Blanchfield and Munger named NBL1 East MVPs for 2025

Todd Blanchfield from the Illawarra Hawks and Nicole Munger from the Newcastle Falcons have been named the NBL1 East MVPs for 2025.

Munger’s win makes her the first player to win an NBL1 MVP award in three consecutive seasons, after what has been another fantastic year in the league.

She has averaged 21 points, 14.4 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 2.3 steals for the Falcons this season.

Meanwhile for Blanchfield, it is his first NBL1 East MVP award, which he has claimed in his first year in the conference.

He has averaged 26.1 points, 3.9 assists, and 11.8 rebounds this season for the Hawks.

Speaking NBL1 East’s Caleb Fogarty, Munger expressed great pride when reflecting on the achievement and the strong competition she had, and also heaped praise on the season her Newcastle Falcons teammates have had around her.

“I’m honoured to have the award again. I think it could’ve went in a lot of places this year, there have been a lot of [players] balling out,” Munger said.

“I think the year that we’ve had as a team has been really special… I [have been] playing with such great players. I could go down the list, everyone’s just really playing well.”

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Blanchfield spoke similarly, emphasising the feeling of being rewarded for the hard work he has put in throughout the year. However, he didn’t shy away from the end goal for him and his teammates.

“To come down to [NBL1 East] and win the MVP, it’s special. All the work you put in behind closed doors, it’s nice to get the recognition for it,” Blanchfield said.

“But ultimately, I’d like to come away with that championship.”

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Both the Illawarra Hawks and the Newcastle Falcons will be in Preliminary Final action this weekend as they aim to make it all the way to Canberra for the NBL1 National Finals.

Illawarra will face Centre of Excellence in a huge clash between the first and second-placed sides in the regular season, while Newcastle will travel to face the first-placed Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in what will be a tough battle. 

You can catch all the action live & free via NBL1.com.au, the NBL1 app, and Kayo Freebies. 

Don't miss out on all the action at the Mitsubishi Motors NBL1 National Finals in Canberra. Tickets are available now. Click HERE to grab yours today.