Feature image via: Picture It Sports
With the NBL1 Central tipping off on Saturday, conference expert Tristian Prentice has broken down his predictions for the MVP Award (Woollacott and Halls Medals) and the conference champions for the 2024 season.
Halls Medallist: Tayla Brazel (Sturt Sabres)
If the Sturt Sabres are back up there again this season and after a scintillating second half of the WNBL season - Tayla will be grabbing plenty of votes through the season and can be elite in all areas of the game - something her competitors may not cover.
Woollacott Medallist: Jordan Forbes (Sturt Sabres)
With candidate players likely not to be here for the first few rounds - the door opens for one of those stars of the league to stay at the top of the votes and I think Jordan Forbes could be the one - but it would not surprise me if the Panthers Jeremy Smith or the Lions Koen Sapwell ran him down late in the season and pinched it.
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— Tristan Prentice (@CODPrentice18) March 16, 2024
EP 19 - Three teams of Intrigue
?? Sturt Sabres
?? Woodville Warriors
? Central District Lions
??Tristan “TP” Prentice and co-host Harrison "Chappy" Chapmanhttps://t.co/tqayMNsDgc#sacrossoverdribble #nbl #wnbl #nbl1 #basketball pic.twitter.com/hGrUaCvQYN
Women's Champions: Southern Tigers
There is a large amount of WNBL talent in the league this year with the Sturt Sabres and the North Adelaide Rockets right up there - but this Tigers team has plenty of players that have played a lot together in the past five years working back towards this moment. I think that counts with their run and continuity this year in what will be the tightest women's competition we have seen in the last decade.
Men's Champions: South Adelaide Panthers
Bringing back the Woollacott Medallist of their championship year Jeremy Smith, adding dynamic players in Ricardo Martin and Tom Kubank and Alex Starling coming off his NBL debut plus they've added more outside shooting in James Boonstoppel to complement their already strong depth of Jarryd Hoppo and Codey Ellison - it's hard to go past that but keep your eye on the Norwood Flames who are also ready to rise.
For further breakdowns of each team and all things NBL1 Central, make sure to listen to the SA Shotclock here.
The NBL1 Central season starts on Saturday, March 23 streaming Live and Free via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.
