The 2012/2013 CBL Season is proving to be a breeding ground for the future of the Western Port Steelers senior representative program, with no less than 10 current junior rep players taking the CBL court each and every week

With the men sitting on top of the ladder and the women sitting comfortably inside the top 4, it is clear that these juniors are not just about participation – they are here to achieve – and with the support of a small, but strong group of current Big V players to lead the way, it is clear that the Western Port Steelers senior rep program will be in good hands for years to come

The men have 3 standout junior rep players showing great improvement. Luke Duskovic, Brendan Sands and Brad Marshall have stepped things up in recent weeks, with head coach James Langford saying “The young guys have been doing well and holding their own. Luke was on in the last 3 minutes against Churchill a couple of weeks back and stood up, scored some points and looked after the ball in the crunch to help get a vital win against one of the top 2 teams”

This is the first time Western Port has entered a CBL men’s team in a few years and they have been a stand out in the league so far, having only dropped the one game this season and sit top of the ladder.

On the women’s side, the 14 player squad includes 7 current junior rep players from last season’s Junior Steelers teams. They are Shannon Donnelly, Molly Palser, Rylee Geddes, Steph Abbott, Abbey Congreve, Chloe Chalmers and Annie Kloppenborg.

Coach Marc Pirrotta is very pleased with the girl’s progress, saying “all 7 have made strong contributions to the team’s success this season. The junior girls in this team have really stepped it up compared to last season and realize that they are not merely here to participate, but to actually compete to achieve.”

When asked to highlight any stand out girls, Marc said “that’s a hard one, because different girls step up each week – and that includes the senior age players as well – but girls like Abbey (Congreve), Shannon (Donnelly), Dodge (Molly Palser) and Annie (Kloppenborg) have really shown big improvement and are holding their own with the senior group.”

“But what is most pleasing is seeing some of these girls selected to our Big V squad for 2013. Dodge and Abbey made it through to the final squad and that really does show that Western Port have a true pathway from juniors to seniors now.”

With the club having plans to enter a Big V Youth League women’s team in the next couple of years, a program like CBL is vital to achieving this goal. Next season will likely have even less senior age players, with a larger number of junior rep players selected, so they can be developed into a core group to eventually enter Big V Youth League.

“It can’t be forgotten that of our senior age group of players, most of the girls have only just finished junior rep in the last couple of seasons themselves and could actually play Youth League now” Pirrotta said, “It really is a young group overall and that is a very exciting time for Western Port, especially given the Big V Women’s Program is looking to rebuild based around the younger local players in 2013 and beyond.”

But right now, the teams focus is about the last 3 games (to be played in January 2013), “we have 3 games left, including games against the top 2 teams, and we want to lock in a top 2 finish so we can head into finals with home court advantage. So while our girls are going to enjoy the break over Christmas, they want to come back focused and ready to take on what should be a cracker of a final few rounds.”

For further queries regarding this, contact General Manager, Marc Pirrotta, on 5977 7533 or gm@wpba.com.au

* Released 12^th December 2012