WNBL’s New Team Has Big Goals
Geelong United will enter the women’s basketball league in 2024-25 and are wasting no time making an impact.
Image: Interviewing Keely Froling after the Opals won a game at the 2023 Asian Cup. Credit: HER WAY
JULY 19, 2024.
Australia’s longest running domestic women’s league are getting a shiny new team in 2024-25, with Geelong United to become the competition’s eighth side.
The area south of Melbourne, with a population of around a quarter of a million people, love their sport. The Geelong Cats have been one of the AFL men’s most successful teams of the past two decades, and their women’s team is a young talented group on the rise who made finals last season.
The area also has had a long association with basketball, with the Geelong Supercats an iconic team in the men’s NBL league during the 1980s and 1990s, and still exists in the NBL1 South conference system in both men’s and women’s leagues.
Now the sports-mad area has a WNBL side of their own, and they’ve wasted no time making it known they’re in it to win it. The club’s inaugural coach will be Chris Lucas, who was most recently in charge of the Melbourne Boomers - the team from who Geelong took over the license.
The Boomers connections to Geelong don’t end there, with Asian Cup medal-winning Opals star Keely Froling one of the club’s marquee signings. Keely has been a reliable scorer and rebounder throughout her career, and appears to be getting better with age. She was Sydney Flames co-MVP in 2021-22, was a league MVP candidate the following season, and put together another solid season for the Boomers last season which saw her rewarded with inclusion in the Opals’ extended Paris Olympics squad.
After playing in big city teams for the past three seasons, Keely, who is originally from Townsville in Queensland, told HER WAY she’s excited to be playing in a regional town team once again;
“I love playing for regional teams, as I feel like the community vibe and having that contact with the community is really special and not something you get in bigger cities.”
Among those announced so far to join Geelong United is Gemma Potter, who after suffering back-to-back ACL injuries at the UC Capitals, returned late last year, and by season’s end was playing probably the best basketball of her career. Gemma carried that form into the NBL1 South with Diamond Valley, and will become a fan favourite for her new club.
A couple of Aussies who have recently finished college careers in the US also return home to join the new franchise. Jaz Shelley made headlines when she was picked by Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA draft in April, and found herself at training camp with US team stars such as Britney Griner and Diana Taurasi, as well as Opal Olympian Bec Allen. Joining the Nebraska alum at Geelong is guard Elissa Brett. The guard recently finished her college career at Michigan, averaging nearly 8 points per game in her final season.
HER WAY asked Keely Froling why she chose to join the WNBL’s newest team, who have had only a few months to start assembling a roster before their first game later this season;
“I signed with Geelong for a few reasons, one being I love playing for Chris Lucas, and also the excitement of playing with a new club and establishing a new culture. Everyone I have spoken to has been really impressive and I know we have big goals.”
One of those big goals is to increase female participation in basketball within the region, and the club is now seeking corporate partners to help realise that ambition. They’re already becoming visible in the community, announcing an Inclusion Workshop on July 30.
The club also has created a foundation membership package, which for just $15 enables fans to be part of the club from day one. The foundation membership includes member-exclusive merchandise and offers.