Geelong United’s women lock in first place for NBL1 South finals, men fall out of contention with double blow
Geelong United’s women are cooking for the NBL1 finals, locking away top spot with two games to spare. But for United’s men’s squad, it’s been a season of ‘what could have been’.
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Taylor Mole is feeling close to the “old Taylor” – and it’s coming at the right for a playoff-bound Geelong United.
The 26-year-0ld led Geelong to its 20th consecutive win against Casey Cavaliers on Saturday night, locking away top billing for NBL1 finals in the process with two games to spare.
Mole, stepping into the starting line-up for the first time for an injured Dakota Crichton, finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks in the commanding 90-53 win – her best performance since returning in May from a back injury which sidelined her for most of the 2024/25 WNBL season.
In her 11 games this season, Mole has steadily built up her output through her presence coming off the bench, initially showing her range as a three-point shooter before gaining confidence back on the boards.
“I think the past couple weeks, me getting on the rim and getting rebounds is kind of back to old Taylor so I’m doing that a little bit more,” she said.
“I’m happy with my game tonight, last night (Friday against Dandenong) was a little sketchy but I feel like those games are going to happen as well – I’m not going to play well all the time.
“I would say pretty close to old Taylor, I’m feeling confident.
“For me, I’m having a lot of fun, I think that’s the main part, I’m not thinking about my back at all, so I know that’s fixed.
“And the group of girls I’m playing with is one of the best groups I’ve played with.
“Being able to share the success with them, and literally take it week by week is what I’m focusing on.”
United isn’t expected to take it easy in its final upcoming double-header, despite sitting three games clear in first after back-to-back wins over the weekend.
A gritty nine-point win over then-top 4 Dandenong on Friday was followed by the 37-point rout of mid-table Casey in front of home fans, as top 3 Keilor and last-placed Eltham await.
“We still want to be undefeated so we don’t want to lose those last two games just because we’ve locked in first,” Mole said.
“We’re going to try and do that, and keep it going in finals fingers-crossed.”
Mole pointed to the huge advantage a locked-in first home final – and potential sellout – would bring to their quest for a championship.
“It gets us up and about in games – it’s a sixth man for us,” she said.
United will hope knee complaints to Crichton and Tanielle Knight – both suffered in Friday’s win over Dandenong – aren’t long-term, after previously losing Raini Matthews and Annika Stewart to season-ending ACLs.
But the squad showed its ability to win in any circumstance despite adversities – all five starters — Mole, Jaz Shelley, Gemma Potter, Lilly Rotunno and Hannah Hank – scoring in double digits on Saturday as United raced out to a 40-point lead over Casey midway through the final quarter.
It saw coach Megan Moody turn to its bench to close out the match – the likes of young guns Mackenzie Drew, Poppy Stevens and Jasmine King all contributing in their minutes.
“No matter who gets injured, we had a couple out today (against Casey), it’s next man up, the younger girls stood up massively tonight and we find ways to win,” Mole said.
“I feel like that’s been our motto all year, finding ways to close out games.”
It was a different script on Saturday – scores levelled against top 4 Dandenong at three quarter time before United pushed on with a big 22-13 final term to seal the 87-78 win.
With finals sure to ramp up the heat, Mole believed it was a timely test for her squad to close out a tight game – the win only their second this year decided by single digits – as Hank (23 points, seven rebounds) led the charge.
“We couldn’t find a way to shut down Nyadiew Puoch in the first half, so finding a way to be able to shut her down … was a game-changer,” Mole said of the WNBL talent, who put up 29 points and eight rebounds.
“Our defence levelled up massively in the second half and yet again, we found a way to be able to flip the switch and close it out.”
United lack execution, connection in Casey loss
It’s been the story of Geelong United’s season, a lack of killer execution and on-court chemistry cruelling Geelong United to a 12th loss on Saturday.
A second quarter capitulation on Friday night to Dandenong was the hammer-blow to United’s barely flickering finals hopes, but it was Saturday night’s home 71-77 point loss to Casey which left a bitter taste of ‘what could have been’.
It was another close defeat – United’s fifth this season decided by nine points or less – with the game drawing similarities to their round 10 12-point losses to NW Tasmania at home when they had the chance to win but couldn’t close out of the game.
A slow start saw United playing catch-up in the middle two quarters, though they got it back within two points by the final break.
Trading blows with Casey throughout the fourth, one shot still separated both sides with a minute to go, though missed foul line shots and an inability to execute a game-levelling bucket went astray for United as the Cavaliers iced the game themselves with four final points at the foul line.
Coach Grant Wallace credited his side for their response to Friday’s 84-106 defeat to Dandenong after giving up a six-point halftime lead – but agreed being almost there in a tough league wasn’t going to get you wins.
“Any competition, that’s all it takes, just like one little fraction,” Wallace said.
“Connection’s a good word – that what you always try and accomplish as a coach to get that connection on the floor.
“There are times we look good and there are times we look fractured.
“We held them to a score that wins games – 77 – (they’re) a really talented team with what they’ve been averaging (89.4).
“Just crucial errors at times from ourselves and 50 per cent from the foul line doesn’t help either.
“Three point shooting was woeful too, 23 per cent … we actually had more shots than them again, so we’re getting the shots, it’s just getting them to drop.
“Fatigue played a part – we were good last night in the first half. We had the lead against Dandenong.
“In the second half, we just crumbled.”
George Blagojevic looked back to his best against Casey with 13 points and 12 boards, though struggled from three (1-from-7 from shooting) alongside Liam Herbert (1-7).
Early foul trouble saw captain DeMarcus Gatlin forced to the bench for most of the second quarter, while Wallace turned to Ethan Blythe (2-3 from three), Ma’alo Hicks and Marach Marach for a spark off the bench though the latter two were impacted by ankle issues, while Tristan Forsyth (24 points, 10 rebounds) also played through a foot injury.
“The grind’s getting hold of them,” Wallace said.
United will aim to finish the season on a bright note with its final two games against Keilor (away) and Eltham (home).
Crichton heads north to Fire
Geelong United young gun Dakota Crichton will continue to put a premium on her defensive game after joining Townsville Fire for the upcoming WNBL season.
The emerging 185cm forward has landed her first WNBL contract with the Fire for the 2025/26 season, after lining up for Geelong United last season as a development player.
The 20-year-old, who came up Casey’s ranks before moving to Warrnambool in 2022 – where she was MVP in a Big V championship – impressed down the stretch in United’s inaugural WNBL season, featuring in 12 games for an average 6.5 minutes a night.
“I’m still kind of processing it. It’s going to be a big change, but I’m so excited,” Crichton said of joining the Fire.
“He (Fire coach Shannon Seebohm) reached out to me and then we basically had a call straight away and he just talked about what they could offer me … it was a pretty good opportunity so I wasn’t going to turn it down.”
Crichton, a strong presence on both ends of the floor, said her focus in her rookie campaign would be on strong defence.
“I’m just going to try and do the little things for the team to make a difference instead of focusing on offence as much – I’ll let that come naturally and just try and be the best teammate that I can be in my first year,” she said.
Seebohm said Crichton had all the tools to become a high-impact player in the WNBL.
“She’s a young athlete with incredible raw athleticism and the potential to become an elite defender in the WNBL,” the Fire coach said.
“My staff and I are really looking forward to working with her and helping her grow within our system.”
A highly-touted Victorian player, Crichton chose to forgo the college route despite offers, her desire to remain in Australia strong as she turned her sights towards the WNBL.
Lining up for an undefeated Geelong United’s NBL1 side this winter, Crichton has become a regular starter and averaged 9.05 points, 3.84 rebounds and 1.63 steals across 19 games.
She’ll hope to avoid a stint on the sidelines when she gets scans on her knee, after missing her first game of the season on Saturday after exiting a game the night before against Dandenong.
“I just kind of went outwards, it’s a bit tender, hopefully nothing too serious,” she said.
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Originally published as Geelong United’s women lock in first place for NBL1 South finals, men fall out of contention with double blow