A message from the Club President

Welcome to Winter Season 2026, and a very special welcome to all our new Wattle Park Saints families, particularly those taking their first steps into what can feel like a strange new world: Domestic Club Basketball.

If you’re new to club basketball, you’re probably already asking the same questions we all once did… How does training work? Where are the games? How do we get a uniform? And what on earth is grading?

The good news is it all starts to make sense pretty quickly. Within a few weeks, the confusion fades, the routines settle, and even the early terror of scoring duty disappears. Before long, you’ll be confidently calling out “box out!” and wondering if our transition is too slow.

One of the great strengths of Wattle Park Saints is that everyone starts exactly the same way. Every experienced parent, Team Manager, coach, and player was once the person nervously walking into the stadium for the first time.

But the transition we see, week in and week out, is something amazing.

I was watching a young player not so long ago in their first game. They barely touched the ball, looked completely overwhelmed, and from what I could tell was staying as far from the ball as possible while still on court. Fast forward a season or two, and that same player was bringing the ball up the court, calling for screens, encouraging teammates, and playing with the confidence that comes from just playing.

That transformation doesn’t happen by accident, it happens because of community. It happens because teammates pass the ball not to the best player but the best position. Because coaches create an environment where mistakes are part of learning. Because parents encourage effort, not just outcomes.

There’s a great line from Bill Russell that I like: “The most important measure of how good a game I played was how much better I’d made my teammates play.”

Because at Wattle Park Saints, the real scoreboard is measured in courage to play, teamwork, and the way we lift each other.

This season, Wattle Park Saints will have around 500 players representing the club each week across 62 teams:
34 Friday boys teams
3 Monday girls teams
14 Saturday boys teams
11 Saturday girls teams

That’s a huge community effort and something we’re incredibly proud of.
A big thank you to our Age Group Coordinators — Elyssia Clark, Marina Pappas, Brad Cahill and Bridget O’Regan, who have taken on a planning and logistics exercise that can only be described as the modern-day equivalent of a D-Day landing to get teams finalised. It’s a complex task balancing requests, friendships, clashes, and team numbers, and we are very grateful for their efforts.

While we do everything we can, it’s not always possible to meet every request, and we appreciate your understanding as we work to create the best possible team environments for all players.

It is with deep sadness I also note the passing of Akram Armanyous, a parent of one of our wonderful Wattle Park Saints families. Our condolences to the entire family at this time and our thoughts are with Sally, Gabriel and Daniel.

As always at this time of year, injuries, school camps, and clashes with other sports have left a small number of teams short on numbers. We currently have limited spots available in our Friday U11 and U15 teams, so please reach out if you know someone keen to join.

We are also seeking an U15 coach for Friday nights. If you’re interested — or even just curious about what’s involved — please contact Paul Kneebone.

Wishing all our players and families a fantastic Winter 2026 season ahead. Take the opportunity to grow, support your teammates, build friendships, and enjoy being part of something bigger than the game itself.

Brave - in how we play,
True - in how we act, and
One - as a team, a family a club.
Go Saints.

Shayne La Combre
Club President

In this edition

Summer 2025/2026 Presentation Day

NBL 1 Club Day

Coach Wanted

Players Wanted

Skills Development Sessions

Vale

Donate Your Old Uniform

Dates to remember

Summer 2025/2026 Presentation Day

Thank you to our wonderful Saints families for coming along to another terrific Presentation Day last month. It was fabulous to see so many families and players come together to celebrate the end of another fantastic season of basketball.

A massive thank you to our Committee and team of incredible helpers for making the afternoon run so smoothly. Huge thanks also to our good mates Pizza Republica in Surrey Hills for ensuring we were well fed with scrumptious pizzas!

Congratulations to all award winners!

Coaches' Awards

These awards are presented to players who do things the Wattle Park Saints Way:

Positive attitude
Good listening skills
Turning up on time to training and games
Respect and team player approach
Tries their best, irrespective of ability
Works with the Coach and team

Monday Girls

11.1 Sophie Brown

11.2 Amelie Dickins

13.1 Anita Sahely

Friday Boys

8.1 Silas Shyam

8.2 Jack Cochrane

9.1 Hamish Carruthers

9.2 Neel Rohatgi

9.3 Leo Clayton

9.4 Fred Hill

9.5 Leonard Morey

9.6 George Curlewis

11.1 Louis Tian

11.2 Jordan Clark

11.3 Ayaan Jaksa

11.4 Charlie Hughes

11.5 Callum Robertson

11.6 Harvey Parkinson

11.7 Cian Henderson

11.8 Oscar Huang

11.9 Riaan Panja

13.1 Lorcan Kelly

13.2 Rafael Little

13.3 Joshua Pereire

13.4 Jamie Merrigan

15.1 Bowen Tan

15.2 Otto Voshege

15.3 Hudson Mayer

15.4 Charan Thanakanti

15.5 Raynard Li

17.1 Ignatius O’Flaherty

17.2 Jacob Gillespie

17.3 Jack Wagstaff

Saturday Girls

9.1 Sadie Henderson

11.1 Ella Hanson

11.2 Edie Hawking

11.3 Katerina Kosmopolous

11.4 Riley Steward

13.1 Olivia Skidmore

13.2 Ilona Ash

15.1 Nellie Morris

15.2 Janna Granzow

15.3 Meg McKinlay

17.1 Lily Dulmanis

17.2 Swathy Jayasanker

Saturday Boys

9.1 Archie Kost

11.1 Dean Madytianos

11.2 Jackson Kombo

13.1 Royy Mathur

13.2 Jake Pratt

13.3 Jed Batchelor

13.4 Leo Wealands

13.5 Harrison Campbell

13.6 Harrison Corso

13.7 Josh Welch

13.8 Athan Gilopidis

15.1 Charlie Cooke

15.2 Wilson Zhang

15.3 Ryan Kinsella

15.4 Owen Frawley

15.5 Jack O’Callaghan

17.1 Ethan Fisher

17.2 Declan Wealands

17.3 Sam Perry

19.1 James Patten

19.2 Oscar Knight

Game Milestone Recipients

Congratulations to the following players for their loyalty to the Wattle Park Saints:

100 Game Recipients

Akshay Ajaykumar

Leo Barrows

Shreshth Baweja

Asher Belmonte

Olivia Brown

Oliver Clark

Hugh Egan

Max Hanson

Angus Haworth

Zuby Jalaly

Raaj Mathur

Harvey Porter

Aaron Peaker

Patrick Prior

Callum Robertson

Olly Thorburn

Josh Archbold

Bailey Gillespie

Kat Kosmopoulos

Haysus Lee

Lucas Mutton

Leon Swan

200 Game Recipients

Beau Brosolo

Lenny Campbell

Charlie Cooke

Jordan Duong

Edward Millott-Jones

Tom Phillips

Alfie Russell

Patrick Beard

Frankie O’Flaherty

Spencer Wickes

300 Game Recipients

Torben Granzow

James Patten

Summer Season 2025 - 2026 Junior Coaching Award

Swathy Jaysanker - Saturday Girls 13.2

Summer Season 2025 - 2026 Senior Coaching Award

Jess Santamaria - Saturday Girls 11.1 and Saturday Boys 13.4

Perpetual Trophy winners

At the end of each Summer Season, Perpetual Trophies are awarded. Congratulations to the following winners.

DEIDRE WILLIAM TROPHY

This trophy is awarded to a female who has played in Under 16s and has shown a high level of commitment by being a good Ambassador on and off the court, has assisted in coaching or in supporting the team coach and has achieved a high level of playing.

Awarded to: Emily Thorburn

DAVID HODGES TROPHY

This trophy is awarded to a senior player. The recipient has displayed a long playing career with the Club, has been a good ambassador on and off the court and has sought to support the Club with coaching, volunteering and actively recruiting players.

Awarded to: Declan Wealands

KATE FREESTONE TROPHY

This trophy is to be awarded to a junior player, aged 12 -19 years old, who has shown great determination and Club spirit in their playing.

Awarded to: Antony Madytianos

COACHING SERVICE AWARD TROPHY

This Trophy is awarded to a parent coach who has dedicated many years to coaching. The recipient of this Award has displayed a high level of qualities, developing players, team spirit, instilling Club values and promoting the Wattle Park Way.

Awarded to: Nathan Gill

RICKY MITCHELL SERVICE AWARD

This trophy is for many years of service dedicated to the Club and Community. This person has been active on and off the court, has held a Club Committee position, has been a strong support to promote and build the Club and has exhibited the Club values and promoted the Wattle Park Way.

Awarded to: Graeme Kelly

Free Game Day tickets!

Nunawading Basketball has kindly offered us 100 free tickets for the upcoming Nunawading Spectres v Casey Cavaliers.

DATE: Saturday 16 May 2026

TIME: Women’s: Tipoff 5:30pm, Men’s: Tipoff 7:30pm (tickets include access to both games on the day)

VENUE: Nunawading Basketball Centre

If you’d like tickets, please send an email to: info@wattleparksaints.org.au .

Coach Wanted!

We are in need of a coach for a Friday night U15 boys team. To apply, please fill out this form. Coaches play an incredibly important role in young lives - the positive impact reaches far beyond the basketball court. At Wattle Park Saints, we develop and support our coaches with training and resources. We also pay junior coaches $500 (or $300 each if co-coaching) for the season.

Please reach out to Paul if you have any questions. Look forward to receiving your application!

Players Wanted

We have teams needing more players! We've got a couple of spots available in U11 and U15 Friday night boys teams. Do you have a basketball- loving kid keen for another weekly game or a friend interested in joining the mighty Wattle Park Saints? Then please reach out! Drop us an email to find out more.

New Training Program

Skills Development Sessions

We're launching an exciting new training program at Wattle Park Saints - the Skills Development Sessions. Run in 4 week blocks, the sessions give players an opportunity to work on their individual skills through targeted coaching in small groups. Leading the sessions is Rhys, an experienced player and highly regarded coach.

The cost is just $10 per session ($40 total for the 4 weeks). Most programs like this cost more than $40 for each session, so this is a chance to level up without breaking the bank.

Each block is targeted to a specific age group - to book a session for your age group, see the links below:

U11s book here (5pm to 5.50pm Monday nights, from June 1 to June 22)

U13s book here (5pm to 5.50pm Monday nights, from June 29 to July 20)

U15s book here (5pm to 5.50pm Wednesday nights, from June 10 to July 1)

U17s book here (5pm to 5.50pm Wednesday nights, from July 8 to August 5)

Places are limited - groups are kept to 4 players to maximise opportunity for improvement. Book now or for questions, email Paul.

Vale Akram Armanyous

It is with great sadness we note the passing of Akram Armanyous, a parent in our Wattle Park Saints community. We express our deepest condolences to Sally, Gabriel and Daniel and their family and friends. Our thoughts are with them at this sad time.

Wanted: Your Old Saints Uniforms

Do you have an outgrown Saints uniform sitting in your cupboard? Then please donate it to the Club for reuse! Your old singlet or shorts can be added to our loan stock which assists to kit-out new players while they wait for their uniform to arrive from the manufacturer.

Please e mail the Club to organise dropping off your pre-loved uniforms.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

We are very grateful to our sponsors. Thanks to these sponsors, we have been able to provide top-notch coaching and development, along with coaching kits to our young aspiring Junior coaches in our community. This support has not only improved their confidence, leadership and basketball skills but also instills valuable life lessons around teamwork, discipline, perseverance. It's heartening to see this positive impact and how sponsorship makes a difference.

Community Bank Inner East