After 50-something games in six weeks across three north Queensland cities, it all comes down to this — the WNBL Grand Final between the Southside Flyers, spearheaded by Liz Cambage, and a Townsville Fire team led by teen sensation Shyla Heal.
Key points:
- The top two sides in the regular season will face off in the decider
- The season has been played exclusively in Queensland due to the coronavirus pandemic
- Townsville made the grand final after finishing last the previous season
And while on paper it looks like the anticipated finale given the sides finished first and second on the ladder following the completion of the regular rounds last week, their campaigns have been unique in the most unusual of seasons.
The impact of COVID-19 meant pre-season was almost non-existent for the league’s eight clubs, especially as the Melbourne sides lived several months in stage four lockdown.
Granted permits, Southside were able to come together to practice at Dandenong Stadium, but at one stage no contact was allowed.
Coach Cheryl Chambers said the path to a Grand Final had been like no other in her 20-plus years in the league as a player then coach.
“We hardly scrimmaged before we left Melbourne, then we hit Brisbane for 14 days of quarantine and had a couple of scrimmages,” she told ABC Sport.
“It’s taken a lot of time to get team and individual stuff in place, so it has been really weird.”
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Unique hub season has brought players closer together
Playing every other day has fast tracked chemistry, according to Chambers.
“It helped us figure out who we are, what we stand for, how we want to be seen — all of those sorts of things that you’d normally do in meetings, some practice games but we were doing it amongst playing a game every second day,” she said.
“We’ve had lots of laughs along the way, about some things that have buggered up and some that have worked out. It’s been a good journey but a long one.”
Team bonding has been important when each member of the Flyers touring party has been away from home, family and friends, and jobs for eight weeks.
Last Monday, the Flyers players, coaches and support staff and some of their families who have travelled up to Queensland enjoyed Christmas dinner in a Townsville park.
“Christmas is coming, and we’ve got some people who haven’t seen any family or their partners, but others have just had them arrive,” Chambers said.
“It was nice to not worry about anything else for the night, have some fun with Santa, a meal together and that’s really important.
“It’s also important to make sure not to do it every night, those things have got to be special. We’re living together, we see each other around every corner. We have some relaxed fun but some time apart as well.”
Fire caps off extraordinary rise with spot in grand final
The Fire are the story of the season, coming from last to a Grand Final berth in a matter of months under freshly crowned coach of the year Shannon Seebohm.
Their run to the final game of the season might have surprised some, but not those within the club.
“I’m obviously really proud of the girls’ effort and this is what we set our sights on day one when we got together — making a grand final and winning a championship, and now we have a chance to do it,” Seebohm said after the Fire defeated the Melbourne Boomers, 65-62, in Friday night’s preliminary final.
“Before the season we were tipped by some to come sixth, our girls have had that chip on their shoulder since we got together and all of them have a point to prove for one reason or another. I think we’ve played that way, we’ve played tough and we’ve got to back up and do it again one more time.”
Townsville has just two remaining players from its 2019-20 campaign, Seebohm carefully selecting the players and people he wanted on board to guide the club into its next chapter.
The recruitment of star guard Lauren Nicholson and the Betty Watson Australian Youth Player of the Year, Shyla Heal, have proved a masterstroke.
Heal, 19, has scored 30 and 28 points in the Fire’s two WNBL20 finals.
“We’re one of the youngest teams in the league and we had a lot of turnover from last season’s team,” Seebohm said.
“One of the biggest things we tried to do with our recruiting was recruit really good people and then try and get the players we wanted, then fit the pieces around them which complement each other, and I think we’ve been able to do that.
“I don’t deserve too much of the credit. I think it’s the players and how they buy into the system we put in place and the culture that we try and implement as well.
“I feel really fortunate to coach these girls.”
WNBL20 Championship would be ‘special’
So, in a season like no other, in a hub and with a gruelling fixture, what would winning the 2020 championship mean?
“It would be special, not just for our little group and staff and our families as they are a part of every day, but special for all our people back home, our club and our sponsors — people have sacrificed so much for us to be able to do this,” Chambers said.
“It would be remembered forever because we never thought we’d be in Queensland for six weeks trying to win a championship. It’ll never happen again.”
With much of the season played in Townsville, the Fire will have a bumper home crowd in full voice behind them on Sunday.
“The girls have worked extremely hard before this season, and obviously during the season, and we’ve had to earn everything we’ve gotten. It would be amazing to finish it off with a championship,” Seebohm said.
“I’ve spoken to (Townsville veteran) Mia Murray and retired Townsville players who’ve done it before and listened to them recall just how amazing it is to play in a championship in this building. We’re super thrilled to now have the opportunity to do that.”
The WNBL Grand Final between the Southside Flyers and Townsville Fire will be live on ABC TV and iView this afternoon from 3pm AEDT.
Megan Hustwaite has covered the WNBL for the past 12 seasons and is a member of the ABC commentary team.
