Thu
Aug 7, 2025
Thunder strike back: Why the club won't be 'pressured' into collective bid
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Story by Jacob Bevis The Advocate
The North West Thunder has sent a clear message to Basketball Tasmania (BTas), insisting it will not be "pressured" into a collective process for an NBL1 South license.
It comes after BTas didn't endorse either proposal submitted by the Thunder and Launceston Tornadoes, instead opting to work with the two clubs on a collaborative Northern Tasmanian licence bid.
But the Thunder have revealed plans to submit a revised application before the August 29 deadline, after withdrawing their original bid from July 18.
"We have advised [BTas] that we hold no interest in being pressured into a collective submission process facilitated by them after our efforts to appease their conditions to date without any detailed justification for declining our original submission," Chairman James Leslie said.
"After [the deadline] we will not have enough lead time to be able to create a sustainable program for the 2026 NBL1 season and we will remove ourselves from consideration accordingly.
"We are disappointed in the way Basketball Tasmania have handled this process, and we are keen to move forward with NBL1/Basketball Victoria and ensure the stability of the NBL1 programs here in the state.
"North West Thunder are an integral part of basketball in Tasmania and along with the NWBU have the strength, facilities and vision to make this very successful as we have pointed out on several occasions.
"There is a solid existing structure and over 80 percent of the local male and female NBL1 athletes living in our direct region."
Basketball Victoria, who operate NBL1 South, announced in April that the men's and women's teams in the North and North-West must be under the same licence.
The Thunder's latest application proposes the program should be based in the North-West, to provide "flexibility of access no matter their postcode".
Leslie said BTas will be "accountable" if its direction doesn't survive long-term.
"We understand Basketball Tasmania have an important role to play and if they choose a different path than what we have now made available, then they will be accountable for the result of that direction in the longer term and the impact we will all see on the sport," he said.
"BTas in all their strategies aspire for clubs to have a home base. They are actively campaigning for council and state funding to do this in the south of the state as we speak.
"This mandate to create a split environment at NBL1 level runs contradictory to that.
"This new submission provides security of the NBL1 program here in the state and we are ready to make a start on forming an exciting, combined men's and women's program as soon as possible."
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