Thunder coaches return for 2021 NBL1 North

The Logan Thunder have retained head coaches Brayden Heslehurst (women) and Luke Cann (men) for the 2021 NBL1 North season.

Heslehurst returns after leading the Thunder to the 2020 QSL championship.

“Our plan is to build on what we have done as a program over the past two years, we’ve managed to put together a great core of senior players, several of which are former Logan Thunder juniors and surrounded them with exceptional young Thunder Junior talent who have developed incredibly since being with us,” Heslehurst said.

“The way we have managed to put this core of together and bring our juniors through has allowed us to establish one of the best women’s programs in the state and after making the QBL finals in 2019 and winning QSL last year, our plan is to win an NBL1 title - nothing else will be considered a success for us.

“On top of that we want to continue to develop our young talent which will set up the Thunder Family women’s programs for years to come.

“Thunder fans can expect a very entertaining product from the women’s team in the inaugural NBL1 season. We will be tough and gritty defensively and play with pace and freedom on the offensive end.

“It will be a style that fans will want to come and see but also a style that our players and coaches will love to be a part of. As far as the competition goes, there’ll be a lot of talent and a lot of tough teams battling it out so there’ll be some blockbuster games throughout the year.

“QSL helped us prepare by being able to build chemistry as a group as we had most of our team returning from QBL in 2019 but also added several new pieces.

“The season was a great opportunity to build and work on areas we wanted to be better in such as the defensive end, where we were exceptional during the QSL campaign. It also just helped us build a winning culture as we didn’t take any games lightly and ended up winning the title.

“The best thing about the Thunder Family is the people. When you walk around the Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre either before or after games or around training, you know you have the support of the best fans in the competition.

“That culture has transferred over to our team and we take pride in that.”

Cann has led Logan to three straight finals appearances and will be looking to maintain that level of success in NBL1 North.

“The plan will be to continue to grow the brand of basketball we play, continue to represent the community the right way and head into the new NBL1 season with a group of players who are like minded and committed,” Cann said.

“We will be looking at having a relatively fresh slate. We will look to keep some of our key guys around and add in some complimentary pieces.

“We want to bring in a shot maker and some size to beef up our front court. We will also look to give further opportunities to our developing juniors in the club.

“Fans can expect a group that will compete and represent Logan Basketball night in and night out. Passion, grit and a group that is committed to getting better everyday and enjoying competing. We should see a team that is focused on entertaining and enjoying every minute of the season.

“QSL was a strange experience but one that I think we are all grateful for. It allowed us to play, introduce some new players to the club and expose some Logan Thunder juniors to a higher level competition.

“The Thunder Family is all about the people. I have been involved in various capacities over the past nine years and what makes it special is undoubtedly the way people interact and support each other and the way the juniors are bought through the pathway.”

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