Feature image via: Tanya Hawkins Photograpy
The Albury-Wodonga Bandits are verging on history, with only two games left they sit 18-0 on the NBL1 East ladder – with their last two games at home in the Lauren Jackson Sports Centre.
With the return of Australia’s greatest and an all-star roster featuring Mikayla Pivec, Unique Thompson and Ash Hannan; the Bandits are clear title favourites heading into the Finals.
There is plenty of championship DNA remaining on the roster from their 2022 inaugural season, with five players returning and now head coach Sam McDonald leading the way.
McDonald was an assistant coach on the 2022 championship-winning Bandits and last season’s Finals finish, taking the reins from Matt Paps for the first time this season.
McDonald explained there has been added pressure during his first season as coach, but the challenge of staying undefeated is a byproduct of their process.
“There's always pressure, particularly as a first-year head coach,” he told NBL Media.
“Having said that, our goal all year has been to lock-in home Finals and with the East being extremely competitive between the top sides, winning every game has been pivotal.
“As a by-product of that, we've managed to stay undefeated which is a credit to our squad and their commitment to our process.”
While the driving force of their success has been from the country’s leading scorer Lauren Jackson, she only played in 13 of the team’s 18 games due to Opals commitments.
McDonald explained they knew Jackson would be in and out of the line-up with her Olympic preparation. In response, the Bandits re-signed Thompson to fill the 6’5” gap and have prepared in their adaptability all season.
“Heading into the season, we knew there was uncertainty regarding Lauren's availability due to her family, work, and possible Opal's commitments,” he said.
“We've been fortunate to have her for 13 games, but we've always been prepared for her absence. Our team is smart, adaptable, and resilient, with a strong belief in their ability to succeed, whether or not Lauren is with us.”
While the team features multiple NBL1 East All-Star Five members and WNBL talents, McDonald acknowledged that his depth has been just as important in this run.
“We've got a couple on our squad, but Awatea Leach has been fantastic,” he said.
“Awa brings great energy and intensity to both sides of the game and her performance has helped drive our squad to where we are now.”
One under-the-radar impact player is Emma Mahady, the local talent who made her return to the Bandits last season after multiple seasons in the NBL1 South.
She tore her Achilles last year in August during the WNBL season and has made her comeback to the court at home. McDonald said her continuing return to form will be critical to a successful Finals run.
“It's been great to get Emma back. Emma brings a lot of experience to the group and is someone we can rely on to play a key role on both ends of the floor,” he said.
“We're looking forward to reintegrating Emma post-eye injury in the lead-up to our finals push.”
While it may be easy to look ahead at another championship and National Finals run, McDonald stressed conquering NBL1 East will not be an easy task.
“Our sole focus right now is getting the job done in the East,” he said.
“We have a tough road there with some high-quality teams playing really good basketball. Every team in the top eight of NBL1 East is capable of winning it all, so we're not getting too far ahead of ourselves.”
The Bandits will host the Bankstown Bruins on Saturday, streaming live from 5:00pm AEST live via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.
