The 2022 NBL1 South Conference season may have finished some weeks ago for the OneFortyOne Women’s and the Castec Rural Supplies Pioneers, but the work has not stopped for the board and management.

The women completed an overall successful home and away season under the leadership of Matt Sutton, who maximised the side’s potential with a fast-paced running style, finishing third on the ladder and winning the right to play finals.

Unfortunately the side lost its first final against Ringwood in a tight battle, going down by six points.

They had the chance to turn the disappointment around the following week on their home court with plenty of support for fans.

However the side went down to Waverley in a nail-biting contest, ending their finals campaign.

“Everyone shares the disappointment of the game being so close and falling over,” club president Tom Kosch said.

“We got ourselves into a position to win for Matt and for our women and for that to happen at home was shattering for the group.

“At the same time there is a particular closeness between that group of girls and the coaching staff and the early indications of them returning … and hopefully compete for a NBL1 South championship are high on their agenda.

“The club is quite interested in trying to get them to return to Mount Gambier, they were an outstanding group of people and an outstanding group of players and Matt (Sutton) has done a tremendous job with them and we would like to do everything we can to support that group going forward.”

Kosch said during the Pioneers off-season Cassandra Brown had accepted a contract to play in Greece, while Haleigh Reinoehl was assessing her options.

“Sherrie Calleia is a very talented player and she has been given the opportunity to further her career at the WNBL with a contract at the Canberra Capitals which is fantastic for her and it is exactly what the competition provides for young players,” Kosch said.

“Sherrie is definitely a player we would love to see return for the Pioneers and we wish her well with the Capitals.

“There has also been a number of other girls that have had discussions with other WNBL clubs and some of that group are definitely on the radar from rival clubs.

“We want to see those players progress and provide that opportunity for the locals to progress in their chosen sport.”

The Pioneers board promptly re-signed women’s head coach Sutton on a two-year contract shortly after the season ended, which Kosch said would bring some stability to the team.

“The contribution that Matt has made and the reward that he has been able to get out of a positive two and a half seasons, people forget that in 2018 Matt excepted the position to support and help out his club,” Kosch said.

“Without him (Sutton) doing that and making that commitment we would have found it hard to bring a team together back in 2019 to compete in Adelaide and furthermore in 2021 following COVID.

“The challenging work has been done by Matt and re-signing him for a further two years is a real coup for us and sets the ball rolling.”

The Castec Rural Supplies men’s team also had a successful season, but unfortunately went down in the grand final.

Kosch said he could not be any prouder of the commitment from the team.

“It was a tough contest and our men did an incredible job to get to where they did,” he said.

“As the season went on, teams made adjustments to the way they played us and made improvements to their rosters as the NBL1 season came to an end.

The competition got more fierce as the year went along.

“There was a patch between rounds eight to 12 that our team struggled a bit and it was a credit to Richard Hill and the guys that were able to get them back on track at a crucial time of our season.

“It enabled us to host two finals here at the Icehouse, finish in second place and play in the NBL1 South championship and full credit to Hobart who were the best team across the year.

“There was a hell of a lot of talent in that (Hobart) group and personally I think Mount Gambier and Richard and hopefully the rest of those boys that want to come back are motivated to come back and beat Hobart in 2023.”

Kosch said several members of the team had secured NBL contracts in the Pioneers off-season, with Nick Marshall playing with the Adelaide 36ers and Michael Harris headed to the Perth Wildcats under new coach John Rillie.

“Having two players advance to the next level is outstanding and what this competition is all about,” Kosch said.

“To see the progress both these boys have made and now watching them on the big stage is remarkable.”

Kosch said Tom Kubank had also travelled to the Netherlands to play in the international league.

“For Tom to make that decision is an outstanding one for him,” he said.

“Tom’s been committed to Mount Gambier for the last year and a half and we hoped we had gotten him a little bit earlier but COVID had other plans.

“The life experiences that Tom will get playing and living overseas will benefit him.

“We wish him well with that going forward.”

Kosch said with the re-signing of coaches Sutton and Hill for season 2023, the focus would now turn to the playing roster.

“We do need the commitment of the local players and they are backbone of our teams,” he said.

“Players such as Kane de Wit and Eric Burdon have done so much for the club.

“Kane has been around a long time and made a great contribution to our club, he is amazing and is a future leader.

“Eric Burdon obviously is our games record holder and achieved that during the season.

“(He) has been a great person to have around and we would love to see him go on.

“Tom Daly was struck down with sickness earlier (this year) and then succumbing to injury, we also would like Tom to get back up to that level of playing good basketball.”

Given the progress of Mount Gambier’s new Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre, it seems the Pioneers have played their last home games at the Icehouse with the move to the new stadium slated for next season.

Kosch said discussions were under way before moving to the Margaret Street site.

“We are currently working with NBL1, City of Mount Gambier and Belgravia Leisure to confirm when we can get access and the season is due to start late March which is a bit earlier than this year,” he said.

“We are looking forward to the return of NBL1 and a new home for the Pioneers.”