Sharna Thompson has returned home with back-to-back championships on her resume, and she plans to help build a new winning culture in Hobart.
While she’s only 24 years old, Thompson has a wealth of high-level playing experience between her NBL1 championship runs and her development player seasons with Townsville and Adelaide in the WNBL.
In 2023, Thompson signed with the NBL1 Central’s Norwood Flames, where she was an important piece to their championship run alongside superstar Ally Wilson. In 2024, she returned to the NBL1 South, signing with the Waverley Falcons – where the team went on a historic run to win the conference and national championships (she could not attend the latter).
Thompson last played for the Chargers back in 2022, saying she’s excited to finally return home and play in front of friends and family.
“Being back home means I get to play infront of family and friends too so really excited for that,” she told Chargers TV.
“I think some of them were a bit more excited than what I was, to be honest. Some of the reactions I got and the messages on social media, saying they can’t wait to get to the first game. I’ve even had fans say they are going to travel up to Launceston to watch that first game.”
ROUND 1 OF THE NBL1 SOUTH STARTS MARCH 29, SEE THE FULL FIXTURE HERE.
Coming into this younger group, she explained that building on her leadership skills and setting a championship culture will be her main priority.
“It’d be nice to get a championship back home and hopefully bring that good luck charm back down to Hobart, fingered crossed,” she said.
“In my time in Adelaide, I was lucky enough to be the vice-captain of the NBL1 team. Then obviously getting that leadership through that, having another year in the WNBL in Adelaide (Lightning), I’ve also learnt a lot from that as well.
“Bringing leadership back to this Hobart group will definitely be a main focus for me.”
Given the team is built around local talents, Thompson explained that preseason can start even earlier, giving the Chargers an advantage over other NBL1 South clubs.
“We’ve got a really young, talented, upcoming team. We’ve also got some veterans as well, so really looking forward to that,” she said.
“Basketball in Hobart in general is increasing.”
The Chargers will start their season against the state-rival Launceston Tornadoes on March 29th. Stay up to date with all the latest news and signings via the NBL1 social media pages.
