Article - Jason Chainey

Alrighty, Blacky has had his chance on giving a run down on the men’s... It’s now my turn to give you my thoughts on the ladies for 2011.  With more imports and more WNBL talent being lured to Queensland this year,  2011 is going to be an exciting year for the women’s QBL

Northern Pool
Once again, the North pool will be as tough as hell... With very good programs and coaches throughout the pool there is a good reason that southern teams hate to head north.  Rumour has it that Gladstone will have their starting 5 back from last year in Bibby, Hurst, Haynes, Neves and Amanda Beatson. All 5 have come out of the WNBL in the offseason and this will only strengthen their plight at a three peat of championships. If they can get a little bit more depth onto their bench they will be very tough to stop in 2011.  Standing in their way through will be a strengthened Mackay outfit who will see the return of Rachel Allison but have lost the services of Rachel Flanagan. However not all is lost here as ex Pirate and Bundy Bear Heidi Freeburn is heading north to help Coach Wrebetzke go one better than he did last year.  If the rumour of Mackay getting back the services of ex league MVP Tammi WIlley are true then watch this team in 2011 they are going to be very, very good..  Further north, Cairns have snared the services of Logan Thunder Centre Cayla Francis and if they can get Jade Kennedy back in a dolphin uniform together with Ash North and maybe Naomi Pedro once again they will prove to be a tough outfit. Not too sure what is happening in Rocky but you can bet your bottom dollar they will recruit well and will be competitive. Perennial heavyweights Townsville will once again their fair share of WNBL talent and their own home grown talent that will make them finals contenders. Coach John O’Farrel has now got a season under his belt and a year under coach Peter Buckle in the WNBL which will make him only hungrier for more success.

Central Pool
The central pool have been pretty quiet when it comes to off season talk. In saying this, you can bet your bottom dollar that all five teams are going to be even more competitive than they were last year and I am sure have recruited well in the offseason. Last year’s finalists, Northside Wizards have retained the services of Katie Jo-Harris which is great for this team. Katie showed in the QBL all star game that her time with the Logan Thunder train on squad have strengthened her game. If recent years are anything to go by, they will recruit well and will have this team ready to go in 2011. Couple of first time coaches in Bundaberg, Brisbane & Maroochy and the return of legendary coach Johnny MClgynn to Caboolture sees a bit of coaching movement in this pool however, don’t let this fool you. Bundaberg will get their couple of imports to bolster their line up, one of which is the lightening fast Yvonne Turner from last year’s team. This girl is a hell of player and will only be better in 2011 having a year in the QBL under her belt.  They have let go of the services of Stef Jones but have brought back their import from 2 years ago in Stef Gandy. Brisbane are apparently looking seriously at some WNBL talent & or imports to take them one further in 2011, Johnny will get the most out of any team that he puts on the floor in Caboolture and with the return of Rachel Warren they definitely will be tougher then what they showed in 2010.  

Southern Pool
Big time recruiters this year have been Ipswich. With first year coach Brad George taking over the reins he has wasted no time in adding some scoring strength to an already strong Ipswich team from last year. They have brought in athletic scoring forward Ezria Parsons from Toowoomba and Emma Langford out of Adelaide. Both girls bring the ability to score, rebound and defend which makes this team serious finals contenders. Further east the mighty pirates with another first year coach in Phil Binder have retained the services of last year’s QBL MVP Cat Scanlon, Jess and Ash Wallis and Karina Dawson. To assist them in going to the finals again this year will be the return of Pirates stalwart Sally Brown and the return of injured guard Lori Brown plus another Scanlon in Cats sister Heather. After a lot of talk early in the pre season the gold coast have gone a little quiet as of late. You can bet your bottom dollar though they will be there usual gold coast tough self. Here’s also hoping that Toowoomba can get a few wins this year after two years of winless seasons. From what I hear up the mountain they are heading in the right direction and their off season training is putting them in good stead to get that dreaded boggy off their back.

My pick for Champions in 2011
I don’t think you can go past a stronger team then Gladstone. They have got some world class talent in their starting line up and if they can pick up one or two additional players to strengthen their bench and get a little bigger they are going to be tough to bet against. However, watch out for Ipswich and Mackay and Brisbane as a bit of a dark horse.

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Any comments, views or opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the positions or opinions of Basketball Queensland or their affiliates.
All comments are based upon current knowledge and personal experiences at time of publication.