Warrnambool Seahawks and Mermaids ready for 2019-20 CBL season

Emerging Seahawks, such as Dailin Toone, Jack Patterson and Riley Nicolson, will feature on a Seahawks' roster which includes Big V championship winners James Mitchell and Josh Dean.

The Mermaids' young cohort, including Juina Lual, Molly McCarthy and Molly McKinnon, once she recovers from a knee reconstruction, will have former WNBL players Nicole Gynes and Louise Brown, ex-Koroit netballer Jess O'Connor and Big V champion Renee Tuck as allies.

Lual conceded the Mermaids' CBL south-west conference side had more depth than its Big V roster did last season.

The Emmanuel College student, who tested herself in the statewide Big V competition earlier this year, said she would soak up the knowledge her older teammates had garnered over their careers.

"We've got Jess O'Connor, Renee Tuck, Louise Brown and Nicole Gynes coming to play with us so it will give some of us young girls a bit of a boost in our play," Lual said.

"I am looking to improve in my self confidence so I am ready for the next (Big V) season."

Toone, who came off the bench for the Seahawks' Big V team this year, said the CBL was the perfect place to refine his skills.

"(I want to) get on the court a bit more and give the boys everything I've got just so I can develop for that next season and play at a bigger level," he said.

"It (CBL) bridges a pathway for kids who want to have a crack and gets them ready for that bigger stage."

The Seahawks host Portland Coasters at St Joseph's Primary School gym at 7pm Saturday while the Mermaids start their season with a road trip to Mount Gambier Lakers on Sunday afternoon.

Terang Tornadoes' men's side has a double-header, hosting Colac Kookas on Saturday night at Terang stadium before trekking to Portland to face the Coasters on Sunday.

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