Crusaders teams to host Hornsby in NBL 1 East comp opener

Basketball

The Central Coast Crusaders tip off in their sophomore NBL 1 East season this weekend with a bang, hosting rivals Hornsby Spiders at Breakers Indoor Sports Stadium.

After a less than stellar inaugural season in the newly formed NBL 1 East program, the Central Coast Crusaders come into this year with revamped lineups for both the men’s and women’s teams.

With the NBL1 still in its infancy in NSW, teams are working hard on building depth in their rosters and establishing themselves as powerhouses within the NBL realm.

Kicking things off this Saturday at 5pm, the Crusaders women’s squad are eager to test out their new starting lineup which boasts the likes of FIBA Oceania gold medalist Maddison Penn who is coming off a back injury which halted her rise in the Australian Basketball scene.

Around Penn is a great cast of the Central Coast’s own emerging talent who are eager to prove themselves on a bigger stage.

“This year we had a really large group trial with us on both the men’s and women’s side.

We have been strong in the U23 Youth League competition and those athletes are starting to emerge in our NBL1 program.” Mikko von Lueders the Coaching Director at Central Coast Basketball said.

The men’s squad are enjoying a selection of young talent too with last year’s squad lacking size and with the departure of Crusaders legend Callum Jenkins, the young guys have some big shoes to fill.

The most exciting news coming out of the men’s camp according to Representative Coordinator Killi Akamarmoi, the return of American import

Central Coast Outrigger

Canoe Club has received nearly $30,000 for a new ultra-light canoe as part of the NSW Government’s 2022 Community Building Partnership Program.

Club President Jennifer Norris said the new canoe will allow the club to grow and continue to provide a range of different paddling experiences for members.

“With the wide range of ages and training needs at the club, the ultra-light canoe will cater for the diverse requirements of our non-competitive and

Ajay Lawton who was a stand out in the Crusaders 2019 Waratah State Championship run.

“He’s a high energy athletic player on the court and a great guy off the court too and most importantly he knows a lot of the guys on the team he’s played with a lot of them and he knows what we’re all about here on the Central Coast.

It wouldn’t be out of the question to expect Ajay and this squad to go pretty far this year.” Akamarmoi said.

Central Coast Basketball has been working hard behind the scenes too with the goal of building the game day experience on the agenda and so far, they have not disappointed. General Manager Matthew Tredrea believes that fans can continue to expect