Sea Eagles ready for back-to-back challenge

He never quite won back-to-back championships with Manly Warringah Sea Eagles as a player but Nate Kirwan hopes that changes with his women's team as he beams with pride over his team's effort to reach another NBL1 East Grand Final.

Kirwan played in championships with the Sea Eagles in 2010 and 2013 but they were never quite able to accomplish what his women's team has now done by making it to back-to-back Grand Finals on the back of last year's championship triumph.

Kirwin will now coach Manly Warringah in Sunday's NBL1 East Grand Final on the Central Coast against the Bankstown Bruins as they attempt to win back-to-back championships for the first time as a club 1991 and 1992.

They are also attempting to win back-to-back women's championships for the first time since the Bruins won four straight in 2003-04-05-06 so history does beckon Kirwan and his Sea Eagles come Sunday afternoon at Guzman y Gomez Stadium.

>> EAST FINALS | SEA EAGLES SINK BEARS PERFECT SEASON

>> EAST FINALS | BRUINS BOOK RETURN TO GRAND FINAL

>> EAST FINALS | SEA EAGLES SET UP CLASH WITH BEARS

>> EAST FINALS | BRUINS KNOCK OFF DEFENDING CHAMPS

While that is what is on offer for the Sea Eagles following their buzzer-beating preliminary final win on the road to the previously undefeated Norths Bears on Saturday night, every bit of Kirwan is fully aware of the challenge ahead of his team.

"I'm just really happy for them that we've given ourselves another chance to do it because it's really not easy and I battled on for them the whole time I've had them because I played at this club as well," Kirwan said.

"We were reasonably successful in our state and with our team, and even though you have good teams, it doesn’t always translate to multiple championships.

"We were pretty good for a while there and only won two championships when I played and you're talking about a decade plus run.

"It's just really hard to do no matter how good you are so to put ourselves in a position to be able to do it is impressive on their end for sure."

Proud to reach another Grand Final

Manly Warringah might have reached a second straight Grand Final and a third in the last four years in the NBL1 East, but it hasn’t been all a smooth ride along the way.

The Sea Eagles did win last year's championship with a 19-game winning streak before also winning the first seven matches of 2026 before that run was broken back on May 9 by the Bruins.

They did still end up finishing the regular season in second place at 18-2 but then also lost to Bankstown in the qualifying final meaning they had to make it to a Grand Final the hard way by beating the Newcastle Falcons at home and then the undefeated Norths on the road.

Kirwan is fully aware of how tough it is to back up winning a championship and he couldn't be prouder of his players for getting to another Grand Final led by Alex and Bree Delaney, Jayda Jansen, Zoey Miller, Kim Dickinson, Sari Mowbray and Lily Fandre.

"I'm super proud and obviously we've got a lot of continuity with the girls which really helps and not just from last year, but the last four or five years," Kirwan said.

"We spoke about it specifically in pre-season that they are all pretty internally driven as am I, but to find different motivation, more motivation and it's really hard to repeat and go back-to-back.

"I'm pretty sure it hasn’t been done in our state since 2006 so we're talking about 20 years of that not being able to happen. Even though you never outwardly project that, it's just human nature sometimes that you're not going to be as hungry as you are for the first one.

"So to see the drive in all these girls who play a major role in this team is pretty impressively, they're just really focused on and it also really helps that they have a genuine love for each other and want to spend time around each other. I think that really helps at our level as well."

The Grand Final battle with Bankstown

Manly Warringah might be in another Grand Final and have a chance to win consecutive championships, but Kirwan is fully aware of the challenge ahead of them that will come from Bankstown.

The Bruins are the team that ended the Sea Eagles' 26-game winning streak and even though Manly Warringha got one back on them with a 37-point hammering late in the season the day after Bankstown's own winning run ended against Norths, the qualifying final was a different story.

The Bruins went on to win 91-82 so Kirwan knows how tough they are going to overcome especially with how well coached they are by Lauryn Curtin, and led by their superstar back court of Tahlia Tupaea and Shyla Heal.

"It's been a bit of a weird one and they got us really well in that first one and then we got them pretty well in the second, and then I guess the third was a bit of a close one," Kirwan said.

"But we still dug ourselves a couple of holes in that and were able to come back and they ended up being too good on the day.

"It's going to be a difficult one just like it was with Norths and you could play good defence on a possession, but Shyla or Tahlia are capable of still making something happen.

"I guess controlling a few things that we think we can do to manage them as best we can will be important, but it's going to be tough.

"That's what championships are for, though, and when we've gone over film and game plans and stuff, it sounds sometimes like you're nitpicking or clutching at hairs, but that's what finals basketball is.

"You know you're not going to be perfect, but that's what you're aiming for and mentally we really need to be ready to go and attack our game plan, and control what we can control, and have to just move on if Shyla or Tahlia are hitting tough shots and not let it compound too much."

Trying to stay calm after buzzer beater

Looking back on Saturday night's preliminary final against Norths and it was a remarkable game where Manly Warringah dominated the first half to lead by as much as 23 points.

Kirwan went into half-time fully aware the undefeated Bears would hit back and they did in the second half holding the Sea Eagles to six third quarter points and drawing back level.

The game then had a dramatic finish when Bree Delaney hit the game winner just before the buzzer on the back of collecting her own offensive rebound following a shot that hit the side of the backboard.

There was then a delay while the shot was reviewed before Kirwan and his team could celebrate and it did briefly bring back memories of the 2019 men's Grand Final that his team lost in similar circumstances by two points to the Central Coast Crusaders.

"The first thing I thought about was that when I was coaching the men, we actually lost a championship game on a tip-in and they didn’t have that technology then so I was hoping it wasn’t surely going to happen twice," Kirwan said.

"But the main thing I was thinking was that I knew that we needed to compose ourselves in case it didn’t go our way because there was lots of celebrations and emotions going on. But just in case it didn’t count, we just had to stay composed to be ready if we had to play another five minutes.

"I also did see one of the refs on the court counted it so that was a bit of a relief because if it was too close to overturn, that call at least went in our way.

"So there was a lot going on but I was trying to make sure we still ready to play overtime if we had to, but it was a bit of an awkward one because you want to celebrate but then you know it's not quite done yet."

Going through emotional rollercoaster

Once the dust had settled on Sunday and Kirwan knew his team was in another Grand Final and that it would be Bankstown they would be facing, he was having a whole array of emotions.

There was plenty to like from what they did the previous night to give Norths a first loss of the season, but also plenty to improve on from when they let the Bears back into the contest.

Then at the same time, he knows Bankstown are a whole new opponent as well and as much of a high as that win was, the job still isn’t done in 2026 with a Grand Final still to play.

"As a coach even the next day I was fighting the battle where I felt like played a really good game and probably deserved the win, but they're such a good team and were always going to make a run and would never make it easy for us," Kirwan said.

"But when you get up by as much as we did, you do things wrong to let them back in the game so I was fighting that battle while also being pretty happy knowing we'd beaten our rivals and what a big win it was against an undefeated team at their place.

"But then I knew we had to gather ourselves because that wasn’t the championship game so there was a lot going on in terms of wanting to enjoy it for right now, but know we still have to pick ourselves back up and do it all over again so it was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster probably the whole game to be honest."

Heading to Central Coast

The travelling road show that is the NBL1 East Grand Final will be at the Central Coast this Sunday at Guzman y Gomez Stadium.

While Kirwan will be happy to play the Grand Final wherever he's told it will be if his team is part of it, he would prefer to see the highest seeded team that makes it get the chance host their individual Grand Finals.

So in the case of this year, that would mean the men's Grand Final would be hosted by Norths and the women's by Manly Warringah, but he would feel the same even if the Sea Eagles ended up as the road team.

"I'm not that thrilled with it to be honest, I understand that I guess it's a resource or court availability sort of thing with who can put their hand up to do it, but I think it's at a stage now where it can stand on its own two feet with whoever the highest seed is getting to host it," Kirwan said.

"Last year we had to play at Penrith and it was JPL finals weekend and it's just hard to have an atmosphere that's like you get at the home finals when it's just way better.

"For better or worse if you're the home or away team, at least it's a good atmosphere and I'd prefer for the higher seed to host the Grand Final and reward that association to be able to host a final like that.

"Obviously there's other variables out of control sometimes, but I'd like to think it's at a stage now where it could stand up for itself without having to be a combined thing."

Some empathy for rival roach

The other aspect that made it a little awkward for Kirwan to celebrate too hard after Saturday night's preliminary final win was who he was coaching against.

There's a great rivalry between the two teams and when Kirwan is coaching up against Renae Garlepp there's no quarter given, but there's also tremendous mutual respect between them.

Not only that, but Garlepp has brought in Kirwan to be part of her coaching staff for this upcoming WNBL season at the Sydney Flames.

"Just in general you always try to show respect with whoever the coach is and I try not to show anyone up or be about that, but obviously it's that little bit more different with Renae knowing we're about to be working together," Kirwan said.

"She's such a legend of a person and a great coach, and they had such a really good season, so even though we were super excited, you do still have a bit of empathy for people that you know like her.

"You feel for what they're going through because I've been on that end of things and know how it feels so you definitely try to not rub it anyone's face, but you also are feeling excited for what you've just achieved at the same time."

Thankful for WNBL opportunity

Having now coached the men's and women's teams with the Sea Eagles along with having been the head of basketball at St Luke's Grammar School, coaching University of Technology Sydney in the UTS, and working with the Basketball NSW pathways program, at the Sydney Kings and Pittwater House.

He is always trying to better himself as a coach and is now excited to be in the WNBL at the Flames for the first time in whatever way Garlepp would like to utilise him.

"I want to test myself at the highest level possible I can to try and help however I can, whatever that looks like," Kirwan said.

"So for Renae to bring me in and take a chance for me to help her out in essentially her first full season as a head coach, I'm pumped. Like I said to her, I'm happy to do whatever she needs me to do because I just love basketball and want to be around it at the highest level I can.

"It's really exciting and they've recruited a really good team, I've met a couple of them who I haven’t previously met just really quickly, and once the NBL1 stuff's finished I'm really excited to work with some of those girls and the other coaches that she's got, and help out however I can."