Tracy Village legend Sam Rioli signs with the Darwin Salties as an assistant coach
Fledgling NBL1 club Darwin Salties has snapped up another famous name from local basketball circles to be an assistant coach
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UPDATE: FLEDGLING NBL1 club Darwin Salties has appointed Tracy Village legend Sam Rioli as an assistant coach of the women’s team
Rioli, a three-time Arafura Games gold medallist, joins Darwin sporting star Kylie Duggan at the Salties for season 2022.
The wife of former Essendon footballer Dean won 10-straight premierships with the Jets, notched up 5000 points in 2014 and was Darwin Basketball Association’s MVP two times.
She also played at Eltham, Knox, Coburg and Hume City and was a Big V All Star.
She left Darwin in 2017 to mentor young girls at the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School.
On the club’s Facebook page on Tuesday, Rioli said she was excited to join a team that would provide a higher level of basketball for local fans.
In a statement, head coach Rod Tremlett said he was “elated” to have Rioli on board.
“She brings a range of experience to the group,” Tremlett said.
“Our players will love Sam’s player-driven approach to her coaching and she will complement what we are striving to deliver here in our first season.
“With such a distinguished playing career Sam’s great strength will be her ability to see and communicate the game from a players’ perspective, which is going to be a really great asset for our coaching group.”
EARLIER:
NORTHERN TERRITORY and Tracy Village Jets basketball legend Kylie Duggan is the Darwin Salties’ latest recruit.
Duggan has long been a part of Darwin basketball’s most successful women’s side Tracy Village and was a key part of their remarkable run of 13 consecutive DBA titles.
The Jets success returned last season with Duggan at the helm as they won the 2021 Championship while she picked up a personal accolade as the 2020 MVP.
The Tracy Village captain was also an NT junior representative and an Arafura Games gold medallist while constantly acting as a mentor for the younger Territory players.
She is the second player announced for the new NBL1 North franchise after the signing of Adeliade Lightning forward Chelsea Brook was announced earlier this week.
“It is very exciting, I feel proud and honoured to be a part of this first Darwin Salties team,” Duggan said.
“From the start I was really excited about the opportunities this would create for our juniors and locals and this is massive for that reason.
“I always wanted to be a part of it whether that meant as a player or just helping out. This is a big step up and these are exciting times for everyone.
“There’s a lot of local players who will be looking at this as a big opportunity and it’s something we’re all looking forward to.”
However, for Duggan it isn’t just playing herself that matters but what the team means for locals and juniors in the Territory who have long not had that opportunity.
“This team has been a long time in the making and a lot of hard work has gone into making this happen,” Duggan said.
“It creates so many opportunities for juniors. They no longer have to go interstate if they want to pursue basketball at this level.
“It’s going to be so exciting for those younger players to see what it takes to play at that level and it will also make the Territory an attractive place for basketballers.
“This will make our juniors work harder so that they can achieve their passion. It will be exciting to see what happens as its real win-win for everyone.”
In a statement on Thursday, new Salties coach Rod Tremlett said the long-term Tracy Village Jets skipper would be a fine role model for her teammates.
“She is definitely someone local juniors look up to given not only her basketball ability but also because of the outstanding sportsmanship she consistently displays,” Tremlett said.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to officially welcome Kylie to the Darwin Salties family.”
EARLIER
ADELAIDE Lightning forward Chelsea Brook is the first of four signings to be unveiled by fledgling NBL1 North club the Darwin Salties.
The NT News can reveal the 23-year-old South Australian will join a US-based player, an NBL1 Central performer and one of the best players in the Territory for the coming season.
New coach Rod Tremlett said the club had signed a “really good blend” of players so far, to complement an “exciting, fast tempo” style in 2022.
“We’re pleased with the way it’s tracking, we’re certainly recruiting for the style of play we’re going to be running,” Tremlett said.
However, he would not be drawn on further names.
“The best of the local players based on last season, that’s a fair enough hint without giving you the name,” he said.
Meanwhile, new recruit Brook has a strong pedigree, having played with the Adelaide Lighting from her teenage years, has been an Opals squad member and turned out for the Mackay Meteorettes last NBL1 North season.
She also won the Halls Medal in 2018 as the best player in the South Australian Premier League.
Speaking to the NT News from isolation in Moonta Bay, approximately two hours out of Adelaide, Brook said putting pen to paper early last week was “pretty exciting” and was lured by the prospect of a new club and “fresh faces”.
“It’s something that was probably most enticing for me,” Brook said.
“I haven’t been to Darwin in a very long time, so I’m excited to get up there, play basketball and have a bit of an explore.
“A new experience, a new franchise. I’m all about something new and a new adventure.”
She said her early conversations with Tremlett “really intrigued me” and admired his coaching style.
“He’s putting a good group of people and players together,” she said.
“If he gets the mix right it will be a great team culture and everyone will want to play for the uniform and the team.
“He made the whole team culture sound like something I want to be a part of.”
Brook is also in a relationship with Jerron Jamerson, who was the first signing for the Salties’ men’s team.
“He’s obviously got strong ties up there, that also definitely played a part (in joining the team),” she said.
Brook said she would bring new leadership experience from her tenure with the Meteorettes and “hopefully some good shooting, touch wood”.
She urged local fans to “get behind the club”.
“It’s the first season so there will be highs and lows,” she said.
“Hopefully we can play a good brand of basketball.”
She said the female Salties would tap into “so much local talent” and would provide an opportunity to play against the best in Queensland and be “something to aspire to”.
Meanwhile, Tremlett said he watched Brook first-hand as an Ipswich assistant coach in a game against Mackay where she mixed it with the likes of Opal Abby Bishop.
“She was pretty outstanding in that game,” Tremlett said.
“For her to go as well as she did against that kind of opposition was pretty eye-opening.
“That stuck in my head a fair bit.”
He said Brook had a strong reputation as a solid citizen off the court and Darwin would be a “really good fit”.
“She’s going to be a really good role model for the young girls here as we establish the program,” he said.
“She was priority number one and we were really pleased to get her signature.”
He said the four freshly-signed players were excited about moving to Darwin and “being around a one-team town”.
“We think it’s an exciting place to come to,” he said.
Tremlett said the Salties had placed an emphasis on the “quality of person” they sign, with off-court performance just as important.
Darwin Salties sign its first player, Jerron Jamerson
The Darwin Salties’ first signing has both an NBL1 championship medal and a familiar name to local basketball fans.
The brand-new Territory team sealed the signature of former Tracy Village, Razzle and Ansett player, 2020 Darwin Basketball Association MVP and Mckay Meteors star guard Jerron Jamerson last week.
The American was best on court in the Meteors’ NBL1 North grand final series win last year in a 2-0 whitewash over the Cairns Marlins.
He also averaged 19.55 points per game last season.
However, he’s back in the NT to contest the 15-team Queensland conference competition – featuring ten Salties home games in Darwin – starting in April.
The 29-year-old, who won a DBA championship in 2019 with Razzle, told the NT News on Tuesday the Salties would be a boon for the sport’s development in the Top End.
“The impact should be absolutely fantastic,” Jamerson said.
“Not only the local players who play for the Salties, but other teams coming in.
“Just being able to see high level basketball consistently on a week in, week out basis.
“Get ready for a lot of excitement.”
He also said it would also give women’s basketball in the Territory a shot in the arm, with the Salties to field a senior female side.
“They got something to look up to … they got something to work towards,” he said.
“Last time I was there (women’s basketball) had fallen off a bit.”
He was also excited to be back in Darwin after his Tracy Village stint in 2020 which ended in a championship loss.
“It’s small but it’s big at the same time,” he said of the city.
Jamerson, who has signed for one season, was open to extending his contract beyond 2022 and leading the team as captain.
Meanwhile, Salties coach Matt Flinn, a former Illawarra player and mentor, said his new recruit was a “proven performer” at NBL1 level, a “Mr Fix It” type and his signing was a “no-brainer”.
“What struck me most was his desire to win and play a leadership role,” Flinn said.
“Part of that is to hold other players to account, from everything I have heard he will do that through his work ethic.
“He also genuinely cares about the city of Darwin and the people here.
“He started in Australia here, so for me as a new coach building a new franchise, that was a no-brainer (to sign him).”
He also said Jamerson was incredibly versatile: “He can guard multiple players and at the offensive end he can fill a variety of roles.”
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