NBL1 South 2024 Women - The Final Round

As we approach the 14th and final round of the NBL1 South 2024 season a few more teams have locked in a Top 8 finals position. The final round starts tonight, with a four-week finals series commencing the week after.

With 16 home & away games still left to play,12 of those games have ladder implications.

Only three teams have clinched their final’s spot (before reviewing head-to-head results). Meanwhile, seven teams are still in mathematical contention for the remaining five spots in the Top 8.

Teams qualified for NBL1 South 2024 Finals:

• Knox Raiders - Currently hold top spot with a 19-2 record and 1 game left to play
• Keilor Thunder - Currently hold second spot with a 18-2 record and 2 games left to play
• Dandenong Rangers - Currently hold third sport with a 14-6 record and 2 games left to play

Teams still alive:

• Sandringham Sabres - Currently fourth with a 13-7 record and 2 games left to play
• Mt Gambier Pioneers - Currently fifth with a 13-8 record and 1 game left to play
• Ballarat Miners - Currently sixth with a 13-8 record and 1 game left to play
• Eltham Wildcats - Currently seventh with a 12-8 record and 2 games left to play
• Geelong United - Currently eighth with a 11-9 record and 2 games left to play
• Waverley Falcons - Currently ninth with a 11-9 record and 2 games left to play
• Bendigo Braves - Currently tenth with a 11-10 and 1 game left to play

Ladder-impacting games (under-lined teams in finals contention)

• Sandringham Sabres v. Frankston Blues - Tuesday 6:00pm
• Keilor Thunder v. Eltham Wildcats - Thursday 6:00pm
• Melbourne Tigers v. Waverley Falcons - Thursday 6:00pm
• Geelong United v. Waverley Falcons - Friday 6:00pm
• Nunawading Spectres v. Dandenong Rangers - Friday 6:00pm
• Mt Gambier Pioneers v. Ringwood Hawks - Friday 6:00pm
• Sandringham Sabres v. Hobart Chargers - Saturday 5:00pm
• Kilsyth Cobras v. Bendigo Braves - Saturday 5:30pm
• Diamond Valley Eagles v. Geelong United - Saturday 6:00pm
• Knox Raiders v. Keilor Thunder - Saturday 6:00pm
• Eltham Wildcats v. Ballarat Miners - Saturday 6:00pm
• Dandenong Rangers v. Launceston Tornadoes - Sunday 12:00pm

Summary of potential outcomes

Knox Raiders (Currently 1st, 19 Wins, 2 Losses, 1 Game left to play)

• Knox play against Keilor Saturday night. Knox will need to win this game to retain top spot. If they lose this game, Keilor will take top spot.

Keilor Thunder (Currently 2nd, 18 Wins, 2 Losses, 2 Games left to play)

• Keilor play against Knox Saturday night. If Keilor win this game they will take top spot from Knox. If they lose this game, Keilor will finish second on the ladder. Keilor's second game will have no bearing on their ladder position

Dandenong Rangers (Currently 3rd, 14 Wins, 6 Losses, 2 Games left to play)

• Dandenong play against Nunawading and Launceston in Round 14. If they will both they will retain third on the ladder.
• If Dandenong only win one game or neither game their ladder position will be determined by other results and potential head-to head situations with, potnetially, Sandringham, Mt Gambier, Ballarat and Eltham.

Sandringham Sabres (Currently 4th, 13 Wins, 7 Losses, 2 Games left to play)

• Sandringham play against Frankston and Hobart in Round 14. 
• If Sandringham can win both games they will take 3rd place, if Dandenong lose both of their games.
• If Sandringham win one or neither of thier games, their ladder position will be determined by head-to-head situations with potentially Dandeong, Mt Gambier, Ballarat and Eltham.

Mt Gambier Pioneer (Currently 5th, 13 Wins, 8 Losses, 2 Games left to play)

• Mt Gambier play against Ringwood Friday night.
• If Mt Gambier win this game they could potnetially reach as high as 3rd place, if Dandenong lose both their games, and Sandringham only win one more game.
• If Mt Gambier lose, they could potentially finish betwen 4th and 9th, based on potential head-to-head situations with Sandirngham, Ballarat, Eltham, Geelong and Waverley

Ballarat Miners (Currently 6th, 13 Wins, 8 Losses, 1 Game left to play)

• Ballarat play gainst Eltham Saturday night.
• If Ballarat win this game they could potnetially reach as high as 3rd place, if Dandenong lose both their games, and Sandringham only win one more game.
• If Ballarat lose, they could potentially finish betwen 4th and 9th, based on potential head-to-head situations with Sandirngham, Mt Gambier, Eltham, Geelong and Waverley

Eltham Wildcats (Currently 7th, 12 Wins, 8 Losses, 2 Games left to play)

• Eltham play against Keilor and Ballarat in Round 14.
• If Eltham win boths games it will ensure a finals position. They could potenially reach as high as 3rd place, if Dandenong lose both their games and Sandringham, Mt Gambier and Ballarat only potnetially win one more game each, but this will be determined by head-to-head results.
• Defeating Keilor, but losing to Ballarat means the best, they will most likely finish between 5th and 8th place, determined by head-to-head.

Geelong United (Currently 8th, 11 Wins, 9 Losses, 2 Games left to play)

• Geelong United play Waverley and Diamond Valley in Round 14.
• Geelong United will be wanting to win both games to attain 13 wins, where their position will be determined by head-to-head results, potentially with Sandringham, Mt Gambier, Ballarat and Eltham.
• Losing both games most likely means they will not play finals

Waverley Falcons (Currently 9th, 11 Wins, 9 Losses, 2 Games left to play)

• Waverley play Melbourne and Diamond Valley in Round 14.
• Waverley will be wanting to win both games to attain 13 wins, where their position will be determined by head-to-head results, potneitally with Sandringham, Mt Gambier, Ballarat, Eltham.
• Losing both games most likely mean they will not play finals

Bendigo Braves (Currently 10th, 11 Wins, 10 Losses, 1 Game left to play)

• Waverley play Kilsyth Saturday night
• If Bendigo wins Saturday night they will acquire their 12th win of the season, where they position will be determined by head-to-head results, which they hold a strong position, based on past results.
• Losing to Kilsyth means the defeating Champions will not play in the NBL1 South finals.

How is the competition ladder decided?

As per the league’s by-laws ‘6.9.2 End of Regular Season’ the competition’s ladder at the end of the regular season in order to determine a finals fixture, teams shall be placed in order of win/loss percentage.

If two (2) or more teams have the same win/loss percentage, final placings shall be determined by the head-to-head results in only those games played between the tied teams. If the two (2) or more teams remain tied, further criteria will be applied in the following order:

• Higher game points difference of the games between them;
• Higher number of game points scored in the games between them;
• Higher game points difference of all games;
• Higher number of game points scored in all games.
• If these criteria still cannot decide, a draw shall decide on the classification.

For example: i.e. Teams A & B have played 3 games and team C has only played 2 games but all have the same Win/Loss record for the season. This is caused because teams A & B were scheduled to play each other twice, where Team C was only scheduled to play Teams A & B once each. In the result that this eventuates and an even Head to Head cannot be calculated, the head to head results will revert to a % of wins in the games between these teams.

The process then repeated as many times as required to determine the eventual ladder. Each mini ladder or head-to-head calculation only determines one position. Again using the example above, if Team A was deemed the winner of the mini ladder of the three tied teams they would receive the highest available position. If that’s 8th then no further calculations will be required, however if that equals 7th or higher, then the process will start again for the next available position. Again in the tie of 3 teams where Team A has been successful in the mini ladder, the remaining two teams would be determined by a head to head result. If there are still more than 2 teams tied another mini ladder will be created and the next available position determined… and so on.

So remember…. One mini ladder does not determine all positions.