2008 ARRBL Season

2008 saw the standard of the Ag Requirements Regional Basketball League raise to a new level, with a number of teams having players from outside of the Region joining there teams. Gatton entered for the first time, made up of players from Brisbane teams.

The League once again consisted of 3 divisions- Under 19 Mens, Open Womens and Open Mens.

This season saw Warwick entering teams in all 3 divisions. Warwick Wildcats became the first club to have teams in all 3 Grand finals, which were held in front of a crowd of around 500 people at SCOTS college in Warwick.

Under 19

The under 19 team was once again coached by Jeff Clark, but with Coach Clark moving mid-season to coach the A-Grade team, Duncan McKenzie coached the back end of the season.

The team was made up of:

Eugene Bradshaw, Jesse Burton, Dean Clark, DJ Cremasco, Alex Cutmore, Kevin Globio, Andrew Rendalls, PJ Siulai, Declan Starasts, Ashley Williamson, Ryan Wilson and Ming Wang

The teams to enter this division were (in order of standings at the end of the regular season): Highfields, Warwick, Goondiwindi, Stanthorpe and Tenterfield.

Warwick finished the preliminary rounds of this competition in second place behind a Charles Dickerson led Highfields team, so it was to be a grand final between the Defending Champions (Warwick) and the Minor Premiers (Highfields). Warwick went on to win the Regional Championships, and remain the Under19 Champions.

Womens

The Womens team was coached by John Starasts, with the team made up of:

Renetta Baira, Grace Cutmore, Lucinda Hockings, Christina Davis, Ami Gliori, Amy Barclay, Tegan Hilton, Sally McCarron, Sarah Petrasiunas, Haylee Wilson, Bronwyn Hall and Kim Rush.

The teams to enter this division were (in order of standings at the end of the regular season): Dalby, Highfields, Warwick, Stanthorpe, Goondiwindi and Lockyer.

Warwick played the game of the season by eliminating the Highfields team in the knock-out semi-final, but were missing key players in losing the Grand final to the dominant Dalby team.

Mens

The Mens team was coached by Jeff Clark, with the team made up of:

Leon Perdue, Jeff Clark, Lehi Clark, Rick Mutzelburg, Chris Donaldson, Israel Natividad, Duncan McKenzie, Shannon Slater and joined in the last half of the season by Michael McDaniel. Under 19 players Eugene Bradshaw, Andrew Rendalls and Alex Cutmore were also a huge part of the Grand Final win.

Warwick had 2 imports in their team this season, playing Mike McDaniel at the end of the QBL season, as well as picking up the experienced Leon Perdue, who missed playing in the NBL due to the collapse of the Brisbane Bullets.

The teams to enter this division were (in order of standings at the end of the regular season): Highfields, Warwick, Lockyer, Dalby, Stanthorpe, Tenterfield and Goondiwindi.

By finishing second to an undefeated Highfields team after the regular rounds, Warwick played Highfields in the Major semi-finals. In a huge upset, Warwick defeated Highfields to claim the rights to host the Grand Finals in Warwick.

In what most people who were there would describe as the best Grand final game (and atmosphere) in the Regional League history, Warwick in front of a crowd of around 500 people, came from 18 points down in the third quarter to snatch the lead from Highfields with 3 seconds to go, and hold on to win the Regional title for the first time.