CROSS OVER DRIBBLE

Spirit and Star make history in 2024 Halls/Woollacott Medal

A second Halls medal for the “Lady Lions” and a historic third medal at a third club for the first time in the league’s history leads the headlines of a grandeurs Halls-Woollacott Medal Night at the Hotel Grand Chancellor Adelaide

Photo Credit – Sarah Reed (Via Basketball SA)

3-Minute Read

NBL1 Central Broadcaster/Analyst Tristan Prentice reporting from the Halls Woollacott Medal last Sunday 21 July

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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2024 Halls Medal Preview

For the first time since 2021 we won’t have a repeat winner of the Halls Medal. Three players from the top five lead the way with a spirited Lion looking to secure the club’s second Womens win since 2012, another a 30 year drought for their club and another looking to make it five years in a row for the league’s imports…

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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 Jess Foley (Norwood Flames)

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)

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 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. Last year 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 Favourites

Brooke Basham

It seems we have returned to this time last year where it’s now been 30 years since North Adelaide Women’s last Halls Medallist in Jo Hill (1994) – but Adelaide Lightning shooting guard Brooke Basham is right up there once again this year. With more of a prominent role at the Rockets minus a majority of the season Mansfield and Batish – Brooke has polled close to we think nine times with possibly some extra votes in other games in all-round performances for the Rockets. It’s going to have her somewhere between 20-30 votes for the season and right up there for the medal.

Casey Samuels

The Bendigo Spirit WNBL star has led the Lions pack up north all season and featured statistically right at the front of the queue. She has the greatest opportunity to be the club’s second ever Halls medallist behind Jess Mahony – the last time the Women’s made the finals in the league’s history. We think she’s polled nearly 15 of the 18 games but the big question will be whether these will be threes and twos in the count with teammates Tayla Levy, Lily Ritz and Jasmin Fejo possibly taking votes off her. I think she’ll be top three with this crop but the difference between winning the award and finishing just short may rely on how much impact her other team-mates were viewed to have.

Brittany Hodges

Became the focal point of the Panthers offence and consistently performed averaging a double double across the season. The key here for Hodges is games where she may have snuck a vote or two in losses the Panthers had where clearly she was one of the best still on the court. Overall we think she’s polled over ten times in games plus picked up some one voters along the way. That leaves her without too many apart from Ash Spencer to take consistent votes off her one of the very warm favourites. If she wins she’ll be the fifth winner of the award from the import class with Carmen Tyson-Thomas, Teige Morrell and Mikayla Williams – the last local was Chelsea Brook in 2018.

The Smokeys

Tayla Levy

Had an exceptional year where her value was felt most by the Lions when she wasn’t suited up. The dynamic point guard has taken a huge step forward in development and is one of the most exciting players to watch in her position in the competition. Likely to be the one to take some votes off her teammates at least eight to ten times – I don’t think you can rule her out capping a breakout year with the Halls medal around her neck by the end of the night.

Emily Saunders

There is always one player that will go largely uncontested for major votes throughout the season and this year’s version is Saunders from the Norwood Flames. Has also finished the season in a fiery fury at least polling a vote in the last five matches of the season for a total of possible nine appearances on the cards. What will hurt is the late start and that might leave her just short.

Maddy Freer

Another outstanding year for the Forestville Eagle stepping into star quality territory in 2024. Freer has been a huge part of the Eagles being a dark horse this season and is a known consistent vote getter. It looks like at least seven times she’ll poll close to three votes but there is a patch in the season where the performances of others overshadowed their contribution and might just leave them a bit short of the real contenders for 2024.

Keep An Eye on

Zoe Walker-Roberts

This is a huge compliment to a player that has been clearly the Sabres most consistent contributor in 2024. In a season where the Sabres have finished top she’s the most likely to poll consistently despite being a part of a team which from the optics looked like an even unit. ZWR has polled at least seven times but it could be more if she’s viewed with her overall contributions of receiving more votes on a regular basis.

Jordyn Freer

When the Rockets get votes if it’s not Basham then Freer won’t be to far behind. Freer out of the big name Rockets has been on court the most throughout the season and will definitely be amongst the votes. We think she’ll grab votes at least eight matches in the season but what number will be the question.

Lily Ritz

An excellent debut year for the Lions import in our league, ultra consistent and always performed her role week-in-week out. The knock for Ritz will be the two others grabbing votes off her plus Jasmin Fejo but you never know – she may have polled more three votes then we can anticipate.

The Winner is… Casey Samuels

I’m thinking given she’ll poll in 15 games – the higher chance she has more threes than we think is good numbers and that for me edges her just ahead of Basham and Hodges in a much tighter count than we’ve seen in previous seasons.

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2024 Woollacott Medal Preview

Familiar names but new history potentially awaits the winner of the 2024 Woollacott Medal. One looking to win their second after winning it eleven years ago, another the early pick and covers all numbers across the floor with another looking for their elusive third but also will create league history at the same time…

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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)

2022 Jawan Stepney (Woodville)

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)

The 2013 winner of the award seems to get better with age and has been even more prominent this season. With the league on a bigger stage they don’t come much bigger than the NBL legendary local big man. His team have been consistently top five all season with we think DJ polling in 14 matches giving him a significant advantage over others teams. The battle is within as votes are split between five starters capable of being awarded the votes instead but it’s hard to ignore the averages of 20.8 points including scoring eleven times 20 or more this season.

Jordan Forbes (Sturt Sabres)

My pick for the medal at the start of the season got the head start on many competitors that were going to challenge this season. One of the few players that has most likely grabbed some early votes in the season but how many again is the question. Jacob Rigoni’s red hot start to the season has a lot to do with that but for Sturt to be right up the top – Forbes is a big reason why. We think he’s polled double figures for the season and not only that – perhaps those close triple doubles may earn him even more. Like DJ he has teammates that may steal votes but he’ll also be right there in the race at the very end of the count.

Alex Starling (South Adelaide Panthers)

It’s hard to believe but like DJ – Starling has just gotten even better this season. In a team that didn’t have last year’s medallist Jeremy Smith till halfway through the season – Starling going for his third accolade (2014 and 2018) will be dominating those votes all the way up till his inclusion. Even then we count 14 or 18 opportunities he’ll score votes – you just know he’ll sneak a few more in there as well and at both ends of the floor is where he’ll once again catch the eye.

The Smokeys

Greg Mays (Forestville Eagles)

Yet to win the award – one season he will finally recieve the votes he deserves and this could be the year. We think he’ll poll eleven times giving him a good chance too but DJ and teammate Uche Dibiamaka may again get in the path to the top award but history always plays a part in the top gongs as we know.

Jacob Rigoni (Sturt Sabres)

He’s gone to another level has the Adelaide 36er and a preview of what we will see in his additions to his game in NBL25. Rigoni started the season on absolute fire likely picking up votes in his first five games. That total’s somewhere between 11 to 13 times whilst also doing plenty without basketball in hand. A handy advantage indeed and one of two standouts for the Sabres in 2024.

Akoldah Gak (West Adelaide Bearcats)

When you look at the Bearcats and the consistent performances – the one who was there out of the big “3” stands out despite the presence of both Anthony Drmic and Fabian Krslovic. This is where maybe the votes may slip away from Gak however his importance can’t be understated given Lachlan Olbrich’s absence this season. That may stand out to the vote casters and perhaps Gak is much closer to the top than we think. At 21 years of age he could possibly walk away with two medals in the one night.

Keep An Eye on

Branden Jenkins (Central Districts Lions)

More games have been won by Centrals this year and like last season Jenkins will still poll very strongly (at least eight times) having always stayed amongst the best players nightly. This time around he’s got some stiff competition in the second half of the season with Magnus Richards and Koen Sapwell taking some off him. Jenkins has however all-rounded his game a little more this year. That could be worth a watch from the outside looking in.

Sharif Black (Woodville Warriors)

Started the season with a bang and showed vote grabbing potential in every significant performance of his in the season. He was clearly the best for the Warriors throughout their strongest performances in the season however there were also some lower numbers which may hurt him being right up in the top echelon this season.

Uche Dibiamaka (Forestville Eagles)

If I am looking for someone that maybe in our calculations might be not right up there but could be – then the Eagles dynamic guard fits that description. His impact in games was much larger than the stats suggested and also had big numbers on nights when others did on paper. Impact is always down to the voter casters and that’s where he might be a bigger smokey than we think.

The Winner is… Alex Starling

Starling does it at both ends of the floor and that’s where the key advantage he has over the others might be. His team finished top and he was there from the very start of the season and finally – he’s likely to get three votes at least close to ten times given the other numbers surrounding those matches and that we can’t guarantee with the other competitors. If it does happen it will be the tenth medal for the club and first player to win it at three different clubs in the history of the league.

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“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”

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