QBL Transactions: Rockhampton signs Sam Norwood
Key championship winning player Samantha Norwood resign with Rockhampton for the 2016 QBL Season. The 25 year-old forward/centre averaged 13.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 19 games for the Cyclones in 2015 and was named team MVP. Norwood has vast experience not only in QBL (Rockhampton, Gladstone) but also in the WNBL (Canberra, Perth).
BE Take: Not a really surprise here, Norwood is a valuable part of the Rockhampton Cyclones squad. With Chandra Jones just resigning a couple weeks ago, Coach Chris Muggeridge is starting to bring most of his key players back, with the anticipate that Rebecca Haynes is set to return along with a former WNBL import set in their sights. The bigger question is how the rest of the competition react to it, especially the northern teams. - While the Meteorettes have re-signed Rachel Allison and Rylie Smith, they will lose a QBL standout in Kayla Standish and there are questions if Tami Willey will return. - Gladstone might have made the grand final but they have lost Natalie Taylor to SEABL outfit Brisbane Spartans and you would have to expect a major overhaul for the Power with Tierra Henderson and Samarie Walker unlikely to return. - Townsville missed out on the playoff last years, but sources have told me that if Mia Murray is unrestricted (via Grabau Rule*) it’s possible that the Flame will go after Fire players like getting back Micaela Cocks or a scarier scenario aggressively purse players like Cayla George and Suzy Batkovic-Brown, making them a strong favourite for the title. With Norwood back in Cyclones uniform, Rockhampton have the continuity that a team requires to defend a championship. Now it’s up to the rest of the league to do some catch up. * Grabau Rule: A import or NBL/WNBL player that has played for a QBL team for 100 games or 8 consecutive seasons could classify as an unrestricted player (one per team)
