Feature image via: Tanya Hawkins Photography
Local Albury product Emma Mahady has made her return to the Bandits roster after rehabilitating her ruptured Achilles.
She tore her Achilles last year in August while playing for the WNBL’s Bendigo Spirit in Korea for the Park Shin-Ja Cup. She rehabilitated her injury with the support of the team and has finally returned to the court for the first time in front of friends and family during Round 3.
“That was not how I expected my tournament to go,” she said on the Shooting the Breeze podcast.
“I’ve come to terms with it, it is what it is. I just worked my way back.”
In two wins in Round 3, she scored 23 points in 56 minutes against the CoE and the reigning champions Norths Bears. Now looking more like her dominant Bandits self from previous seasons.
Having experienced many different WNBL areanas as a development player, Mahady explained that her Albury-Wodonga Bandits home crowd is unmatched when compared to other home arenas.
“Home is home, I love playing here. The community we have around this team is amazing,” she said.
“We’ve said it plenty of times, we may be a bit biassed. But we think we have the best crowd in the league.”
“I’ve played at other clubs, in other leagues, nothing beats Albury.”
Host Paul Camillos also added his appreciation for the Bandits' home crowd after witnessing their win against the Centre of Excellence at the Lauren Jackson Sports Centre.
“I’ve got to say, I’ve seen some WNBL games where you haven’t had crowds as fired up as this one.
“They were really loud last night.”
The Bandits will host the Illawarra Hawks on Saturday, streaming live via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.
