Torns championship coach implores clubs to find NBL1 solution
The man who coached Launceston Tornadoes to the 1995 national title has implored the club and NW Thunder to find a way to save the heritage of both teams. Read what he had to say before the team’s reunion this Saturday.
Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Launceston Tornadoes’ 1995 national championship-winning coach Michael House has implored the club and North West Thunder to “find a solution” as both team’s future hangs in the balance.
This weekend the team will hold a reunion to celebrate their 30th anniversary to celebrate one of Tasmania’s best underdog stories.
“But the irony isn’t lost on house they’ll do so with the knowledge Saturday’s clash with Mt Gambier could be their last home game.
Basketball Victoria has mandated the Tornadoes and Thunder, the only stand-alone women’s and men’s teams in the league, must be run by the same organisation from next season.
The Tornadoes want to work with the Thunder to submit a licence which would service the entire greater northern region, but the Thunder don’t believe a combined board running two teams over two regions is the best solution.
“I’m just staggered this hasn’t been sorted out beforehand, why leave it until now,” he said. “They’ve known about this issue for some years now. It’s easy as an administrator to look after your own, it’s time for the bigger picture.
“It’s got to be ‘I’m an administrator for greatern northern Tasmania, not just my own area, and we’ve all got to come together and support basketball.
“Basketball is very territorial, we used to fight each other in club and association championships all the time. But Tasmania comes together very well for big things, and there’s no reason why if they change their attitude that north-north west becomes greater northern basketball.
“We’re here for the same purpose, and that’s our kids.”
House took over as coach in the club’s second year, and hopes both clubs can retain their identity while supporting the entire northern region of the state.
“Back in late 93 when we tried to get a women’s team, the men would not support us. That meant we had to form our own club, and pay a licence fee of $10,000 in 1994 just to join,” he said.
“This would be one of the most successful women’s basketball teams I’d say in Australia, particularly in Tasmania as a stand-alone team. It’s offered a pathway to girls for 31 years, and we need to keep that pathway going.”
House said he was emboldened by how the Tornadoes have publicly campaigned strongly for their history and identity to be respected.
“It (no Tornadoes) would be extremely disappointing for women,” House said.
“Women need to stand up and they have been. I’ve been impressed they’ve been standing up because it’s their organisation, their club, and they need to stand up and voice their disapproval.
“They’ve done enough in the community to be a licence for the next 30 years, and the north west men have done the same thing. It would be very disappointing if those two teams couldn’t work out a solution to this problem.
“The key is we don’t have enough players in men or women anymore, because all our talent goes to the mainland or university and they don’t come back.
“We just don’t have enough players. There’s enough men and women for a combined north-north west team, but there’s not enough for two in each region. It just common sense, and why can’t we work it out?”
Current Tornadoes coach Zoe Mesman said the controversy hasn’t caused her team to lose focus.
“I don’t think it’s distraction, I think it’s a fire (within the players),” she said.
“There’s a lot of girls who are really passionate about basketball, and making sure we maintain high level programs in the northern end of the state.
“We’ve given the Thunder until today to come back to us, to basically say what’s their position on how it could look across both regions of the north.
“You can name so many Opals who have played for the Tornadoes, or players on the cusp who came here, developed their game and are now breaking into those Australian programs.
“Once we have that JackJumpers (WNBL) program, it strengthens what we have in the north of the state.
“We’d have a WNBL program, we’d have an NBL1 program, and hopefully kids see it’s not just American college to get to that next level.
“They see a pathway from juniors to WNBL in their state, and not have to leave family.”
How community spirit fuelled Tornadoes’ fairy tale 1995 national championship
The Launceston Tornadoes weren’t expected to get close to pressing for the 1995 national championship.
Before they capped their giant-killing run with victory over Adelaide in the final, the club crunched the numbers and realised they couldn’t pay for their full squad of 12 to travel to every game of the national finals.
Team manager Trudi Jones (nee Jordan) and players hit the pubs with a wheelbarrow of goodies to raffle, with some patrons even giving them donations to ensure the team chased its dream.
“We had to look at the budget and who was able to travel, we made the decision everybody had to go,” Jones said.
“That night we took the wheelbarrow around the pubs, the community got behind us. We had people giving us $100, 30 years ago that’s a lot of money.
“People were also giving us smaller donations but we all got there for every game.”
It’s a sense of community which highlights why the squad, which will hold a 30th anniversary reunion at Saturday’s home game against Mt Gambier, is so keen for the legacy to continue.
The club’s future is clouded as the tug of war with the Thunder continues over what a sole NBL1 licence will entail, but 1995 coach Michael House is proud of his trail blazers.
“It (championship) really put women’s basketball on the map,” he said.
“There’s been a lot of successful women’s sport played in the north over the years, but they could not get the publicity and the Tornadoes generated the publicity.
“It’s really good that women now are getting the publicity they deserve.”
House fondly recalled the late season surge of eight straight wins which propelled them to the national title, and the groundswell of local support.
“It was bulletproof at the end. Once we beat Knox in the semi final, no one was going to stop us from there,” he said.
“I think the reason the northern public got behind the team was we weren’t supposed to win. “Knox beat us by 30 or so points the previous time we played, we turned around and beat them by 25, and the same thing with Adelaide
“We (effectively) won eight grand finals in a row. The supporters came out of the woodwork and got right behind the team.
“For one of the games we played away people were taking radios out to dinner because there was no phones and they wanted to the score.
“On the TV they were running a banner across the top with updated scores, the ABC broadcast the national semi final live.
“The whole of the state got behind the team, it was like what happened with the JackJumpers.”
Heavily outsized by every opponent, it was literally a David versus Goliath battle.
“We ran a dedicated fast break and we played pressure defence,” he said.
“They played hard and they celebrated hard. We were fairly structured and the satisfaction of playing a structured game comes from executing well and winning,
“But they let their hair down (after the final), and they deserved to.”
NW Thunder respond to Tornadoes
The Launceston Tornadoes face the realistic prospect that Saturday’s clash with Mt Gambier could be their last-ever NBL1 South home game after forming in 1993.
Their 1995 national championship-winning team will also hold a reunion that night under a cloud of uncertainty, with the club’s future uncertain.
Basketball Victoria has reaffirmed north Tasmania’s men’s and women’s NBL1 teams must be run by the same organisation from next season, with the Tornadoes and North West Thunder the only stand-alone women’s and men’s teams in the league.
The Tornadoes issued a statement on Saturday confirming the Thunder’s plan to make their own licence bid instead of a joint one, leaving them no option but to follow suit.”
Tornadoes skipper and Opals star Keely Froling branded the Thunder’s approach “bullying behaviour” via social media on Sunday. She stood by those statements when contacted by this masthead on Monday, labelling the approach “unprofessional and unfair.”
“It would be destroying for the community and the club (if the Tornadoes folded),” she said. “So many young girls, even young boys, come up to you after the game and you get messages on Instagram.
“They know who the Tornadoes are and see you at the shops and say hello. It’s a pathway and also a goal for them.
“What happens after under 18s here in Launceston, what do players do? Most aren’t good enough to go to WNBL out of high school, that’s a fact. You have to have the next stepping stone, and we’re at risk of losing that.
“It’s the perfect pathway, now it’s up in the air and it’s super disappointing.”
Froling said she had received strong support for the club to be located in Launceston.
“All the Victorian clubs I’ve spoken to say they love coming down here, and love the Tassie road trips,” Froling said.
“Some of the responses to my post I wish I could share, but a lot of them if it does come down to it (rival licence bids) think it should be based in Launceston.
“It’s ease of access, it’s closer to Hobart and cheaper, the facilities are better. I understand they want to have two teams in the one spot because it is difficult to travel, but why has that worked for the past few years and now it’s changed.
“Our board has said we’ll be (based) in Launceston but still play games on the (north west) coast, so you bring in the whole region and have that pathway for everyone.
“It’s not just about Launceston. As much as it’s hard driving here, that’s what you have to do as a regional sports club. It was like that when I was based in north Queensland, you’re driving hours to get to a game and that is what it is.
“To lose that for the community, especially for Launceston, we don’t have a senior team any more if that’s the case.”
‘Shows their nervousness’: Tassie NBL1 clubs continue war of words
The North-West Thunder have hit back at comments from the Launceston Tornadoes and star player Keely Froling, saying they are damaging the sport’s brand.
A war of words between the two Tasmanian NBL1 clubs was started over the weekend as speculation over the future of both clubs.
The Thunder are currently are a men’s only program while the Tornadoes are a stand-alone women’s team.
Basketball Victoria which runs the NBL1 South competition in which both teams compete has reaffirmed its decision for the men’s and women’s teams to come under one identity.
Tornadoes star Froling gave a passionate interview with this masthead on Monday, doubling down on social media comments she made on Sunday night.
Thunder chairman James Leslie hit back in a statement on Monday evening.
“After what was a very amicable meeting on Friday with both Basketball Tasmania CEO Ben Smith and Launceston Tornadoes Chair Lauren Faulkner, we as a club were extremely taken aback by the attacks on social media and through the press over the weekend driven by the club and one of their high-profile players,” Leslie said.
“The damage being caused to the sport is our main concern and how it creates a divide in our basketball community. We would have preferred if both clubs could have remained professional and respected the process put in place by the governing bodies.
“At no stage have we been disrespectful to the Tornadoes and this process of having to submit applications only comes after an NBL1 League mandate that in 2026 they require one club with both a men’s and women’s team under their umbrella as opposed to the current model.
“All men’s and women’s games must be played at the same venue which based on the current situation and our understanding renders both clubs not financially viable.”
Leslie said the Thunder were determined to keep working towards an outcome which was best for Tasmanian basketball.
“It’s our approach as an entire organisation that we are here to make sure that basketball is placed in a position to have the best outcome both now and in the future,” he said.
“There is no malice from our side and the misinformation from the Tornadoes is disappointing however, shows their nervousness about the process and while we don’t condone the behaviour, we understand it.
“Would we like to see a women’s program here? Absolutely, we would love that for our supporters and members. And we would hope that the Launceston Tornadoes are as passionate about the potential for a men’s program also.
“With basketball participation and engagement at an all-time high, we plan to ensure that all boys and girls in Tasmania are really clear on the pathway forward in our sport and have access to it wherever they reside.”
How ‘sliding doors’ moment handed unknown Tasmanian an Australia A debut
From Darwin club cricket one day, to an Australia A debut the next. That’s the wild rise Tasmanian young gun Louis Smith has enjoyed after his selection as an Australia A bolter.
‘Go live in a cave’: Champion disabled Tassie runner told
Deon Kenzie was told he would never amount to much but with two Paralympic Games medals and a world championship gold, dynamic Deon reveals how he proved his doubters wrong.