Albury Wodonga Bandits

Basketball team in Albury, New South Wales

Founded1984

HistoryMen:
Wodonga Border Bulldogs
1984–1985
Albury Wodonga Bandits
1986–present
Women:
Albury Wodonga Bandits
2006–present

ArenaLauren Jackson Sports Centre

Albury Wodonga Bandits

Leagues	NBL1 East
Founded	1984
History	Men: Wodonga Border Bulldogs 1984–1985 Albury Wodonga Bandits 1986–present Women: Albury Wodonga Bandits 2006–present
Arena	Lauren Jackson Sports Centre
Location	Albury, New South Wales
Team colors	Black (home) and Grey (away)
Main sponsor	Southern Vale Homes
President	Mark Bywater
Vice-president	Rod Paul
Head coach	M: Matt Kowalczyk W: Sam McDonald
Championships	Men: SEABL (1) 2012 Women: NBL1 East (1) 2022
Conference titles	Men: SEABL (3) 2001 2012 2015
Website	NBL1.com.au

Albury Wodonga Bandits is a NBL1 East club based in Albury, New South Wales. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 East. The Bandits play their home games at the Lauren Jackson Sports Centre. For sponsorship reasons, the two teams are known as the Southern Vale Homes Bandits.

In 1984, a team known as the Wodonga Border Bulldogs entered the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL). Based out of the Victorian city of Wodonga, the Bulldogs' home venue was the Wodonga Sports and Leisure Centre. The Wodonga stadium was the original home court in 1984 before the venue split games with the newly constructed Albury Sports Stadium the following year. The Bulldogs' final game they hosted at the Wodonga Sports and Leisure Centre was on 25 August 1985 before changing their name to the Albury Wodonga Bandits in 1986 and re-locating to nearby Albury.^[1]^[2]

After experiencing little success over their first 17 seasons in the SEABL, the Bandits won the East Conference championship in 2001 behind coach Leigh Gooding and players Allen McCowan, Matt Sheehan, Russell Hinder, Nick Grylewicz and Nick Payne.^[3]^[4]^[5]

In 2006, an Albury Wodonga Bandits women's team entered the SEABL. After missing the playoffs in each of their first three seasons, the Lady Bandits qualified for the post-season for the first time in 2009 behind coach Kennedy Kereama and star import duo Lisa Wallbutton and Toni Edmondson.^[6] Heading into the 2014 season, the Lady Bandits had a 39–153 win–loss record.^[7]

In 2012, the Bandits men won the South Conference title^[8] and the overall SEABL championship.^[9] In 2015, the men's team won the East Conference championship before going on to lose in the SEABL Grand Final to the Mount Gambier Pioneers.^[10]

In 2019, following the demise of the SEABL, the Bandits joined the NBL1 for its inaugural season.^[11] After playing in the NBL1 South in 2021, the Bandits joined the NBL1 East in 2022.^[12] The women's team won the NBL1 East championship in the 2022 season behind Lauren Jackson and Unique Thompson.^[13]^[14]

In 2024, the Bandits women became the first team in NBL1 East history to go undefeated during the regular season.^[15]^[16] They went on to lose two straight finals games to bow out of the playoffs.^[17]

References

↑ Smith, Steve (15 July 2011). "Change of scene for Albury-Wodonga ladies". BorderMail.com.au. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
↑ "Bandits back where it began". BorderMail.com.au. 7 July 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
↑ Smith, Steve (8 September 2011). "Self-belief put Bandits on top". BorderMail.com.au. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
↑ Smith, Steve (9 June 2012). "Stadium right for final tribute". BorderMail.com.au. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
↑ Smith, Steve (18 April 2013). "House of Payne: Bandits champ set for 300". BorderMail.com.au. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
↑ Smith, Steve (13 March 2013). "Effort is the key for Lady Bandits". BorderMail.com.au. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
↑ Smith, Steve (21 March 2014). "Albury-Wodonga Lady Bandits' time to end the SEABL easy-beats tag". BorderMail.com.au. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
↑ Smith, Steve (3 September 2012). "Border Bandits win SEABL GF". BorderMail.com.au. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
↑ Potter, Jarrod (13 September 2012). "It's a dandy feeling as Bandits drive home top title". awnw.com.au. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
↑ "2015 REPORT CARD- ALBURY/WODONGA". Basketball.net.au. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
↑ "NBL1 to Showcase Next Level of Australia's Basketball Talent". NBL.com.au. 15 February 2019. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
↑ "NBL1 East teams unveiled". NBL1.com.au. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
↑ "ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS CROWNED INAUGURAL NBL1 EAST CHAMPIONS". NBL1.com.au. 28 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
↑ "NBL1 East Recap | Women's Grand Final". NBL1.com.au. 28 August 2022. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
↑ Everett, Lachlan (2 July 2024). "Bandits verging on history". NBL1.com.au. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
↑ "The history of undefeated NBL1 teams". NBL1.com.au. 19 July 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
↑ "2024 NBL1 Conference Finals (2)" (PDF). BasketballWA.asn.au. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 August 2024.

External links

Official NBL1 club website

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Albury Wodonga Bandits BA Centre of Excellence Bankstown Bruins Canberra Gunners (Men) Canberra Nationals (Women) Central Coast Crusaders Hills Hornets Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Spiders Illawarra Hawks Inner West Bulls Maitland Mustangs Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Newcastle Falcons Norths Bears Penrith Panthers Sutherland Sharks Sydney Comets

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