim at both ends but also a deadly stroke from outside making him an incredibly difficult proposition to guard.
Our only concern from a medal point of view is the evenness of the Lions team where votes are spread but he also has a strong patch between Round 8-14 where he’ll punch a few tres and twos likely keeping him just outside the contenders.
Joe Jackson(Woodville Warriors)
Numbers definitely don’t tell the story but positional change and being part of the third best team on the ladder do and if Wurm doesn’t get votes – Joe is someone who will.
A highly fancied opportunity for the defensive player of the year from the second best defensive team of the year – we are all intrigued how much of the votes he will get it. He could emerge as a real left field option but also we wouldn’t be surprised if he gets more votes than we gave as his impact would be highly valued especially in the key voters’ eyes.
Our final prediction for the Woollacott Medal will be announced on Episode 39 of the SA Shotclock
We want to continue our work telling the stories of SA Basketball this winter and beyond with world championships, local legends, NBL and WNBL previews, reviews and NBL1 off season news and predictions – Can you PLEASE HELP US with a shotclock sub of $14 or $24 a year to help us do this?
NEW – PITCH TO THE PUBLIC
It takes 4 hours a week to write, research and produce our content but we want to write extra content this next few months so we thought we’d pitch to the public
Here are the next lot of articles up for pitching – subscribe to get these written
“All about Ability – the last five year’s of the Men’s Ivor Burge Program”
“The all-time Adelaide Lightning All-Stars Team – Naming the team of the past 30 years of Adelaide Lightning players”
Eight new $24 Shotclock subscribers will have the remaining of piece produced on the topic of
Photo originally supplied by Rachael Sporn for ESPN Australia
Another eight new $24 Shotclock subscribers or contributors directly will have both pieces done for production
Please DM if you’d like to support another way than subscription
See if you can provide the assist we need to tell the South Australian Basketball story
All Episodes of the SA Shotclock available on podcasting platforms in the coming months
The race is between three it seems for the newly named Lorraine Eiler Medal (formerly known as the Halls) at the Basketball SA Awards this Sunday – Will we have a dual winner for the first time since Williams or will two long time participants who have won multiple Merv Harris awards finally take out the final gong???
Photo Credit – As Supplied
5-Minute Read
A huge thankyou to our experts, the commentators of the NBL1 Central that cast their own 3-2-1 each match of the season to help with the predictions below for the award…
Halls now to be known as the Lorraine Eiler Medal
(The following was released by Basketball SA earlier this year)
The Halls Medal has been a symbol of excellence in South Australian women’s basketball for over half a century. First awarded in 1964, the prestigious honour was established to recognise the best and fairest players in the District Women’s competition. Over the years, it has evolved into the award for the Fairest and Most Brilliant player, with referees casting votes after every game on a 3-2-1 basis.
With a history rich in talent, past winners include some of Australia’s basketball greats — Rachael Sporn (West Adelaide, 1989 & 1993), Suzy Batkovic (West Adelaide, 2002), Alex Wilson (Eastern Mavericks, 2017), and Kristen Veal (Norwood, 1999), among others.
The biggest multiple winner of the Halls is Vikki Kelson who has won it four times in 2000, 2001 and 2005 including a three-way tie in 1999 with Narelle Lindsay and Kristen Veal. In 2024 we had our first back-to-back Halls medallist in Mikayla Williams since Deanna Smith for the South Adelaide Panthers in 2003 and 2004.
The origins of the award date back to a time when the Woollacott Medal was the sole recognition for standout players. A push for a separate women’s award led to Halls Soft Drinks sponsoring the medal, creating a legacy that has stood the test of time.
Now, in recognition of the remarkable contributions of women in basketball and the sport’s ever-evolving landscape, the Halls Medal is set to be renamed. And there is no better figure to honour in this transition than Lorraine Eiler, a true trailblazer of women’s basketball in Australia.
Photo provided by Basketball SA in Media Release March 18
Eiler was a natural leader who captained South Australia’s state team at the first- ever National Championships in 1955, winning the first of nine consecutive titles.
She made history as the captain of Australia’s first-ever national women’s basketball team, leading the Opals at the 1957 FIBA World Championships in Brazil. What makes her story even more remarkable is that she had only taken up basketball three years prior to her historic selection.
A multi-talented athlete, Eiler excelled in basketball and netball, where she represented Australia and led the national team to victory over England in 1956. She was also an A-grade tennis and squash player. But it was her ground-breaking journey in basketball that saw her become the first Australian woman to receive a U.S. college scholarship — an opportunity that paved the way for future generations of female athletes.
Her legacy was cemented when she was inducted into the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Sport SA Hall of Fame in 2015. She remains one of the most influential figures in Australian women’s basketball history.
The official unveiling of the new name will take place at this Sunday’s Basketball SA Awards Gala, ensuring that the legacy of the Halls Medal continues to inspire generations to come.
The inaugural Lorraine Eiler Medallist will be awarded to the Fairest and Most Brilliant player of the 2025 NBL1 Central season.
Previous Decade Winners
2014 Amy Lewis (Norwood Flames)
2015 Callan Taylor (Woodville Warriors)
2016 Olivia “Levicki” Thompson (Forestville)
2017 Alex Wilson (Eastern Mavericks)
2018 Chelsea Brook (Sturt Sabres)
2019 Carmen Tyson-Thomas (Eastern Mavericks)
2021 Teige Morrell (Southern Tigers)
2022 Mikayla Williams (Sturt Sabres)
2023 Mikayla Williams (Sturt Sabres)
2024 Casey Samuels (Central Districts Lions)
Did you know???
In the Womens the club who has won the most Halls medals is North Adelaide with 10 followed by South Adelaide with nine and West Adelaide with eight. Out of the 10 current clubs, everyone has posted a winner with Sam Woosnam the least recent club player to win it for West Adelaide way back in 2006.
The Favourites
Olivia Levicki(West Adelaide Bearcats)
Our raging favourite going into the season and for good reason. Levicki did not miss a beat despite the rust coming into the season off three years away from the game in AFLW with Port Adelaide. The big part here is she’s a previous winner (2016) and has always caught the eye with her size and speed combination.
The dominant player on her team going through her numbers we think she’s polled at least 12 of her 17 games while being top five in points (21.5) and rebounds (14.1 at #1) while also capturing 1.4 steals and blocks to boot
West haven’t had a winner since Sam Woosnam in 2006 – Levicki could be the first of their new era…
Sam Simons(Forestville Eagles)
The time as a Tiger in NBL1 South has Simons peaking at the right time of her career. An incredibly consistent season playing every game in the team that finished top of the ladder. A multiple Merv Harris award winner across 2021 and 2022 for the most number of votes in the medal by an Under 23 player means she’s already a known poller in the counts.
Simons finished top five in points (20.8) but it will all depend on whether votes are shared in her side – however we are anticipating polling in at least 16 of her 18 games this season.
Jasmin Fejo(Woodville Warriors)
As the Warriors got their momentum rolling after a tough opening three matches – so did the multiple championship winner. The last six matches of 21, 28, 26, 15, 17 and 26 saw her finish the last third of the season 22 points per game and likely plenty of triple votes.
So our eye will be on how she polls early in the season – if she can snare a few votes in some of those losses as the Warriors best her run home could see her sweep into calculations just like her team this season…
The Smokeys
Katia Stamatelopoulos (Sturt Sabres)
Out and out the most improved player of the season – flourishing in her new environment at the Sabres. Stamatelopoulos upped her numbers by +5 in points, +2 in assists and +5 in rebounds – the style she plays with is impactful and has been one of the recruits of the season.
The key as always with votes in a Sabres side is the evenness of performance and while polling reasonably high and likely the most from her team – the Sabres top performances weekly are generally split amongst their band.
Mollie McKendrick(North Adelaide Rockets)
With Basham, Mansfield and Freer missing significant games a big reason why the Rockets are finals bound goes back to the veteran presence of Mollie McKendrick. Another known all-star five frequent flyer into those teams and recognised long term for her impact at both ends of the floor – McKendrick once again will poll strong.
Amanda Paschal(Norwood Flames)
Caught the eye of our commentators at the start of the season as to how much vote gathering she would do depending on where her team finished on the table. Stuffs the stat sheet for points (#7 at 18.8), rebounds (#6 at 8.9), assists (#10 at 3.9 ) and steals (#6 at 2.6) per game featuring in the top 10 in all key categories.
The simple fact is number of wins and a team-mate likely to pinch some votes for during the season in Ke’Shunan James…
Keep An Eye on
Iva Belosevic/McKenzie Johnston(Southern Tigers)
Its rare in prediction you nominate two players equally and while one by our account just shaded the other for top votes from the Southern Tigers – who knows if a few might pass the way of each other to elevate them right into a contending position.
Both have had excellent individual seasons but their downfall will be the number of wins for the Tigers – I also see them being some of the few players to still grab three or two per game in losses as well so well worth keeping the eye of on it.
Jordyn Freer(North Adelaide Rockets)
If it’s not McKendrick getting votes it’ll be Jordyn Freer that’ll be pinching them for the Rockets up top. Expect her to start strong in the polling but as the season went along and team-mates returned – may fade in the count late but still finish in a strong position and still feature in the all-star five conversation.
Kiera Gardiner(South Adelaide Panthers)
The breakout player of the year from the South Adelaide Panthers and if she polls well this weekend will be one to keep an eye on for the Eiler medal in the future. Could finish the season very strong grabbing votes for her wins for the Panthers and even in losses may take at least a vote across the competition.
Our final prediction for the Eiler medal will be announced on Episode 39 of the SA Shotclock
We want to continue our work telling the stories of SA Basketball this winter and beyond with world championships, local legends, NBL and WNBL previews, reviews and NBL1 off season news and predictions – Can you PLEASE HELP US with a shotclock sub of $14 or $24 a year to help us do this?
NEW – PITCH TO THE PUBLIC
It takes 4 hours a week to write, research and produce our content but we want to write extra content this next few months so we thought we’d pitch to the public
Here are the next lot of articles up for pitching – subscribe to get these written
“All about Ability – the last five year’s of the Men’s Ivor Burge Program”
“The all-time Adelaide Lightning All-Stars Team – Naming the team of the past 30 years of Adelaide Lightning players”
Eight new $24 Shotclock subscribers will have the remaining of piece produced on the topic of
Photo originally supplied by Rachael Sporn for ESPN Australia
Another eight new $24 Shotclock subscribers or contributors directly will have both pieces done for production
Please DM if you’d like to support another way than subscription
See if you can provide the assist we need to tell the South Australian Basketball story
All Episodes of the SA Shotclock available on podcasting platforms in the coming months
CROSS OVER DRIBBLE 