WNBL Preview: Part Two
HER WAY has a look at Southside, Sydney, Townsville and UC Capitals ahead of tonight’s basketball season opener.
SOUTHSIDE FLYERS:
Last season’s champions have kept together a core of four from their title-winning team - Experienced leaders Bec Cole and Maddy Rocci, veteran Carly Ernst, and young gun Dallas Loughridge.
It’s been a big year in particular for Cole and Ernst, who not only won the WNBL together, but then teamed up at Waverley Falcons in NBL1 South to win that conference title, coincidentally defeating Rocci’s Keilor in the decider.
Speaking to HER WAY at the season launch, Bec Cole is excited at keeping that quartet together at the Flyers:
“I think for Dallas and Carly especially, their opportunities are going to grow this season, and we’re going to see them shine. I think having those four core is really important.”
A key part of the Flyers’ success over the past two seasons has been recruiting big powerful imports to be a physical presence, such as WNBA champions Kayla Thornton and Mercedes Russell. In 2024-25 they’ve signed Atlanta Dream’s Naz Hillmon, who was a star for Melbourne Boomers last season. Bec Cole is looking forward to what Hillmon will bring to the team:
“I’m so excited that we finally have Naz on our team. I think she’s a great teammate, and she just wants to go out and work hard and do the one percenters for the team, whether that’s setting screens, rebounding, talking on defence… if we need her to score 20 points, she’ll step right up to the plate.”
The loss of the Boomers from the league means there is no true Melbourne rivalry, and Bec hopes the supporters of that club will transfer their loyalty to Southside and increase their imprint in Melbourne, and the addition of Hillmon and fellow former Boomers Tera Reed and Paige Burrows won’t hurt their chances.
On a personal level for 32 year old Cole, her best friend and fellow Opal Alice Kunek will suit up alongside her at the Flyers. Kunek missed a large part of last season at Townsville with a wrist injury, but played some great basketball for the Opals in their pre-Olympic warm up games and was considered unlucky by many to not make he final squad for Paris. Cole can’t wait for the opportunity to play with her bestie:
“How often do you say you get to play with your best friend. For me, I’m just super lucky. You know, we have less games in front of us than we do behind us, so for me I want to soak it all up. I really just want to enjoy the game that we both love playing and make the most of it.”
With Opals legend Kristi Harrower taking over as coach, an experienced trio to lead them around the floor, plus some dynamic ‘bigs’, there’s no reason to think the Flyers won’t be a contender again in 2024-25.
SYDNEY FLAMES:
The Flames have been dealt a couple of curveballs during the off season. Last season’s crowd favourite import Didi Richards was due to return to the team until suffering a serious injury during the WNBA season, while 2024-25’s WNBL Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Nicholson recently announced her pregnancy. While she won’t be playing this season, Nicholson is still involved with the team in helping their preparation.
Add in the retirement of Opals captain Tess Madgen, and just three of the main pieces of last season’s team remain - Paris medal-winning Opal Cayla George, young gun Shaneice Swain (who was injured for most of last season) and Gangurru Emma Clarke. Coach Guy Molloy has assembled a young team overall, one he hopes will click and cause headaches for opponents.
34 year old veteran Mikaela Ruef has signed on with the Flames, having just had an incredible season on the Gold Coast in NBL1 North. At the other end of the age scale is 18 year old Bonnie Deas. The Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence graduate was a member of the Aussie Under 18 Asian Cup champion side and is already signed to play college basketball next season. Cayla George told HER WAY the rookie has already impressed during pre-season:
“She’s really great. She’s only 18 and fresh out of the C of E, so I’ve got high hopes for her future and her career.”
For Cayla herself, she entered her first season at the Flames in 2023 just a handful of days after arriving back from the US after winning the WNBA title with Las Vegas Aces. She told HER WAY that having a full training block with the team this pre-season has been beneficial:
“Even the break from the Olympics to now, it’s been so great, and to come in for a full pre-season… I don’t know that I’ve done many full pre-seasons in my career, which is crazy to say since I’ve been around for a long time. In particular with this young group it’s been nice. Guy’s done a great job in articulating how we need to play and things we need to be doing to be successful as a group.”
The Flames have recruited a couple of exciting imports. Celeste Taylor was a top 15 pick at this year’s WNBA draft, and the talented guard has had an eventful 2024 in the US, making her way to three clubs across the WNBA season, starting with Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever (Taylor was the team’s second draft pick after Clark), before ending at the star-studded Phoenix Mercury via Connecticut Sun. A former college defensive player of the year, Celeste told HER WAY it was that ability to play both defence and offence which made her so appealing to coach Molloy:
“He was just saying, ‘you’re a two way player, it’s hard to find those’, and so the fact that I am, he’s like, ‘that’s why I recruited you here and wanted you to be here.’”
Add in US centre Yemimah Morris and a fully fit WNBA-drafted Shaneice Swain, and the Flames young but talented team will be eyeing off a return to the playoffs.
TOWNSVILLE FIRE:
Just two players remain from Townsville’s 2023-24 semi final side heading into the new season - the much improved Courtney Woods, and talented youngster Saffron Shiels (pictured below). The tall teen guard showed the world what she could do at this year’s Under 18 Asian Cup, producing some incredible performances on her way to being named in the All-Star 5 as the Australian team won gold.
Courtney Woods told HER WAY that she and Shiels had wanted to ensure the Townsville Fire DNA remained despite a new look team:
“Saffron and I are obviously helping Shannon [coach Seebohm] keep our values the same, keep our traditions and everything and still reperesenting that same Townsville Fire culture.”
Despite the loss of so many contributors from last season such as Opals Steph Reid, Zitina Aokuso and Sami Whitcomb, coach Seebohm has reloaded his team, led by Gangurrus 3x3 Olympian Lauren Mansfield and returning homegrown workhouse Alicia Froling, who make up the leadership group along with Courtney Woods.
For Woods, her output and minutes on the court grew enormously in 2023-24, going from a bench player to a key part of Fire’s starting five. She told HER WAY about the confidence it gives her heading into this season:
“Last year was great. It was nice to be able to get on the court a little bit more and play. A lot kind of changed in the twelve months heading into this season, I have a bit of a bigger role, feeling a lot more confident, and at the end of the day, I just love playing basketball, so anytime I’m given the opportunity to do that is really awesome.”
Townsville have opted for one tall and one small when it comes to imports this season. Lauren Cox is a 193cm inside presence who has experience playing in both the WNBA and Europe, while guard Zia Cooke, who was only added to the squad a couple of weeks ago, comes from the US after finishing the WNBA season with LA Sparks.
As someone who has played away from her support networks in her career, Courtney understands that being an import in a league requires support from your teammates, organisation and community:
“It’s hard. It’s really hard socially, it’s really hard to kind of find your bearings on the court. They’re both pretty early on in their careers still, so really trying to prove themselves. But yeah, it’s should be really exciting to watch them both this year.”
With so many new pieces for Townsville, it’s hard to gauge how well and quickly they will connect, but if anyone can do it, it’s Shannon Seebohm.
UC CAPITALS:
As the UC (Canberra) Capitals celebrate their successful 40 year history, they once again enter season 2024-25 as the youngest team in the league. In each of the last two seasons they’ve taken a while to find cohesion and break through for that first win of the campaign , so they’ll be hoping to start 2024-25 well as they go back to the future, calling AIS Arena their home court once again.
Still just 22yrs old, Jade Melbourne has had a significant 2024 in a number of ways, from WNBL Fan MVP and All-First Team member, to making and then thriving as a member of the Opals Paris Olympics team, being traded in the WNBA and more (you can hear/see Jade talk about all of that in a special podcast episode released later this week).
An area the Caps have probably struggled to nail in the past couple of seasons has been their imports, but this year they may have struck gold with former WNBA number one draft pick Charli Collier. HER WAY asked Jade about what the centre brings to the team:
“I remember she came in for our first practise… the first time we went up and down was a Friday, and Goz (coach Paul Goriss) and I looked at each other and went, this is the missing piece!’ She’s a competitor, she ultimately would like to get back into the WNBA, so we want to help her out. She’s probably going to help us out more than we help her, but she’s a great person, she’s getting around all the girls.”
A couple of other exciting new recruits for the Caps are in the form of two Opals. Chantel Horvat, a member of the 2023 Asian Cup bronze medal-winning team has returned to Australia after a couple of seasons in Europe to play in the WNBL for the first time.
And then there’s Nyadiew Puoch, the first round WNBA draft pick from earlier this year who was part of Southside’s championship team last WNBL season. HER WAY asked Jade what she’s looking forward to about playing with ‘Nards’:
“I played with her three years ago at the Under 19 World Cup. The two of us won a silver medal together and formed a great relationship there , so I’m so excited to play with ‘Nards’. I’m so impressed with how she’s matured and grown up. She’s been around so many superstars at Southside who have taught her how to look after her body, how to take care of the little things. She’s come in here and she’s just a pro.”
As always, the Caps will no doubt give 100% on every play, be entertaining to watch, and probably be a little bit unpredictable. Having assisted with both the Opals and Atlanta Dream in the WNBA, Paul Goriss returns to coach this exciting group.
Watch the video below featuring more of HER WAY’s chats with stars of the league.