Big V Division 1 Women: Who can take home the title?
The Big V Division 1 women’s title is well and truly up for grabs following the promotion of two basketball powerhouses. Here’s how each team looks ahead of the season.
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With two dominant forces moving on from Big V Division 1 Women’s basketball moving on, the label of title favourites is up for grabs.
Chelsea and Pakenham have been elevated to the Championship division after dominating for much of last season meaning nine teams will be left to compete for the title.
Sherbrooke is the new team in the division having been promoted from Division 2.
Here’s a look at how each team is shaping ahead of the season.
Bellarine Storm
Despite winning just two games in 2021, there’s plenty of reasons to be excited about the potential of this Bellarine basketball team. Throughout the group there are young guns who will be supported by imports including Charlotte Armstrong and Chantelle Hall. Although Armstrong isn’t expected to arrive until later in the season.
What the club said: “It’s tricky to see where we might sit this season given the amount of changes across the competition. Our main goal is to play some more consistent basketball and close the gap between our best and worst on the court. If we can stay in games for longer I think we might be able to shock a few sides. Our core group is between 17 and 23 which means we’re really building a really strong team for the future along the way.” – Coach Tim Sanderson
Roster: Jaimee Crombie, Laney McFadyen, Olivia Virt, Lucy Howard, Alivia Osborne, Summer Field, Chantelle Hall, Karli Bruce, Charlotte Armstrong.
Camberwell
After finishing around the middle of the pack last year, the Dragons will be keen to make big strides to ensure they work their way up the ladder. There has been a strong sense of a homecoming within the squad this season as well with several players returning to the club.
Roster: Andrea Belmonte, Dani Calvisi, Gemma Fyffe, Marnie Houghton, Stephanie Kennedy, Lauren Moran, Zoe Scott, Georgia Smart, Victoria Sumskas, Eleni Valos, Kaitlyn Wallace.
Craigieburn
The Eagles remain an interesting proposition heading into the season. They remained on the lookout for new players in late February with four players from last year’s side ready to give Division 1 another go. There will be a new coach at the helm with Andrew Seidel taking charge at the Nest. Craigieburn was arguably the best team outside the dominant forces outside of Chelsea and Pakenham last season.
Roster includes: Tahlia Prestia, Nicole Cameron, Jess Wain, Kristen McNamara.
Melbourne Uni
If there’s one team flying under the radar throughout the pre-season it’s Melbourne Uni. The club hasn’t given too much away via their social media channels with no announcements just yet on the makeup of the look of the women’s side for 2022. Grantley Bernard will lead the side this season.
What the club said: “Our expectation as a team to play finals and ideally we would achieve that with a top two finish. Pre-season has been a little disjointed from Covid cases to injuries but I think we’re still building nicely. The first month of the season will almost be a continuation of the pre-season we’ve had so far. We’ve added a couple of players to last year’s group which we believe has given us a stronger roster. Now it’s about us putting it together and gelling as a team.” – Coach Grantley Bernard
Mildura
Similar to Melbourne Uni, the Heat haven’t given too much away during the pre-season with no clues given away on the makeup of their women’s team. In 2021, they finished third on the ladder with seven wins and four losses from 11 matches sitting behind Chelsea and Pakenham who have both been pushed up to the Championship division. James Madigan has returned to coach the club in 2022.
Sherbrooke
Despite making the leap into Division 1, the Suns aren’t coming into the division with fear in mind. They want to play with freedom. There’s no doubting they’ll cause a few surprises throughout the season.
What the club said: “We’ve moved up into a new division for this season but we’re not hiding the fact we want to win a championship. We’ve pretty much got the same team we put out on the court last season and we’re excited to watch them to continue developing. Our goal is to play at the highest level which is in the Championship division.” – Director of coaching Chad Burton
Warrandyte
Warrandyte often showed last season it could compete with the better teams in the division after finishing with an even split of seven wins and seven losses from 14 games. Paul O’Brien will again be in the hot seat for the Venom as they look to make their way up the ladder in 2022.
Warrnambool
The Mermaids are set to be one of the youngest teams in the competition but that doesn’t mean they’ll be taking a backwards step. With a good mix of youth and experience there’s every possibility we could be seeing the start of something special.
What the club said: “I think we will get better as the season goes on as we did last year. Our younger players, who were around 14 and 15 last season, took about 10 games to adjust to Big V basketball and when they did I thought they were fantastic. Each week we will have about six girls under 16 but they deserve to be testing themselves. The experienced players we’ve brought in will be critical for how we develop throughout the year.”
Roster: Amy Wormald, Mia Mills, Megan Carlin, Cigi Lual, Molly McLaren, Olivia Fuller, Marli Blackney-Noter, Alana Strom, Keele Hillas, Louise Brown, Katie O‘Keefe, Paiyton Noonan, Matilda Sewell, Molly McKinnon, Ashley Evans, Michaela Leris, Georgia Gilmour, Olivia Wolter, Sarah Perry.
Western Port
The Steelers will be hopeful of improving on their 2021 season in which they recorded four wins and 10 losses before Covid took its toll. The club has managed to keep most of its playing group together for last season as they build towards the goal of a finals appearance.
What the club said: “Anything less than finals basketball would be a failure in the eyes of this team. There’s a lot more depth on the roster compared to previous years which is a real credit to our coaches and players for getting the most out of themselves. We’ve had some really strong results in practice matches and now it’s important we continue to build off those.” – Western Port basketball general manager Tyler Molloy
Roster: Emily Ferrier, Samantha Keltos, Jenna McCormack, Sinead Wansbrough, Rachel Winters, Mikaela Dickson, Rachael Wansbrough, Brittany Suaraya, Bella Breen, Stephanie Villalobos, India Blyth.
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