Women

Once again led by super coach Warren Taylor, this year we give a huge welcome to the experienced Simon Leibelt who joins us as Warrens assistant in a great coup for the club. 

It is a slightly different focus for the girls this season. After two years of carrying the weight of The Jungle on their shoulders with anticipation of the ultimate success, it is a bit of a different approach for the ladies this season. It shows with a far more relaxed and enjoyable vibe around the team and at training. However this still is Waz, and still is ‘this’ team, so we know come game day it will be well and truly on and the Ladies will represent us with the same exemplar attitude and effort they have become renowned for in the league.  

Joining us in 2019 are the super experienced pair of Rebecca Romeo (4 time Championship winner and captained Vic Metro All Stars in 2017) and Carly Simons (250+ games and multiple All Star Five recipient). Surrounding them are the ever-familiar faces of Wallan stalwarts Gemma Jackson, Jayda Hunter, Sarah Scott, Megan and Karina Marasco, Sage Dickinson and last years MVP Alex Darby.

We welcome some fresh faces to follow in Savannah Blyth, Sarah Wakefield and the more familiar (but new to this squad) Maddison Delbridge and Amber Ross who are involved in our junior rep program.

Expect the Womens team to be super competitive again and fighting hard at the pointy end of the season.

Youth League

After two tough foundational years our Youthies will be looking to make their mark in 2019 under new head coach Matt Funston and assistant coach Tim Annett . With a lot of the boys having gone through the successful CBL season under Tim they will be primed and eager to improve this season.

Lots of new faces join the more familiar Wallan Juniors to form what will no doubt be a more competitive, although still inexperienced, group. Early preseason form suggest scoring wont be an issue and fans can expect a very attractive and exciting brand of Basketball.

Expecting to be making their mark this year will be the rising stars Izzy Mahinay, Campbell Walker, Dion Stacey, Seb Villegas and Lachie Rae. They join the familiar group with the likes of Captain Brad Butler, Cam Creasey, James Metaxotos, David Barron and Viktor Casupanan returning. Ex Junior Adam Gatt slots in as does current juniors Jayden Obrien, Harry Walker and Evan Scodellaro Rounding out the squad is some new talent in Jonas Busano, who heads straight into the leadership group, James Riego, Tasman Harvey and lastly Gavin Whitfort joins from Seymour.

Internal expectations are high but they are still on a steep learning curve. We can expect this season to be very watchable and fun to get behind, knocking on the door come the end of the season would be a great step forward for the boys. But who knows what they might be capable of.

Men

Get excited folks, its load up time for the men as we head into the season with optimism after an off-season of heavy recruiting and a full preseason under the wily gaze of coach Carey Paps. Jarrod Bridge steps off the court and into the assistant role for 2019.

Under the leadership of known quantities in Hayden Annett, Kane Molloy and Jaak Ponsford, the team has added great depth and X-factor. They are looking to have a real crack at moving up the ladder and back into finals contention like they did in year 1.

We welcome to the club import Trace Cureton, a high-class guard and a threat at both ends of the floor. Leigh Saffin returns after a short stint as a Panther in 2017 and brings with him an incredible offensive threat that has troubled teams through the preseason. Young man mountain Brock Carter fills the middle of the key at 204cm and a barns width. We are proud to see the addition of Leo Viitala who has been doing a lot of work around the club with our junior Panthers and supporting the CBL program. He brings experience and an intensity that set the benchmark for the team. Lastly Gary Saunders is the final new face filling a power forward role and has fitted in as a great ‘club man’ around the team.

We welcome back Linc Stewart on the back of being a real mentor to the young CBL team and helping lead them to a grand final. He will form what on paper looms as a very potent scoring team. Joining him in returning are Brent Radoslovic, Peter Leckie and Michael Crick. We also wish Dev Pretty all the best as he misses the season with an ACL injury.

This team could be anything this year, they will put a lot of score board pressure on and certain challenge the defense of all opponents. It will be a great watch, lets aim for a home final at the end of the season.

All in all 2019 looms as a very exciting and entertaining season and we encourage you to get down to The Jungle for home games and really make some noise for our senior teams in Teal…. #tealarmy