All Darwin Basketball League men’s teams approach 2021 season with optimism, back local juniors to fire minus new imports
THEY might be missing most of last year’s star-studded DBA Championship-winning side, but experienced Eagles swingman David Oates is still looking forward to the 2021 Darwin Basketball League season.
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THEY might be missing most of last year’s star-studded DBA Championship-winning side, but experienced Eagles swingman David Oates is still looking forward to the 2021 Darwin Basketball League season.
Gone are star American imports Joe Jackson (Woodville in the NBL1 Central) and last year’s grand-final standout Chris Elder.
Pat Golong is also a big loss, signing with Palmerston.
But that has not worried Oates too much.
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And Will Tollner joining Eagles from Essington is a good pick-up ahead of tonight’s Round 1 clash against Lightning.
“I’m definitely looking forward to the new season. There are a lot of new faces at training, and there’s been a lot of intensity,” Oates told the NT News.
“I believe we can cover our losses. There are some guys who will step up, and Matt Hammer is one of those. We’ll be OK.”
Lightning player-coach Chris Charman said his team would be boosted by returning premiership player Craig Martin, and local juniors Luca Tutty and Aaron Romero.
“We’ve been getting really good numbers to training – about 30-35 senior blokes,” Charman said.
Last year’s runners-up Tracy Village take on Palmerston in what should be a closely fought contest tomorrow night, with the Power bolstered by the signing of 2020 Championship winner Golong.
“I’m super excited about this opportunity. Palmerston has a great family environment,” Golong told said after signing with the Power.
“I scouted them a lot last year and I was keen to go across. They’re a great group of guys.
“I’ll be able to play up and down the court with my size and athleticism.
“I want to bring some leadership and fight for the competition MVP title, and make the first-team defensive side.
“I’m looking forward to playing with someone like Jesse Bell.”
Dan East takes over the coaching role from Tania Dhu at the Jets.
“Tania did a great job, and the boys are very thankful for the work she put in,” East said.
The Jets have been hit with some key personnel losses, including Jerron Jamerson (Mackay) and Will Burton (Mildura).
Ned Stevens is also now a part of the Gold Coast Suns’ Academy.
And Joel Stevens is at West Adelaide in the SANFL.
“We’ve also lost Keenan Abbott and Thomas Malseed this year,” East said.
“But it’s a testament to our junior coaches like Jason Ah Sam that we’re having guys go on to bigger and better things.
“We’ve got Liam MacLachlan coming back and Dante Ah Sam is set for a big season.
“We’ve got some great athletic players and I’m looking forward to seeing how our local juniors go this year.”
Essington also has a strong junior base to cover the key losses of Lachlan Shipway (Ansett) and Raymond Jarrett (Ellas), with Oliver Penman and star big man and former captain Travis Ellis returning.
Matteo Materazzo is one of the club’s bright young prospects who is continuing to improve, and the Cannons have retained star guard and captain Elijah Barbour ahead of tonight’s season opener against Ansett, who will be minus Freddy Webb (Mackay).
Aaron Balkwill is another key player the Cannons retained.
Much interest will surround how former Essington co-captain Lachlan Shipway plays against his former club.
“I loved my four years at Essington and I thought we went OK last year in beating Ansett in the finals before losing to Tracy Village,” Shipway said after signing with his new side.
“I loved my under-18s team and there’s no ill will in me leaving.
“The club has a lot of volunteers and is still a bit inexperienced while also trying to win games, so there are some teething issues.
“It hasn’t quite managed to attract the older, more experienced players which other clubs have.
“It will be great to play alongside one of my best mates Cam Duncan and someone like Matty Hunt at Ansett.
“Ansett’s got a big squad and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to train against some big bodies.”
Uni Rebels will face Ellas tomorrow night.
The Titans will be boosted by star addition and former Cannons player Jarrett, who opted to return to the Top End soon after signing with NBL1 Central team South Adelaide.
“Coming back to play alongside Ben (Streeter) led to my decision,” Jarrett said.
“South Adelaide is a wonderful organisation, but logistically it just wasn’t ideal.
“The plan is to mix it up and have me playing inside and outside because of my size.
“I’m feeling great and I want to go out and dominate.”
Rebels will be without Mixon Laurel on Northern Territory Under-18 duty.
“We’ve also got a couple of injuries,” Uni coach Malix Laurel said.
“So we’re going to do it tough for the first couple of weeks of the season.
“But we’ll have Eric Klenke who is our workhorse.
“And we’ve picked up Ayden Parkin who is a standout for the Banks hockey team.
“He’s shown us that he’s very fit and fast on the floor, and he’s got a naturally high basketball IQ.”
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