Said pre-season it'd be a Melb/Townsville GF - I definitely didn't think it'd happen the way it did but that's now history I guess. Also said Townsville in 3, so I think I'm going to stick with my prediction on that one. I can't see Townsville dropping a game at home, and at the same time can't see their players going missing at home either. Whereas I think Melbourne could be in trouble if Liz is in foul trouble and any of Garrick/Cole/Smart don't show up or are streaky offensively. At this point in time I think Townsville have way more experience in finals situations, and while O'Hea will be massive I don't know if they'll be able to get the rest of the team firing together at the same time.

On a slightly different note does anyone know if the league will be having an MVP ceremony or when those awards will be announced?

I doubt they will be doing anything official, because if they were we surely would know about it by now. Kinda sad but not surprising.
I too am curious about when awards are going to be announced. I would have thought that the week leading up to the GF would be the perfect time.

Pre season I picked Fire to finish top but Boomers to win the title.
Now ... I'm not so sure. Townsville having home court makes this almost 50/50 IMO, but I'm probably leaning ever so slightly towards the Fire, purely based on Liz's temperament/basketball IQ. If she keeps her shit together, no one in this league can stop her. But I back Suzy to use all the experience she has to either rack up plenty of points of her own and/or get Liz into some foul trouble, and I'm not convinced that the Boomers supporting cast will be able to replicate how well they played vs Perth.

Agreed Luuuc, sad but not surprising.. I had hoped they'd hold one, but it really doesn't look like it now. I hope they'll give the girls some more justice than drip feeding winners spontaneously via twitter like last year. It seems a bit of a slap in the face though trying to compete with other womens sporting codes by being on the TV etc but not even being able to hold a legitimate celebration of the league's best players.

Heh, had I look back too. Picked Townsville-Melbourne as top 2 and Sydney 3rd. Clearly got Perth wrong but think I had the others in about the right place.

So even if it was fairly unpredictable season, the teams with the class were still quite obvious.

Magbegor picks for ROTY were fairly obvious, she's had the most playing timing really.

Team of the Season should be something like Williams-Whitcomb-Taylor-Batkovic-Cambage but they put someone like Bishop or Snell in there. MVP seems all but heading to one of the GF stars.

Haha I think I was one of the very very few who got Perth right, but Sydney wrong - think I had Dandenong in there over them.

ROTY to be announced tonight - I'm assuming they're all to be announced via twitter again. *sigh*

I don't know why Andy Stewart got the coach's award, IMO the girls just took a few games to click together.

Grand final series, it will be a different situation for glamor girl Liz, she'll have to defend Suzy out to the 3 point line rather than camping under the basket.

It will be interesting which of the two complains the most to the referees about not getting a foul called.

I don't know why Andy Stewart got the coach's award, IMO the girls just took a few games to click together.

I'm not surprised Stewart won the COTY - he clearly took a risk with that side not having a genuine big & by playing a style that no other team could replicate. IMO he got the best out of his core group of players consistently.

Liz Cambage says WNBL grand final could be her last league appearance as overseas looms

But the lure of bigger leagues and frustrations with the local officials could see her resume playing overseas next summer.
"I knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park and I'm lucky I play on a team where the girls understand my frustrations," Cambage told the Age in Townsville on Friday.
"I've loved playing with this team and being back in Australia but I don't think I can play in this league, I don't think it's for me so I would love to get this win with the team and then spread my wings and fly off overseas again."

iirc she said similar a few weeks ago on SEN radio re not coming back next season. To be honest I didn't expect her to come back again next season, but to say so mid season & again leading in to a grand final series seems a bit poor. It definitely will be intriguing to see what the Boomers do about the hole she leaves in their roster if/when she does leave.

Just a privilege to watch for a little while

to say so mid season & again leading in to a grand final series seems a bit poor.

Game 1 is being advertised on Fox Sports as LIVE on 503 (7:30pm AEDT time) but their schedule has it down for just a 1.5hr delayed showing due to the Hawks v Breakers being live in the time slot. Does anyone know more about this? I did't see anything listed on a seperate chamnnel to 503.

Well I for one would be glad to see the back of her, she's a disgrace to women’s sport, women’s basketball , hell no sport needs people like her in it.
Her behaviour both on and off the court is atrocious and always has been, she’s played the victim card since day one.

And the girls nor the fans certainly don’t appreciate her "frustrations" at all.

Game 1 is being advertised on Fox Sports as LIVE on 503 (7:30pm AEDT time) but their schedule has it down for just a 1.5hr delayed showing due to the Hawks v Breakers being live in the time slot. Does anyone know more about this? I did't see anything listed on a seperate chamnnel to 503.

Ok ... my bad ... it's Live on channel 506

Thanks, Luuuc! They actually don't say or indicate any channel on the on-air advert. I did have a flick around but couldn't see it.

Liz's mum has filled her head with that "your the best", get out of my way.

In some national tournaments she would talk about the state coach in terms that you wouldn't hear in a pub on the rough side of town.

Will be a bad look if she wins MVP after dumping on the league and vowing to return OS

Good contest so far. Suzy defending well, but taking some bad options trying to score over Liz.

LMAO at the punter with the Bogut cardboard cutout !

Yep, well played!

Liz no chance of coming back to the WNBL now ;-)

Boomers supporting cast AWOL so far.

Yeah, I like her too. She's starting-calibre.

Poor from Melbourne for much of this second half - some really ordinary options on their offensive sets..

Smart & Cole's three point shooting, yuk

Not a particularly convincing victory by the Fire IMO, but a win is a win.
Like Perth, they dared the outside shooters to beat them, and those shooters showed why most scouts don't pay them too much respect. Although 3/23 from the perimeter is the type of percentage the Fire would have been dreaming of.

Credit where it's due to Cambage - she played very well, won her battle at both ends, and never spat it. Needs some teammates to step up, and surely they couldn't be that bad again in game 2. I like the Boomers to level this one up.

Yeah I'm no cambage fan but she was all business tonight .. shame tonight can’t be the norm rather than the exception

Cambage stealing the ball after the Fire had stopped playing and getting a couple of shots up against no defence was pretty in line with expectations, really.

Liz is such a wanker

Most of the League dislike both of these teams. But if the Fire win, it will hopefully result in the WNBL forever refraining from showing such flagrant favouritism to one team (Melbourne Boomers), ever again.

Cambage stealing the ball after the Fire had stopped playing and getting a couple of shots up against no defence was pretty in line with expectations, really.

She's down the pecking order of a deep team, so it's never easy to be consistent when you're getting random minutes. But both her & Conti have had good impacts off their respective benches IMO. They both play very proactively at both ends, so there's no let-up in energy when they're out there. Need to put some work into their shooting now.

I noticed Fire were more than happy stand off and let Conti have that 3-point ping at a vital stage. I don't think she's even hit the rim from there all season.

Liz played her best game of the season, she played without whinging or complaining. I'm not a fan of her, but if she played like that every game she would be the poster girl rather than the villain.

Melbourne need to get more from the other four, Jenna,Maddie,Bec and Brittany. A combined score of 30 is extremely poor.

That said, it shows how the semi finals format of AHH was a hinder to the teams that finished above the lower teams.

I feel for Perth as they lost their series against Melbourne. I'm sure that if it was HAH the outcome would be different.

IMO Jenna played great last night - she lead from the front and even though her shooting stats weren't her best she stepped up in other areas of the game. I agree however that Cole, Garrick and Smart really need to step up to win that second game. Why they were jacking up airball threes all night is beyond me, hopefully they get that sorted out before Thursday night.

I'm going to disagree with you Melb Fan, if you look at Purcell stats, apart from the shooting %, nobody is talking about Purcell's game. Purcell had the same stats as Jenna, and Jenna was on the court for an extra 5 minutes.

Jenna only get a pass because of who she is. If you are paying someone the big bucks, they need to perform at this time of the season. 11.8 PPG isn't going to cut.
She didn't get into the top 10 for pionts PPG.

Snell & Hurst didn't get in the top 10 for PPG either but they still had fantastic seasons.
It's amazing that some people still can't look past the points column when assessing a player's value.
Jenna wasn't at her best but she still played a solid enough game to get her team a win, as did Purcell. It was their backcourt that was MIA.

When Jenna won the flag with Dandenong she averaged double what she is with Melbourne. Jenna is the one of the back court players. I'm tipping that next game Jenna will have 15 or more points to get a win.

Well done Townsville on getting that first win. Puts them in a strong position now even if Melbourne win the next tie.

How you are speaking crap, 'Boomers is all about Cambage and Conti",
Conti is on the floor for less than 4 minutes a game.

It might be about Conti in your head. But the whole season is about winning the flag.

You forgot to reply to "its all about Conti".

Martin is mostly there for his defense and assists.
They didn't hire Jenna as a defense expert, she's there to score and make plays.
Which she isn't doing.

I think Jenna needs to be more productive if she is to be considered a superstar of the league.

From what I observe as a supporter, Jenna is as important and if not more important than Liz in that Boomers lineup. It doesn't matter if she's not setting the stats sheet on fire like Liz can, her leadership and IQ trumps any monetary figure they could pay her and any statistical category you could put on a piece of paper. You see her in games calming down Liz - is there anyone else in that team you've ever seen try and do that? If Liz goes off track without Jenna there, she fouls out = major weakness in their lineup that could be exploited. Even late in the game on Saturday night I think Cole missed the pass to her in what would've been a very very crucial fast break play if it had've been executed. She didn't go on like a brat about it which would be fair enough given the heat in that game and how close it was at the time.

Her IQ is pretty damn good, you can see her directing traffic and plays just about all of the time she's on the court. She sets up that whole team - when she's not on the floor they look quite lost which was highlighted when she was out injured during the season and they had quite a poor stretch of games.

Without Liz, Boomers don't even make finals. Liz is MVP of the league.

Conti is the Richmond AFL's 5 year plan! Lol

I couldn't resist not replying here.
Jenna has been the PG for the last 5-6 games, ave 10.5 PPG.
If you got that output from Courtney or Sami you would say that they played poorly.
So why is it ok for Jenna?
Calming down Liz is what a captain should do, whether she scores or not.

As far as going of with Cole, here again, keeping her cool, staying calm is what ALL players should do, not just Jenna.

Just so we all know, how many points should she score to say, yeah she played well.

8,10,14,18?

Did anyone notice during the last game that Guy put on Ott, I mean, what is it with that guy Molloy.
Puts on Ott who hasn't played more than 5 minutes for the whole season. What was he expecting Ott to do?

He did stuff like that last season, one time had Kunek off during the last quarter, then when he thought they had a chance of winning puts her back on, but too late.

Just imagine where this team would be without that deadbeat.
And, his there for another 2 years.

I've been thinking the same thing. What would make a coach sub a young girl who has hardly played during the season, during a final series and the teams are neck and neck.
The other girls must have looked at each other and said WTF.
He must say to himself " I'll throw in something that the opposition coach wouldn't expect"

He hangs his head on being a "development coach".

Can someone please show me which player has become a better player under his instruction.
There isn't one.

The reason his is close to getting a title is not because of him, its because there is a player who can and should dominate.

During game two, Liz should be on for 40 minutes, not subbing her off during the first quarter, as he did during the last game. She wasn't in foul trouble and only played 30 minutes. They might have won that game if it wasn't for him subbing Liz off.

Yep, what was the tactical reason for inserting Ott?
Can some of the Molloy backers inform me. Or, do we just gloss over the post?

Can guys that back Molloy please let me know what was he trying to achieve by putting on Ott.

Can't Wait for the answer.

Still waiting

Jenna played a good game...by normal standards. But when you're a player of her calibre there is an expectation to step up and do what the team needs...the team needed her to score in game 1 and she came up short. Don’t think we’ll see it two games in a row though.
I expect Boomers to win game two - cole, smart and Garrick will be better at home and provide more support in terms of points.
Liz will be Liz, but expect even more points and a business like attitude in game two. Boomers didn’t play well in game 1 (mind you Townsville didn’t have their best game either!) but I think they’ll be much better at home to force game 3. Game 3 could honestly go either way = heaps of pressure on the fire at Home, but also heaps of pressure on a staked Boomers roster.
I also think Jenna will be more aggressive.
In terms of Conti promotion...the WNBL are trying to ride on the coat tails of the AFLW - they couldn’t promote themselves out of a wet paper bag so have jumped on the fact of promoting someone who will also get some true lime light with a bigger sport, they can they say she plays in the WNBL. Some might think this is smart to get a quick win, but how they have not used Jenna and Suzi and Mia and Cayla and Garrick to a degree, who not only front the media brilliantly, but are bloody good players!

Liz should / would have been fresh last game, she played 28 minutes, so why didn't she score more than 24 points, oops, forgot got about that last cheap 2 points she got when everyone else stopped playing bar Liz.

Don't buy that Ott nonsense.

Dr, is just about spot on with everything that was posted.

Since winning coach of the year in the wnbl in 1994 Molloy hasn't one one title. If they win the series it won't be down to Guy. It will be due to Liz being the best player in this country.

I see that there are other guys who question Molloys coaching
I would have to agree with Double Dribble on Molloy.

That's why Jenna scoring has been poor, she has to create her own shot.

A couple of post have been criticial of Maddie, Brit and Bec jacking up 3's. They weren't that critical when the 3's were dropping in the Perth series. They were all good looks, they just didn't drop.That just happens sometime.

My take on it is that Jenna is not and has never been a go-to scorer. She's an excellent shooter - world class in fact - with her feet set, but that's it. Get her to put it on the floor and it's her vision & passing that are more likely to hurt you than her scoring. She's also a very good defender. She holds her own in the WNBA against some pretty good athletes.
But to me what she contributes in experience, decision-making and leadership is where her value is to the Boomers.
Sure she is capable of putting up some points on occasions, but I think it's pretty dumb to look at her points column from game 1 and blame her for the loss. She does literally everything else there is to do on the court for Melbourne.

btw I would not be at all surprised if the Boomers won games 2 & 3.

My point exactly Anonymous, a player like Kunek was stifled by Molloy, micro managed by him.

Since she has left him, she has blossomed into a better player.

You can see that with the current players.

O'Hea was my clear MVP for the final in Perth and that's from watching the game, not the stats columns.

Agreed with Luuuc and AshT - many of the things that O'Hea brings to the game aren't measurable on livestats. You just have to watch her play to see that.

On Molloy, I almost feel like he got another contract due to his willingness to go the extra mile when Bulleen handed back their license. He definitely seems very committed to the Boomers and all which is a very admirable trait, but unfortunately that doesn't always correlate to good coaching/people management and getting results. Sometimes he makes very questionable subs at odd times, more so last season than this one though IMO. With someone like Kunek, you could tell as a spectator that she wasn't being properly utilised in that system and in the end I felt a bit sad for her being stifled like that, but it's great that she is flourishing again over at the Lynx.

Perhaps those like Tess Madgen, Garrick, Cole or Smart have improved somewhat under Molloy's reign - but some of that may be more due to them receiving greater roles in his side as opposed to their former sides.

I think you'll find Jenna taking more shots in Game 2 which is a realisation that she should have taken more in Game 1.

Jenna finished 21st in scoring and 7th in MVP voting, so I guess it's not just Hoops posters that recognise her other contributions. Coaches do too.
In Melbourne's best game of the season she had 5 FGA.

Her average FGA this season is 9.5 and she had 11 the other day, which I think was fine. So maybe she'll look to be more aggressive, but I think it would be a mistake for her to try to win the game off her own hand.

Going 3/23 from outside is what killed the Boomers. The Fire will probably dare them again to win it from the perimeter. If they hit a few early ones then it changes the whole complexion of the game. Even though I don't rate them as a great perimeter shooting team, I'd back them to shoot better than 13% in game 2. But if they miss their first few it will be real interesting to see what they do next - whether they hold their nerve and stick to the plan, or try something else.

Very strange all the O'Hea hate. She's the clear #2 player on that team, clear #1 leader. Even by the livestats. Maybe she is just collateral in the Molloy-angst.

You are missing the point, there is no hate re Jenna.
There just needs to be a greater output.
I haven't seen anyone post that she is hopeless, has a bad attitude.

She just needs to preform to the standard that is expected from a player of her ability.

There's really no shame in being cut to make room for Sami Whitcomb. And your constant stressing of "low level" WNBA team is kinda reaching too, since even the worst WNBA teams still have talented rosters. Plus of course Seattle aren't a low level team anyway. They were 15-19 and made the playoffs.
Foreigners especially, don't play 6 WNBA seasons unless they can play. You shouldn't have to watch a single game to understand that much.

"My take on it is that Jenna is not and has never been a go-to scorer. She's an excellent shooter - world class in fact - with her feet set, but that's it. Get her to put it on the floor and it's her vision & passing that are more likely to hurt you than her scoring."

This. Has a great feel for the game and makes teammates better. At the defensive end she does a pretty good job making up for a lack of speed with her smarts too. Shame she's not a little bit bigger because she would make a great stretch/playmaking 4 internationally.

Well summed up, paul.

Earier in the season I sat in a frontish pew and watched Palau deliver passes all game long that set up assists to easy baskets, yet there's no stats column for that. A lot like in AFL if you hang around someone like Sam Mitchell a lot then you're own effective disposal rate is bound to look good.

Ok Boomers, let's take this to a game 3

Liz will be Liz

Gawd the Boomers are so sloppy with the ball. They're a little lucky to still be in this

Yeah, what an impact Jenna has had.

Why the hell is Tomlinson on the court. Don't give me shot blocking. Struggles to catch and certainly cant pass.

That 95kg toddler aka Cambage will commit some kind of atrocity at FT if / when the Boomers lose tonight.. it's going to epic, I can just feel it !

Liz's punch into Suzi stomach wasn't a good look on TV!

Haha... I agree.

That punch from Cambage was a disgrace anyone who thinks she is an asset to this league is kidding themselves. She is just a brat with talent she doesn't deserve, have some class. There is a reason you couldn’t even beat a bearing 40yr old player for the mvp!

(Agree with Pickem. Didn't get a good look at that tummy shot)

They are. This is embarrassing.

Good onya Kalani. Kept this thing alive.

What a key player Jenna has been.

Molloy has stuffed this - leaving Liz off for 3 minutes in the last. Don't care how stuffed she is , that's a joke.

This is the first WNBL game I've watched in about 10 years, and only because I was in the middle of something when the NBL game finished. Pretty entertaining, I have to say. Not sure why Liz isn't force feed in the post every possession, though.

*fed

Wow. Shitty game, but what a finish

Fox Sports had 9 seconds on the clock when the Boomers got that last rebound. I'm guessing from the commentary and how the players reacted there was a second at most?

To all the guys backing Jenna, her contribution was zero.
How did she contribute to the win?

I remember a sequence where one of the commentaries was trying to make assimilar point and O'Hea interrupted by drawing afcharge on Batkovic.

That should be commentators, not commentaries.

Draw one charge, thats it. LOL

U wouldn't let Molley coach an under 12 team. No idea what to say to get his team going. Just says the normal stuff all players know.

Commentary of the game was a disgrace and totally biased towards Melbourne.

Anon
Anonymous loser

Anon has a point, Jenna had another extremely poor game. She needs to do something when she on the court.

Two poor games, Melbourne fans will be hoping there is a third.

Cambage should be suspended for that jab on Batkovic... but WNBL

Would the commercial operations manager of an NBL team be allowed to/encouraged to commentate on on NBl final.
Cambage again proved to the viewing public that taking a cheap shot is part of her game. Sigh!

Titan 74
You want the GOAT to not give input.Pickem wants Cambage out of this Earth. When we have two greats amongst others involved in this great game at WNBL level and you both want them gone. Cmon man let's get real here. This game needs players like that for exposure and to challenge other great players to play in this great comp. You would both be complaining in a hurry if this comp was not much better than a Monday night senior team that we couldn’t attract great players. Enjoy the game for what it has offered. Two great finals and an unprecedented third decider. Best of luck to both sides great players in both sides. But I’m pushing for my home side. Go BOOMERS.
MRT.

All fair points Anon, just watching as an impartial observer and wrote about what I saw hey.
LJ is goat for sure. In my opinion tho she should not be the main commentator ...just does not seem fair to the opposing team ....mate she was more than a little biased ....again just my opinion. As for Liz....I guess to borrow a phrase ....the video does not lie.
Great finish to the game must have been awesome to be watching live at stadium I bet.
Hope the the third game is as exciting to watch .....lets hope both teams get the enthusiasm and excitement from the commentators tho.

Townsville lost that game as opposed to Boomers winning it. Can't see them losing it at home on Sunday!

Both teams really did their best to lose that one I thought. Between Suzy's hot start and Liz's hot finish, there was about 35 minutes of hot mess.

When the Wildcats were down 21 vs Brisbane the other day, I still held a glimmer of hope because I knew the Cats were a tight group and the Bullets had some mental demons, but I really didn't think the experienced Fire would let the Boomers off the hook the way they did in that 3rd quarter tonight. The game seemed so close to being finished. Melbourne looked directionless and out of ideas. Not only were the outside shots still bricking, but this time Liz was ineffective as well. I think I need to watch that 2nd half again with a bit more focus on Townsville, because somehow they managed to just kind of disappear. With the title theirs for the taking they went for 22 points in the 2nd half, and finished the game shooting an awful 32%.

I thought O'Hea's shot selection was near-perfect, but she could not hit a thing. 2-10 from some very good looks. And at the other end, George was even worse with 0-9. Both teams would be pretty disappointed with their "co-star" players.

I already mentioned Kalani Purcell, who I think the Boomers can thank for making any kind of comeback even possible, but well done also to Monique Conti. She is still a limited player, but I have to admire the way she plays the game. She seems immune to the occasion, unlike many of her more experienced teammates. Even the game when Courtney Williams tore her to shreds, she still kept coming back just as hard, seemingly unfazed, every possession. She is mentally tough. Hopefully she gets some work into her jump shot over the off season.

"Liz's punch into Suzi stomach wasn't a good look on TV!"

I honestly actually think she gave a nipple cripple. Ugly game, refs put the whistles away and made it hard for players to show their skills, but it sure was exciting at the end and great to have a G3.

I honestly think it was a low blow. Intentional with obvious impact. I don't want to see a suspension but it's definitely worthy of one.

When did it happen? I missed it.

Just watching the replay back now, the atmosphere at the stadium was really shown in the telecast.. It was such an intense game to be at - definitely one of the better sporting crowds I've been a part of. The Liz elbow to Suzy's jaw happened at around 5:30 to go in the 1st Q, the gut jab was around 5:10ish to go in the 2nd Q. Her scoring was massive in those last few minutes, it was a phenomenal display, but those two dirty plays put a bit of a dampener on it for mine. I'd be worried if I were Townsville, purely because it seems as if she can lock in when she can see the championship can be won and nothing misses once she's in that zone.

I'll have to agree for the most part on O'Hea's game last night - she certainly wasn't as influential as she was in the first game and needs to stamp her authority on the third game if Melbourne wants to win it.

Purcell was excellent all night and IMO flies under the radar a bit for her role in their side. I do think if she could gain more confidence in her shot, especially when open as she does hesitate quite a bit when left wide open and ends up bricking them, she could become one of the better, more complete players in the league.

Townsville just didn't have their supporting cast show up (admittedly Melbourne's weren't all that flash either, but they got the job done). I suspect that would change when we hit game three at their home court, but they really needed more offensively from the likes of George, Wiese, Murray, Garbin and Mincy.

@MeganHustwaite

Massive #WNBL18 news with Liz Cambage referred to the MRP ahead of the deciding Game 3 on Sunday

Looks like all the posts that defended Jenna after my post "Jenna is not playing up to her standard" need to say "your right, she is getting paid without producing".

To protect the integrity of the sport, she should be suspended! Whilst it's a blow to grand final, the integrity is far more important

I would have to agree with the last post.
The last game should be her last game of basketball.
Liz is a blight on Australian Basketball.

Her mother needs to look herself in the mirror and say "this is my doing"

Just keep telling yourself that shit.
Are you trying to convince yourself or the MRP.

Look at it in slow motion, leaves no doubt.

Sloppy attempt to bump the cutter with closed fist to the stomach more like it!

I've watched it again from all the angles, I still think she's given a pinch to a very sensitive area. Suze wasn't holding her guts, she was up a bit higher.

You could see Suzy say "she punched me" to the refs or her teammates shortly after she got up.

Keep it up Melbourne supporters, if this player was on another team you would clearly see that she has no place playing basketball in this country.

You're only defending her to get that championship.
What does Melbourne stand for?
Remind me again "family club"

"You could see Suzy say "she punched me" to the refs or her teammates shortly after she got up."

Possibly, but it could also have been "she pinched me".

If boomers win with Cambage playing, it will be a championship with such distaste!

Possibly, but it could also have been "she pinched me".

True

There are multiple angles shown in the video in this article

Liz Cambage cited for hit to Suzy Batkovic


Paul, if she pinched her in that little time then she should retire from basketball and take up a job as The Flash

What she definitely didn't say was "she bumped me when I was cutting"...

Just thumping the cutter

Surely the latest Cambage incident of a punch to the stomach is worse than a knee to the back of the leg??? Both had the game play suspended by referee?

I don't think this one is worse. It could go either way I reckon. I'm leaning towards thinking she'll escape suspension.

Having said that ... considering her recent words in the paper that were effectively a "Fuck You, I'm Outta Here" to the WNBL, they must be kinda tempted to have the last laugh by rubbing her out of her last game.

Stop picking on Liz, she just a misunderstood girl.
Yeah Right.

Or should I say misunderstood thug!

BA is in a tough position. No Liz, no Melbourne for game 3.

Liz has done herself no favours all season.

Just wait till race card gets pulled out.

Her previous charge was deemed unduly rough play, and her actions to be intentional, with high contact occurring to the body. Precidence would suggest it is judged the same and outcome the same???

No suspension.

"Under the current rules, the incident has resulted in Liz Cambage being found guilty of striking Suzy Batkovic with medium force," the WNBL said in a statement.

“This verdict had resulted in a one-game suspension, and Liz Cambage and the Deakin Melbourne Boomers have accepted an early guilty plea which will result in the lesser penalty of a fine, allowing her to play in Game 3 of the Grand Final Series.”

https://www.foxsports.com.au/basketball/liz-cambage-cited-for-hit-to-suzy-batkovic-during-wnbl-grand-final-between-melbourne-and-townsville/news-story/f1033ab2ffbd1d4b78c34c3acb457aab

I'm guessing it's a different system to the AFL where previous indiscretions don't count towards penalty

Looking forward to the hostile reception Liz will get in the furnace! It just adds more fuel to the fire!

Look, I'm not shocked about that soft response by the league. IMO if it happened during the regular season play, it would get the same 2 down to 1 outcome as the Bass incident. The league has shown they're willing to compromise for the Fox Sports deal and I doubt FS would be too thrilled if she had to miss that third game.

You can clearly see her arms are up, then she moves one down, clenches her fist and then moves it in front of her body so it collects Suzy on her way past. I'd say it deserves a ban, even if it meant my team would lose the GF over it.

Would not want to be Liz running around in front of the Fire faithful on Sunday night....could this be the first WNBL player to be constantly boo'd throughout a game?
She deserves nothing less.

Hoops posters whenever Liz is mentioned.

It wasn't just the force, it was the intent. Who else in this league would do that shit.

"Would not want to be Liz running around in front of the Fire faithful on Sunday night....could this be the first WNBL player to be constantly boo'd throughout a game?
She deserves nothing less."

At the same level Bradtke was when he first returned to Clipsal in Melb colours. That was awesome.

Spectator is showing his / her age here.
Long time ago.

So...

West Australian newspaper today revealed that, according to what they've been told, 2 players were on $100k+ this season and Courtney Willams WASN'T one of them.

Assume Liz is one, who'd be the second? Would one of the other imports really fetch that much or would it be an Opal like Bishop, or the MVP Suzy?

100k for a 3 month season is pretty damn good, to be honest I would've expected the highest paid players to be getting between 75-85k given the state of the league. Definitely Cambage and maybe one of Taylor, Whitcomb, Batkovic, Bishop or George. I'd say Williams wouldn't have been too far behind that 100k mark though.

I'd guess O'Hea or Bishop. Could be Suzy because she's certainly worth it, but $100k sounds more like a lure-back-an-Opal salary to me than a retain-a-local salary. (Same reason I doubt it is Whitcomb or Griffin, even though both deserve to be near the top of the list)
Top aussies have always been the top earners. Imports traditionally have been a bit unpredictable in how they perform here, although a known quantity like Asia Taylor would command a good salary too. (or if Courtney Williams was to return next season, she'd likely be looking at a good raise depending on what she was on this season).

I'm purely guessing btw. I know zero facts about any of this season's salaries.

Griffin's involvement seems more than just the three months. Whether the club would have the money for her though?

This is awesome guessing potential salaries based off what a WA journalist may have heard.

You're right, we really should just go create another Liz-bashing thread because that's the only thing this forum is capable of talking about irt WNBL.

It was an interesting bit of information I thought, we know of the min salary but it's rare to hear just what some of the top players are on. It shows there's at least a couple of teams that are doing well if they can provide such a wage to player(s).

I read the The Age newspaper article today by Roy Ward and I must be watching different games to what he does.

Heading the article
"O'Hea leads the way into Finale"

Now come on, just because she orders meals for the two who are getting drug tested, that doesn't translate into winning games.

Last season captain Kunek had a more difficult job, the team were loosing more than they were winning.
Trying to get the group playing as a team.

I tipped that in game two she would take more shots than game one. Well, that didn't happen. There ain't no next game, needs to produce on the scoreboard.

Scoring hasn't been easy this series.

Cayla George is 5/21 (23%) over the 2 games this series.

Its starting to look/feel like Darcee Garbin is the better player, or at least better in Robin Girl role next to Bat Girl.

How's that, Jenna has the same shooting % as Cayla,
7/30, 23%, over the last two games.

But I guess she gets a pass because of who she is.
Why is it so?

Doesn't look like anyone is getting a pass.

George hasn't been mentioned until today. O'Hea has been mentioned quite regularly by yourself on this thread Anon.

Suzy shot 5/20 in the first game.
Murray is 2/15 for the series so far.
Garrick is 5/17 for the series.

Nobody is arguing that O'Hea had a major impact in game 2. There were just differences in opinion on game 1.

Hopefully the scoring opens up for both teams in game 3.

Now, now.
No hater here, just being realistic.

Just look at the facts, 23%. Thats not me making them up. Check if you don't believe me.
Not a hater, there is a way to change the figures. Shoot a better %.

How is the last post and this post a hater?

6/21 for O'Hea so far in the series. Not the normal % although pretty similar to Batkovic in the 1st game.

A poster has said "Jenna hater is very persistent"

Just stating the obvious about her contribution.

What time is game 3

6pm Qld time. (47 minutes from now ... assuming this Hawks-36ers game doesn't run over time)

Something for each I'd like to see tonight. Garbin IN when the game is on the line (sat final 6+ mins Gm2). Purcell & Conti not on court together at same time as much (Fire finding that situation too easy to defend).

Not a great sign that Suzy is back in her warm up top after that friendly fire hit from Wiese. Hopefully she's just preparing for half time.

So glad Suzy got the last laugh on that B, Liz Cambage. I get the feeling that the only supporter base going for the Boomers is their own. The whole of Australia rejoicing after this win

Molley you are a worst coach in the league.
With the players you had, you suck!!!!!!!!!!!

To the posts that hammered Anon with their facts on Jenna's stats. She was hopeless,
Her % was 21 in the 3 games.

Melbourne supports you have that dick Molloy for another 2 years.

Beat em in every single quarter. Well done, Fire.

I haven't followed much, but wasn't there a point in the season where they looked done and dusted, and that the dynasty looked over?

^ what are on about? They just finished runner up for season

Yeah right.
Jenna had 3 great games, just about 20%.
To all the posts that shit canned me on her output. I was right.

A non contributor.
Get stuffed.

Well done Fire.

Better team.

Fire dared Melbourne to beat them from 3 and they shot 4/34 from behind the arc on mostly wide open shots.

lol anonymous, you do realise that Townsville is even more loaded for talent than Melbourne, right?

Well done to the Fire - they certainly showed their experience and class tonight & throughout the season and deserved the title. What a performance by Suzy though, that was amazing to watch!

Anon, I think I'm going to stand by defending O'Hea's first game, but I agree they needed much much more out of her in the final two games in terms of scoring output in particular. She definitely wasn't the only one who had a disappointing finals campaign for mine. Why on earth Liz only had 13 shots tonight is my biggest question, when you've got Garrick and Smart jacking up 17 shots at 23% and 19 at 26% respectively, they needed to run more plays to get Liz some good looks. There were a few in the third and fourth where Liz looked in a good spot but the pass never came.

In terms of where the youth is, look at the NCAA - that is where the majority of that up and coming talent has gone. Said it a few months ago when a similar topic came up, but I think the league should try and be more lucrative to those players so they do stay and develop in the league. Most of the youth that remains here is either not quite up to the standard to command more minutes or too young and thus in a DP spot.

Do all the Melbourne supports agree with Pickem, coming second isn't a fail?

Yes, Townsville are the more loaded roster.

The atmosphere in Townsville stadium was electric.
Suzy B is a dead set champion and proved in no uncertain terms that she 100% deserved MVP for the season and then played 3 consistently complete games in Grand Finals to be awarded the Racheal Sporn medal ......best player hands down.
Well done Townsville Fire.

Not the question I asked.
Is coming second a fail mark?

No shame in losing to that deep, well coached Townsville team with a Suzy that seems ageless.

I really thought Melbourne would have made a few outside shots in 1 of the 3 games although it wasn't to be.

Congrats to Suzy & the Fire.
Well summed up by the above poster re. Melbourne's total inability to hit from the perimeter.
When you see O'Hea passing up a wide open three to swing it across to Purcell in the corner, you know she's mentally defeated. Smart & Purcell can definitely hold their heads high after the finals they had though.
Fire's depth & versatility won through, but largely thanks to Suzy being amazing. When you've got a winning option for everyone else to work off, you're always on the front foot. The Boomers were pushing shit up hill all game, and actually I think the scoreline mostly flattered them.

Whilst disappointed as a Boomer, it was great to see Suzy B play so well and add weight to the non-selection issue of the last Olympics. Adds to Phillips comments on retirement about her experience at the the Rio Olympics.

Also thought that Liz C played pretty well with limited opportunities- but why have her at high post so often. Actually thought that Conti was the only small who made an effort to set a good screen for her.

To the comments about age (and I agree completely regarding Dandenong)- it may become an even bigger problem with AFL-W. Why stay in basketball and have to play limited or no minutes for a few years? Even the champions didn't play Garbin (and she is 23), who looks like a good prospect, that much.

Just one small comment- does Suzy fend off with her right arm on most of her shots, and would she get away with it in the US?

By the way, did anyone have a major problem with the reffing today? I thought it was pretty well officiated, but not everyone agreed



@laurenej15

#WNBL18 #referees #jeez #WhyInAFinal? #fixthis

Hilarious to me that that particular person would have issues with the refs in tonight's game. Not sure what it is that she found so in need of "fixing"? To me all 3 games seemed to get called in the same way, no punches thrown in game 3 tho.

Agree with Boomers Supporter about the defection of young players to AFLW.Chloe Molloy, a Boomers player from last year a classic example.Conti will have to make some decisions about her preferred sport in the next couple of years.

Congrats to Suzi! She's a champion! Not sure I agree with just giving young ones opportunities without them deserving or earning it! Today's generation of kids are all about entitlement!

I think that LJ tweet was made in relation to Purcell's 4th foul late in the third - the contentious one where it was debatable as to whether she made contact with the ball or Donnelly(?)'s hand.

But I agree, I thought the officiating was consistent throughout the series. They let the girls play, which was great to see.

"Need a youth league like every other code.

Big v, seabl etc don't push these players. Just a ame, little development."

SEABL should be the development league for WNBL, but they fill those sides with the older WNBL players who really should be making room fir the younger ones.
Kelly Wilson prime example stated tonight she would be playing SEABL in two months yet is thinking of retiring, so how is that giving any opportunity for a younger player to gain development
And she won't be on her own there, you will have plenty in their late 20s to early 30s who are either looking at retiring or are just bit players in WNBL Taking up spots that the younger players should be utilising

Will be interesting to see the makeup of Boomers team next season without Liz? I assume they will replace her with a WNBA calibre centre? Probably need add better shooter aswell?

RE:SEABL being a youth league...
SEABL teams need to provide entertainment to survive, they are semi professional teams that need to make money.
Generally fans don't go to watch bad basketball, they go to watch their team win.
I suggest you keep Kelly Wilson's name out of your mouth unless you know her role with her SEABL team this season.

I think there is a fine line re SEABL as these younger players aren't going to develop as quickly if they are purely playing against players of their own age/size - they've had all their junior careers to do that. IMO they need that exposure to the WNBL players with their seasoned bodies and experience at a higher level i.e. some sort of a challenge to help them improve both mentally, physically and at their skill sets.

I think the WNBL players playing SEABL also has to do with our season length and their pay checks. I honestly have no clue how well or poorly SEABL clubs pay their players, but I would assume for many of these WNBL players the opportunity to get paid year round would allow them to focus solely on basketball and not require an additional full time job to support themselves. I just don't think you can expect these players to play 3 months of the year and sit idle for the remainder of the year. Other than SEABL and the state leagues whom have even stricter quotas on WNBL players, there really isn't anywhere else for them to play, with the exception of the lucky few who will get contracts in Europe, the WNBA or Opals camps following their WNBL stint.

I was surprised that Boomers didnt try and play zone defence themselves or change their matchup and have Purcell guard Suzi? Suzi plays better against slower bigs like Cambage!

"SEABL needs to bring in some rulings re age limit and player restriction"

They do. From memory WNBL players that average more than 20 mins are Restricted B (same as an import - Restricted A), and those that average 14 to 20 are restricted C. Only allowed 3 restricted players with no more than 2 A and/or B.

*Minutes may be slightly different, but there are restrictions.

From doing a bit of digging, currently the following WNBL players have signed at SEABL sides:

Adelaide:
Lauren Nicholson - Launceston

Bendigo:
Nadeen Payne, Ash Karaitiana, Kara Tessari, Jessie Rennie (DP), Ahlise Hurst (DP), Maddison Wild (DP) - Bendigo Lady Braves
Ash Spencer - Ballarat

Canberra:
Abbey Wehrung, Ezi Magbegor & Lauren Scherf - DV

Melbourne:
Monique Conti & Peri Kalka (DP) - Melbourne Tigers
Cassidy Gould (DP) - DV
Chelsea D'Angelo (DP) - Kilsyth

Sydney:
Ally Wilson - Launceston

Also worth noting that the rangers SEABL signed Tess Madgen who hasn't played since her ACL injury.

Even by Ohea's own standards, she would admit she a had a shocker of a series.

To be fair, no club is ever going to come out and say their captain (or any player for that matter) had a shocker - they'll always try and put a spin on it or just pretend it never happened. It's not like there were many other players who were screaming out to be mentioned based on their performances over the series. Though in saying that I was surprised to see no mention of Purcell in that article - even though her stats weren't jumping out at you looking at the box scores, her influence was phenomenal throughout, I thought she really stood up when not many others did.

Yeah you have to remember most of those articles even if on the WNBL site, are written by the clubs themselves so it would be weird to see the Boomers say something negative about O'Hea.

Boti's Journalism at its finest!!

Hope his mail on Abby Bishop going to Canberra is better..

I've heard that Abby could not play another season under Chris Lucas.

If rumours are true, Adelaide will have a lot of players not returning??

I don't expect Novosel or Hamblin will return to Adelaide either.

I read Chambers will coach Rangers??

Yep Anderson is on the outs, they didn't get Chambers but will get someone else.

What's wrong with Lucas's coaching for Bishop wanting to leave??

Not sure Rangers need to panic and replace Anderson after a bad season of injuries. Anderson took the Rangers to a GF only last season.

I agree and wouldn't hit the escape button just yet on Anderson. Give her one more year, hopefully the injury gods are kinder to her and her team and see what she can do with a clean bill of health and a bit of a roster clean out. I think she has the potential to have that Cheryl Chambers style rapport with her players, which will eventually lead to success.

I don't see the problem with Anderson either, personally. No idea if there is any credibility to the Chambers -> Dandenong rumour, but if there is then I guess the Rangers see things differently.

The flood-drought-flood season that the Caps had just goes to show how close things were in the league IMO. The Rangers could easily have been very competitive had health & continuity been on their side. (Though I don't think they were going to make the GF ahead of Melbourne or Townsville, so I guess it still would have been a step backwards from 2017. Which to me is as much a product of their recruiting budget as it is the coaching. It's never really a shock when the 2 biggest budget rosters end up in the GF)

(that should have been, no idea if there *was* any credibility to the Chambers rumour)

I thiought Chambers wanted to stay home in Melbourne due to family?

Anderson made finals in her 1st year, Grand Final in her 2nd year and didn't make finals this year due to significant injuries. Overall, I think Anderson has proven herself. Not to mention how many SEABL titles she's won at Rangers.

You forgot to mention Kunek had 2 points playing for the opposition in double O.T

I also watched the game (the LFB website has ALL games streamed there available to watch at any time and I'm assuming it's not geoblocked anywhere either because I could watch it in Aus). Batkovic was phenomenal, especially considering she would've arrived in France sometime during that week so wouldn't have even had a full week of training with her new side. She was definitely too big and too experienced for her opposition, I'd highly recommend watching the game - I thought it was a great contest. I agree on Kunek being played out of position at PF, but IMO did a few nice things defensively. Her team definitely wasn't playing the way the Lynx did, she was open plenty of times which would've been recognised by Perth but not by the French team. I think the player she was the injury replacement for was a center, so I guess that explains why she's being played out of position.