The Devonport Warriors are an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

basketball club Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

located in

Devonport, Tasmania Devonport ( ; Aboriginal Tasmanians#North, pirinilaplu/palawa kani: ''Limilinaturi'') is a port city situated at the mouth of the Mersey River (Australia), Mersey River on the North West Tasmania, north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. Positi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, best known for their tenures in the professional National Basketball League between 1983–1984 and the semi-professional

South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was a semi-professional basketball league in Australia comprising both a men's and women's competition. The SEABL began in 1981 and operated for 38 seasons until it was disbanded in 2018. The ...

(SEABL) between 1986–1993. As of 2024, the club facilitates both senior and junior men's and women's teams in the North West Basketball Union (NWBU), and boasts over 1,000 members. The club also operates as the Devonport Basketball Association, serving as the primary basketball

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...

in the city under Basketball Tasmania. The Warriors play their home games at the Devonport Recreation Centre. Since their establishment, the Warriors have actively sought to promote basketball and develop the city's basketball infrastructure, notably supporting the Devonport Youth Centre in 1956, the Devonport Sports Stadium in 1963, and the proposed $60 million, 2,000-seat court within the Devonport Sports Precinct in 2024.

History

The Devonport Warriors were established in 1949 by George Russell, coinciding with the formation of the Devonport Basketball Association. The club captured its first NWBU championship in the inaugural season of 1974.

National Championships

In 1974, the Warriors' under-14 boys team, coached by Glenn Simonds, became the first Tasmanian basketball team to claim a national title, defeating North Queensland.

NBL tenure (1983–1984)

Nationally, the Warriors are best known for competing in the National Basketball League in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. The Warriors were the shortest-lived team in league history. The team set the record for the fewest points scored in a game, losing to the

Hobart Devils The Hobart Devils (also known as Hobart Tassie Devils) are a defunct professional basketball team that competed in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). History The Hobart Devils debuted in the National Basketball League (NBL) in ...

85–40 on 12 February 1983, and suffered one of the greatest margin losses in NBL history, losing 128–66 to the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL ...

on 3 June 1984. They recorded both one of the highest and lowest field goal percentages in league history, achieving 70% shooting against the

Geelong Supercats Geelong United is a NBL1 South club based in Geelong, Geelong, Victoria. Previously known as the Geelong Supercats, the club fields teams in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is affiliated with Geelong United Basketball and plays ...

in 1983 and 30% against the Brisbane Bullets in 1984. Although the Warriors only won four games in the 1984 season, three of their wins came consecutively between 24 April and 12 May, and they won their last game of the season, which was at Devonport Stadium. The Warriors were forced to exit the NBL after the league made the decision to reduce the number of teams from 17 to 14 for the

1985 NBL season The 1985 NBL season was the seventh season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 14 teams contested the league. Regular season The 1985 regular season took place over 18 rounds between 12 April 1985 and 18 August 1985. Rou ...

. Devonport is considered rare for defunct NBL teams as they did not leave the league due to financial hardship. Despite the club's short tenure, the Warriors featured US import Mark Leader, who was player-coach in 1984, and Tasmanian native Marty Clarke.

Season by season

South East Australian Basketball League (1986–1993)

Following their exit from the NBL, the Warriors transitioned to the

(SEABL), a

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a cons ...

basketball league. Devonport debuted in the SEABL in 1986. Amalgamating with clubs in surrounding

North West Tasmania North West Tasmania is one of the regions of Tasmania in Australia. The region comprises the whole of the north west, including the ''North West Coast'' and the northern reaches of the ''West Coast''. It is usually accepted as extending as fa ...

townships, the SEABL team would ultimately expand and diverge from the Warriors namesake.

North-West Tasmania Thunder The North-West Tasmania Thunder are an Australian basketball team based in Ulverstone, Tasmania. The Thunder compete in the Men's NBL1 South and play their home games at the Ulverstone Sports and Leisure Centre. Team history The franchise began i ...

made their SEABL debut in 1994, and made the SEABL playoffs for the first time under former Warriors coach Phil Thomas.

References

{{NBLdefunct Defunct National Basketball League (Australia) teams Basketball teams in Tasmania Basketball teams established in 1949 Basketball teams disestablished in 1984 Sport in Devonport, Tasmania