Five south east associations have pages here. Casey at Cranbourne East, Dandenong at Dandenong Stadium, McKinnon, Mornington on the Peninsula, and Waverley. Southern Basketball at Cheltenham covers the bayside side of the region. This is the widest region on the site geographically, so travel is the thing to weigh before you pick a club.
Written by Cameron James, founder and head coach at Liddicoat Basketball. Over a decade coaching junior basketball in Melbourne, including at Big V level, and rep teams from Under 12s through to Under 18s.
Last updated August 2026.
Melbourne's south east is the largest region on this site by land area, and the associations in it are spread accordingly. Five have their own page. Casey, Dandenong, McKinnon, Mornington and Waverley.
Casey Basketball Association plays at Casey Stadium, 65 Berwick-Cranbourne Road, Cranbourne East. It runs entry programs from age three, an Under 8 round robin and a Junior Premier League, with the Junior Cavaliers in the VJBL and the Senior Cavaliers in NBL1.
Dandenong Basketball Association runs its domestic competition out of Dandenong Stadium at 270 Stud Road, Dandenong North, with junior domestic age groups running from Under 8 up through the Under 23 bracket. Its representative program is the Junior Rangers.
Mornington District Basketball Association covers the Peninsula from the David Collings Centre on Dunns Road, a three court stadium. It has been running since 1991, played its first season in 1992 with fifty six domestic teams, and enters the Breakers in the VJBL and Big V.
Waverley Basketball Association is filed under the south east on this site, but its club list tells a more interesting story. Its eleven junior domestic clubs include Ashy, Glen Iris District, Golden Hawks, Homenetmen, Maccabi, Malvern Tigers, Piranhas Caulfield Malvern, Solway, Timberwolves, Toorak and the Waverley Comets.
Several of those are inner south east clubs rather than outer suburban ones, so Waverley genuinely straddles the boundary between inner Melbourne and the south east. Its representative arm, the Falcons, runs from VJBL juniors up to an NBL1 senior team.
McKinnon Basketball Association sits in the same stretch of the city. Its Junior Cougars play in the VJBL and its senior program competes in Big V, with a Future Cougars development pathway underneath.
Then there is Southern Basketball Association at 150 Tulip Street, Cheltenham, which does not have its own page here yet. Its representative program is the Sandringham Sabres, and its domestic clubs include Aspendale Gardens Giants, Parkdale Pacers, Bayside Warriors, Mentone Mustangs, Beaumaris Sharks, Moorabbin Tigers and Old Mentonians. If you live in the bayside suburbs, that is very likely your association.
Nowhere else in Melbourne asks families to drive like the south east does. Cranbourne East to Cheltenham, or Mornington to Mount Waverley, are not neighbourhood trips.
For domestic basketball this rarely matters, because domestic fixtures stay inside the association and most of the big south east associations run their competition out of one large stadium. Dandenong Stadium and Casey Stadium both absorb enormous fixtures under one roof.
Rep is the opposite. VJBL games are on Friday nights at venues across the state, and a Mornington or Casey team graded into a higher division will spend the season driving north and west. Peninsula families in particular should treat rep as a family decision rather than a child's decision, because someone is doing a ninety minute round trip most Fridays and often twice a week for training on top.
The 2026 Regional League tier was created partly for this. It is organised into geographic pools rather than pure ability bands, so a team graded into RL plays a shorter circuit. If travel is your limiting factor, that is a legitimate outcome to hope for at grading rather than something to be disappointed by.
Every association named on this page runs a VJBL program, and tryouts across the state are at the start of Term 4, in October 2026, for the 2026/27 season.
The south east has enough associations within reach of each other that trying out at two is realistic for a lot of families, particularly if you sit between Waverley, McKinnon and Southern. That is not disloyalty, it is how the system works, and coaches expect it.
If your child does not get selected, domestic is not a consolation prize. The standard at the top of a large domestic competition is higher than the bottom of a small rep program. A year of playing significant minutes usually develops a kid faster than a year on a rep bench.
There is also no rule that says the door closes. Tryouts run every year, and plenty of the players I have coached made a rep squad on their second or third attempt.
If two associations both cover your suburb, work through the practical questions rather than the reputation ones.
Where is training on a weeknight. Which stadium hosts your child's home games. How many teams does the club run in that age group. What does a full year cost once club fees, association fees and uniform are added together, not just the headline registration figure.
Ask about season structure too. Some south east associations run winter and summer competitions, so a year can be two seasons rather than one. That is more basketball, more cost and more of your calendar, and it is better to know before you sign up than in December.
One last thing worth checking is entry age. Casey runs programs from age three and an Under 8 round robin, which is a very different starting point from an association whose youngest graded competition is Under 10. For a small child, starting in a program designed for beginners matters more than which badge is on the singlet.
Mornington District Basketball Association, playing out of the David Collings Centre on Dunns Road, a three court stadium. It runs domestic competition plus the Breakers in the VJBL and Big V.
Casey Stadium at 65 Berwick-Cranbourne Road, Cranbourne East. The association runs programs from age three through to senior NBL1.
Southern Basketball Association at 150 Tulip Street, Cheltenham. Its representative program is the Sandringham Sabres and its domestic clubs include Aspendale Gardens, Parkdale, Mentone, Beaumaris and Moorabbin sides.
Potentially a long way. VJBL games are Friday nights at venues across Victoria. The Regional League tier introduced in 2026 uses geographic pools to cut travel for teams graded into it.
Yes. The top grades of a big domestic competition are strong, and Dandenong runs age groups from Under 8 through to Under 23. Playing real minutes develops a child faster than sitting on a rep bench.
Next questions parents ask
Every competition in this guide
Facts on this page were compiled from the official sources below and written up in our own words. Dates, fees and venues change every season, so confirm anything you are relying on with the association directly.
This page was last updated August 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Online coaching plus a monthly session at Oakleigh, which is a manageable drive from most of this region.