Jackson
Taylor
Phillips
Summerton
Grima
Snell?
Cox?

Stay imo

Francis
Bishop
Ohea
Mcleod

a few names to consider

Newley??

Newley, maybe.

some more names i just thought of that i would very surprised if they dont take:

Gretel TIPPETT
Elizabeth CAMBAGE

Another one i forgot. If she improves defensively, definately.

i already mentioned her in earlier post. if she stays on track she will be a definate!!

I don't think Jackson will be there for 2012. May have retired by then.

Snell
Phillips
Summerton
Grima

From this campain

All you have to do is look at the Sapphires and Gems and their record and we will be strong for the next Olympics......
But will we be as strong for 2012?
IMO proberly not, but then again by 2016 we will have a team that will be medal contention again.
Our "Bigs" depth is outstanding in the junior ranks but we will need guards with international experience to make the grade.
Which leads to another point....
To be the best our players have to go overseas to be a chance... Why cant our WNBL league with the wealth of Australian talent we have lure overseas talent to come and play here and make our league "one of the best"?
But that takes money and really all the attention goes to the NBL not the WNBL....

Getting back to the gold medal game... When the game had finished last night (China) was pleased to lip read Lauren and she said "one more!"
Seems pretty pathetic that everyone was all for the Boomers and no-one for the Opals (post threads on Hoops), i mean the Opals ARE a genuine medal chance and the Boomers were never going to be but the focus has always been on the men.

that is so true ppdo. I was surprised that no one had started a thread on the "Opals" win last night.

so I did. most of the threads have been re the "Boomers" I have been following them as well, and think they performed quite well, but have been disappointed in the interest re the Opals.
think this is a male dominated website. but then again maybe the males of this world have more time on their hands!!

Hard to argue with that. I do wonder if maybe the Opals and their success is sometimes taken for granted by a lot of basketball fans?

I would think that Jackson's future will depend on how her body holds up. She plays basketball 12 months a year, and has always suffered from leg pain. Gold in Beijing might convince her that this is a good way to end her Olympic career, on the other hand it might spur her on to defend it.

Another argument is that Jackson is a big and generally bigs don't reach their peak until 30+ and Jackson will be 31 in 2012. Hopefully she has one more Olympics in her.

Of the current team I would think only Harrower and Bevilaqua will have retired from International basketball. Harrower has talked about going on but I would think that would only be until the 2010 World Championships.

4 of our starting five could be back for another Olympics: Snell, Taylor, Jackson and Batkovic will all be 30/31 in 2012.

My 2012 team:
PG: Phillips
SG: Snell
SF: Taylor
PF: Jackson
C : Batkovic

PF: Summerton
C : Grima
SF: Porter
SG: Camino
PG: MacLeod
PF: Francis
SF: O'Hea

Coach: Carrie Graf (Jan's announced her retirement as Opals coach after the Olympics)

Just missing out:
PF: Bishop
PG: Richards
SG: Wilson
PG: Ebzery
C : Tolo
SF: Dombkins

PG is obviously the weak spot in that line-up and I have my doubts about Erin's ability to run a team at that level. Hopefully 4 year in Europe and a World Championships will develop her game to a level where that is possible. The other 4 starting spots depend on those players staying around.

Summerton could clearly start as she's shown over the past 2 weeks. Grima is the only other current Opal I'd retain, I believe Randall and Screen will be surpassed by younger talent and Cox is a bit of a question mark, although she's also been solid in Beijing.

My bench includes some young exciting talent who will hopefully get a lot of international exposure between now and 2012. Camino and Porter IMO were close to being selected for Beijing and will probably suit next time around while MacLeod, Francis and O'Hea are three young basketballers with the ability to go to the next level.

Looking at the list that I've got missing out any one of them could easily push for a spot in the final side.

2008 will hopefully bring Gold for the girls but 2012 is just as exciting!