Lauren Nicholson eyes NBL1 return

After winning her second championship with the Townsville Fire, Lauren Nicholson will now set her sights on a return to the NBL1 East with the Sutherland Sharks. 

In an interview with the Pick and Roll, the NBL1 East 2022 Defensive Player of the Year explained her focus is to continue to work on her game and make an Opals squad for a major tournament. 

“I’ve told myself I can only control what I can control, and I just want to continue to have good seasons and then hopefully one day I’ll crack into a major tournament at some point,” she said.

“Until then, I’ll just keep trying to have good seasons and do well at the camps.”

The #NBL1 East Defensive Player of the Year is back for 2023 ?

Need a reminder of what Lauren Nicholson can do? ? pic.twitter.com/GzsjDE92So

— NBL1 (@NBL1) January 26, 2023

With the Opals camp concluding, and a well-deserved trip to Fiji, Nicholson will return to the Sutherland Sharks for the rest of the 2023 season. 

“I love playing for the Sharks and playing in my hometown,” she said.

“I just love playing alongside young girls that when I was coming through, they were just babies, so it’s pretty cool. I want to have a good season there but also be able to take some time and have a bit of a break, just do some one-on-one training, work on some things that I need to and get ready again for the WNBL.

“It’s just the perfect place for me to be able to do that.”

She’ll join her WNBL championship teammate Aliza Fabbro as well as Emily Garland and Madeleine Norris for the rest of the season. 

The Sharks will host the Albury-Wodonga Bandits in a rematch of last season’s Grand Final, watch the game live on Saturday from 5:00pm AEST via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App here.

Feature image via: LookPro Photography