The 2026 Waratah League season has come to an end for the Gunners and Nationals Academy teams, with two of the sides competing in the Grand Finals held at Sutherland Basketball Stadium, on Saturday 22 August. 

The Nationals Waratah Women and Youth Women sides made the trip up for the showpiece event, taking on Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders and Central Coast Waves in their respective Grand Finals.

The Youth Women’s side came into the championship match with an incredible unbeaten record, winning all 22 of their matches to date, and carried that form through to take out the trophy against a strong Central Coast Waves side, 81-67.

Amber Virgo was named as Grand Final MVP with 31 points, while Awour Deng was also a standout with 21.

Virgo was also named in the All-Star Five, capping off an incredible individual season where she averaged 23.1 Points Per Game in the regular season.

The Waratah Women side came in searching for their first title since 2022 and were up against the second place Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

Despite a strong start to the game, it wasn’t to be in the end for the Nationals, going down by 22 points against a high-quality Spiders outfit, 68-46.

Kris Langhorn led the charge for the side with 13 points and was also named in the All-Star Five. 

The Canberra Gunners Youth Men fell agonisingly short of a Grand Final berth, falling to eventual champions Marrickville Spirit in a tight Semi Final clash.

Despite the heartbreak, the side has plenty of success to look back on, having topped their conference with an incredible 13-3 record, before getting wins over Port Macquarie and Camden Valley in the cross-grade finals. 

Competing in the Waratah Men South Conference, the Gunners Waratah Men’s side finished one spot outside of final qualification, but still had cause to celebrate with Declan Kain and Reuben Layton-Thompson named in the All-Star Five.