THE top three teams in Barber Boys White, Minders White and St Mary’s Orange are all fighting for the Hamilton Basketball Association (HBA) Division One Men’s premiership for the 2023 winter season.

The results are to the end of round eight as round nine Men’s Division One results were not available at the time of print.

The ladder is based off average points as some of the teams have played more games than the others, but the premiership could go to almost any side this year with not much separating the top few.

Barber Boys White leads the rest of the sides in the competition while Minders White is on a four-game winning streak and just sits behind the top side by percentage.

St Mary’s Orange is a real contender and despite sitting third, it also has five wins to its name, just one loss more than the other sides having played an extra game compared to the top two.

St Mary’s Black and Barber Boys Black have both really struggled to find any continuity on momentum this season as the Saints have one win and Barber Boys Black is still searching for its maiden win of the season.

However, these two sides will have a battle within a war as they both push for the fourth spot and the hope of playing finals, where anything can happen.

Josh Miller (Minders White) is almost a lock to win another MVP after dominating every side he has come up against to score 124 points so far – he averages 20.7 points per game and almost four three pointers.

The next highest scorer in the division is Ryan Anton and despite his team not winning a single game for the season, he has had no trouble finding the basket dropping 75 points.

Miller leads the competition in three pointers made with 22 to his name while Archie Porter has hit 20, Miller also leads free throws made with 18.

Barber Boys White

Position: First

Season record: 5-1

Top scorer: Aaron Glare and Shai Bunworth (63 points)

BARBER Boys White is one of the teams to beat in the HBA Division One competition with just a single loss which came last week when St Mary’s Orange caused a three-point upset and ended the top side’s five game winning streak.

The team has had a number of contributors at the offensive end of the court, and they are familiar names with the likes of Aaron Glare and Shai Bunworth (63 points each) leading the way.

Jakob Greaves (54 points) and Nate Krause (53 points) aren’t being talked about a lot this season but are still ever reliable.

Nathan Hardingham is a common name associated with Portland basketball but has played a couple games in the HBA this season and will be an important player come finals time with his sheer size and strength making him a very tough match-up.

With another recruit in Thomas Searle who dominated when he played in Casterton and can shoot the lights out, the side is going be hard to beat with a full side in finals. 

Look at Barber Boys White to bounce back from last game’s loss and finish the season in a strong fashion, starting this week against Minders White.

Minders White

Position: Second

Season record: 5-1

Top scorer: Josh Miller (124 points)

LIKE in seasons gone by, Josh Miller has strongly contributed to his side’s success, with incredible consistency and an impressive shooting ability, you know what you’re going to get from Miller.

He leads the competition in scoring by a mile and will be eyeing off team success when the finals come around but will need other players to stand up if it’s to get redemption on Barber Boys White.

The only loss came against the top side by 11 points and while Miller scored 13, an even contribution from all players on the opposing side was the difference – both sides average 2.67 points per game.

Angus Hayden-Simpson (58 points) has impressive burst and has played second fiddle to Miller this season while the experience of Paul Churchill (40 points) has been vital to a number of wins.

Miller can’t do it all on his own and will look to bring other talented players like Julius Salonoy and Raizen Castro into the game.

Minders White is a wildcard side and could do anything and while it probably isn’t the flag favourite, if the team plays their best basketball, they definitely cannot be ruled out from going all the way.

St Mary’s Orange

Position: Third

Season record: 5-2

Top scorer: Archie Porter (70 points)

THIRD position on the ladder isn’t reflective of how St Mary’s Orange has played this season, the side has as good a chance as anyone to win the premiership this season.

The side has played one more game than the two top teams, so its season record sits at 5-2 with 2.43 average points per game.

The side is probably the youngest team in the competition and while this gives it some real excitement factor, experience is the only question mark.

Archie Porter has turned into one of the premier three-point scorers in the competition dropping 20 from beyond the arc accounting for almost 86 per cent of the points he has scored for the season.

His season highlight was in round seven against the other St Mary’s side as he dropped six straight threes to finish with 18 points.

An even scoring contribution for the side includes Deacon White (59 points), Jack Jennings (45 points), Charlie Alexander (39 points) and Josh Hallam (35 points).

St Mary’s Orange has played this season in patches winning its first three games, before losing two on the trot and has now bounced back winning its last two.

The Saints are still a massive chance to beat any side on their day with a 1-1 record against the top side (Barber Boys White) and a narrow six-point loss to Minders White in round five.

St Mary’s Black

Position: Fourth

Season record: 1-6

Top scorer: Harlie Manson (51 points)

THE Saints look to be a frontrunner to secure fourth spot after defeating Barber Boys Black in round four to secure their first and only win of the season.

While a season record of 1-6 and 1.29 average points definitely isn’t ideal, St Mary’s Black is still well and truly in the hunt for finals and will be hoping it can secure fourth spot and challenge some of the premiership favourites.

Harlie Manson has had a breakout season at the top level and has been his side’s most prolific scorer consistently having an impact at the offensive end.

Jack Roberts (47 points) has also been solid from a scoring perspective finding his way to the basket with ease on a weekly basis – while Zac Elliott and Hugh Fitgerald have contributed 21 each.

With large losing margins of 39, 23, 29, 30, 42 and 19, it will be about being a more dangerous side in the back end of the year and limiting the damage on the scoreboard.

These losses have hurt the percentage for St Mary’s Black with a measly 54.36 which is more than 10 less than their fourth spot competition in Barber Boys Black.

Barber Boys Black

Position: Fifth

Season record: 0-6

Top scorer: Ryan Anton (75 points)

BARBER Boys Black haven’t experienced the success that the other Barber Boys side has this season, in fact it’s been quite the opposite with the team yet to win a game.

The bottom placed side has a 0-6 record and 1.00 average points but will still hold belief that it can win a couple games towards the end of the season and steal fourth spot to play finals basketball.

Ryan Anton has scored 36 per cent of the teams’ points for the whole season, leading the way in attack for the struggling side.

Toby Knight hasn’t splashed a heap of baskets this season but is a very smart and experienced basketballer who makes a big difference to the side.

The only real game that went begging for Barber Boys Black was against St Mary’s Black where the side fell short by just four points, missing an opportunity to win its first game.

Liam MacDonald (41 points) has played second fiddle to Anton and has been a dangerous option for the side under the ring with a bit of height for the side.

If the side can manage to get one or two wins in the coming rounds, finals is definitely not out of their reach with a better percentage than their rivals.