Strong signs for Dolphins after dominant inaugural Senior Seaside Classic

The women's team made a strong statement at the tournament by maintaining an undefeated streak on the weekend, while the under-18 men's Blue team were victorious in the B grade competition.

After a setback against Tamworth, the senior men's team rebounded strongly to secure wins against Lake Macquarie and Brisbane and take out the tournament.

Despite a slow start to the tournament, senior men's coach Nick Prior said he was happy with the team's performance on the weekend.

"I think the players found their feet after the loss to Tamworth," he said. "The positive for us was that we got a little bit better each game, which was encouraging given the hot weather conditions and fatigue factor."

"It was a good escalation over the weekend in terms of the results and the way they played."

Prior said the team was bolstered by the new American imports Kobe Powell (KP), a 5'9 Combo Guard from Memphis Tennessee, and Keondre Jackson, a 6'9 Forward from Miami, Florida.

"Both of them are fitting in extremely well, they are both very different players and bring different skills to the team," he said.

"KP was electrifying with his burst of speed on the court, while Keondre was dominant at the hoop, securing dunks and rebounds."

Powell's inclusion to the side comes off the back of an impressive season with the Seattle Mountaineers where he averaged 30.1 points and had the second highest rebound average in the team (eight per game).

He said he's looking forward to creating energy in the side this season.

"I think the team is improving each and every day, I just want to bring the energy and fire the team up," he said.

Jackson has played in Mexico and Nicaragua where he recently finished the season with and average of of 14 points and eight rebounds.

He said he's hoping to lead the side to a championship this year.

"I think if we work collectively as a team and learn from every game then we have what it takes to go all the way," he said.

Prior said new local recruits Zac Campbell and Ryley Rampling also showed promising signs on the weekend.

"They didn't play with the squad last year, but they were both influential on the weekend in terms of their input," he said.

"To have those two new guys perform so well in their first real challenge was good to see."

While the Dolphins had a successful return to the Waratah league last year, finishing on top of the ladder before falling short in the finals, Prior said they're hoping to go one step further this season.

"There's some expectation about what the guys can do this season," he said. "Last year, we learnt some lessons along the way.

"We want to time our run a little bit better than last year and make sure we peak at the right time in the season.

"The biggest positive I see is that we have such a young group and the improvement from the team over the last year has been immense. Hopefully, that gives us a bit more of an advantage this year."

Despite uncertainties surrounding the availability of 2023 captain Robbie Linton, Prior remains confident in the team's abilities this season.

The team will be boosted in April by the return of Logan Myers and Harry Bates, who have both been playing college basketball with the Central Maine Mustangs in America.

"We have a good blend of players at the moment, and it's nice to see the majority of the team come back for another year," Prior said. "Logan and Harry will be a big boost too, they will have grown from their time in America.

"The guys have renewed enthusiasm and confidence from the knowledge that we have a team that can be competitive.

"It's still early doors, but there's a lot of positive signs ahead of the season."