The 2010 Central ABL season will be a different beast to any of the previous decade.

The landscape has definitely changed. You will still see a handful of 36ers players join the league, in increasing numbers as the season progresses. You will still see a good proportion of the Lightning suit up, save a few who will be plying their trade interstate.

What’s new is an influx of legitimate local junior talent, in a bigger wave than ever before. Fresh from outstanding results at the recent Under 20 Nationals (including a gold medal for our women and a close silver for the men), expect to see a bunch of new and almost-new faces hit the Central ABL, including all 10 of the men’s team and 7 of the women.

The most prominent could be Sturt’s Corey Maynard, winner of the Staunton medal for the best player at the championships, and Forestville’s Kelsey Ireland, a recent graduate of the AIS. Expect them both to play an important role in the success of their respective teams, both of which were already grand finalists last year.

Ireland is one of a trio returning from the AIS – the others being Eastern’s Tess Madgen and Sturt’s Bree Farley. These three SA Country products have had a whirlwind 2 years which included an under 19 World Championships, and CABL fans will have a great early opportunity to see if they have reaped the benefits.

NBL veteran Brad Davidson makes the transition from coach to West’s playing lineup adding further toughness to an already solid backcourt. Jo Hill and Jess Mahony, who found roles with WNBL outfits Townsville and Dandenong, return to North Adelaide and Forestville respectively.

Halls medallist Kerrin Webber also returns to the Bearcats, and Woollacott medallist Darren Ng will again suit for Sturt.

Oh – and there will be no less than 8 foreign players in the league, most of whom will suit as of round 1.

Riley Luettgerodt, a 6’5” export from the University of Hawaii, has impressed in trial games with Forestville, as has 6’6” Brady Brink for Woodville. The big unknown is Jimmy Fanning, a 6’10” centre who Norwood will be relying on to offset early-season absences of David Cooper, Dan Thompson and Keith Krause.

On the coaching front, former 36ers assistant coach Steve Breheny joins Eastern’s men, and has added 6’9” Jordan Dodman to the Mavericks list. Former Noarlunga City Tiger great Willie Jennette takes over Southern’s women, a team bolstered by the inclusion of American Robyn Jennings.

Mid-season, the league gets even better, when Ben Madgen returns to Eastern from a stellar career at Augusta State and Pero Vasiljevic again adds some excitement to the league, this time with North Adelaide.

With an uncharacteristic balance of youth, experience and an international flavour, the 2010 Central ABL could be the best season for a long while.