THE National Basketball League (NBL)1 East competition is back for another week, and headlining the round’s action is a clash between second and third spot in the women’s division. After eight weeks of play in the inaugural season, the Sutherland Sharks and the Albury Wodonga Bandits have both started the year in terrific fashion, finding a spot inside the top four with identical records. However, that all changes when the two sides lock horns at the Lauren Jackson Sports Centre on Saturday evening.

Both sides have won seven of their nine games, and are making a pretty good case to be in the conversation for the championship favourites, and this matchup provides a test of who deserves the title more. With some high-scoring and stars on either side, the game is set to be one of the best of the round as both squads look to separate themselves from the other. The winner of the clash will lock in second place at the very least, while the loser will be a game behind and will find it a bit tougher to play catch up, so expect the landscape of the competition to be shaken up a bit by the end of the weekend.

Albury Wodonga Bandits vs. Sutherland Sharks
Saturday, June 4 @ 5pm
Lauren Jackson Sports Centre

The Bandits have benefited from the return of Lauren Jackson in a big way, and have been one of the better sides in the start to the 2022 season. Having lost just two games in nine outings, they look set for a big year and are in the midst of an impressive five game winning streak.

Not much can slow this side down, as demonstrated by an emphatic 35-point triumph over the Falcons last weekend, who had been in pretty good form themselves. It is clear that Albury Wodonga has championship glory on its mind, so they will be keen on taking down a fellow contender in the Sharks on Saturday. We know how damaging the Bandits can be on the offensive end, it will just be a matter of containing the opposition down the other end. Jackson has been a monster to start the year, and is almost a shoe-in to rack up another double-double here.

The Sharks have a similar story from the first nine rounds, winning seven games in this time and sitting in third spot only due to a smaller percentage than Albury Wodonga. Saturday evening presents the opportunity to move up the standings and claim a pretty crucial win in the context of their season.

It will need to be a pretty strong outing, but Sutherland has delivered a fair few of those in 2022, so it has the tools to get the job done on the road. Containing Jackson will be a point of emphasis for the Sharks, and they will need to continue their offensive momentum through the likes of Olivia White and Vanessa Panousis, both of whom were important in the four-point triumph over the Bears last weekend. Either way, this is set to be a massive clash for both sides and will have a pretty big impact on the entire league moving forward, so expect plenty of high-quality action here.