Honestly, I have no idea where to put my money. Anything can happen, anyone can win, and that makes these Finals extra exciting.

Just a reminder to people discussing the semi finals, that this thread exists

On the disconnect between Sami & Seebolm, I think it's fair enough. Sami is expected to run the point at Opals level & yet doesn't get to run it in the WNBL pretty much at all. What's worse is that her coach is an Opals AC. I don't get why she left Perth.

Where is the commentary around the disconnect between Whitcomb and Seebohm? Are they not getting along where has this come about?

What's Seebolm’s reasoning I wonder? To my eyes, Whitcomb hasn’t been playing at her peak with Townsville nor Seattle over the past few years. Maybe Seebolm thinks she’s over the hump and would prefer to develop Reid.

Can only speculate about decision-making and strategy in a league with no real media around it...

I thought Sami was actually pretty good for Seattle last season, after a down season under Brondello in NY.

I'm a little surprised at the above Sami-Shannon thing. Is there substance to that?
I would have expected that roles would be pretty well defined when a player is contemplating a change of team, and I would also have expected it to be a given that if a team has Steph Reid then she's going to play the traditional PG role, leaving Sami to play mostly off the ball.
(I also would have thought Sami would enjoy that role after being more or less forced to play PG a lot for the Opals and quite a bit in the WNBA)

Agreed Luuuc. I think of Sami as an SG that can play PG if needed, rather than the other way around.

Not sure where the talk of discontent came from but she has definitely underperformed and seemed somewhat out of sorts this season.

Personally I thought Steph was the Fire player most deserving of all-WNBL honors, MVP votes, etc. this season.

If you're playing PG for Opals though Luuuc you need reps at that position. Probably partly blaming no reps for her poor showing in Brazil

Im with Melbourne in a close one tonight and Perth by double digits tomorrow night!

If you're playing PG for Opals though Luuuc you need reps at that position.

Not sure where the talk of discontent came from but she has definitely underperformed and seemed somewhat out of sorts this season.

Bunch of boloni I reckon...

Worth noting, too, that Whitcomb's stated reason for leaving Perth was to improve her chances of national selection.

Her shooting splits for the season are 39/28/76- for some with the reputation of an elite shooter I'd say that's underperforming.
And having said that, she'll probably dominate the finals and be finals MVP!

Can someone help me understand player eligibility for finals. Did I hear correctly that Meg McKay is ineligible because she hasn't played a third of games in the season for Boomer. (Page 22 of the WNBL media guide for this season).

Didn’t Leilani Mitchell play for Boomers in their finals series last year? WNBL 22/23 statistics for her show a total six games, 3 of which were 8-15 March against Flyers (semi final series). Media guide for this season has the same eligibility criteria...

Should Meg be allowed to play if Penina is still out?

I'm also confused at how Wally plays finals based on the rules in the media guide.

https://wnbl.basketball/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/2023-24-WNBL-Media-Guide_.pdf

Southside really pulled through. What a game.

Wallace has been signed the whole season, hasn't she? I would assume there's some sort of injury exemption in that case.

Mitchell's situation was gone over at length last season.

I would get that if McKay had been signed elsewhere or even playing basketball.... But she wasn't… seems rough and she was signed to replace Davidson who is still yet to play (hopefully she is ready for game 2)

Yeah the rules around qualification for finals are really inconsistent.

Disappointing finish for the Boomers last night. That last 3 minutes of the 3rd was abysmal. A whole bunch of turnovers and a couple of late clock heaves. No good looks while Southside was firing at the other end. Turned out to be the game.

Good game that had lead changes throughout.

Game 2 should be interesting to see what Lucas does to change things around.

Good game so far, Perth are a different team when McDonald is on the court

Not sure why Zoe Carr was getting on the Lynx for not fouling. They fouled four times. Can't force the ref to blow the whistle.

Lynx would be much better off if quarters were 30 seconds shorter.

Fire struggling without Ruef. The suggestion that they're resting her for the next game is odd. Can she play this game out or not?

Bloody hell.. any danger of making a free throw, Perth??

Fuck Yeah!

Huge!!

Very good game, Perth slightly better and deserved the win.

Doesn't give me a whole lot of confidence if Ruef is healthy for game two.

Also who scheduled game two of the grand final and game three of the NBL semis on the same night? The Lynx and Wildcats both having home playoff games on the same night is awful scheduling.

Still plenty of scope for improvement for the Lynx
(Fire too, of course)
But Perth really should have won that by more.

WNBL have some serious work to do with their scheduling - last night the crowd was like one of lowest all year as it was against Matildas. They need to be better for the benefit of women's bball and sport.

Last night was clumsy, too, Kobe - Matildas v two NBL semifinals v one WNBL semifinal

Well hopefully either Perth side only needs two games to win/lose ;-p

Different codes across different cities is a bit different, though.

Well hopefully either Perth side only needs two games to win/lose ;-p

Hopefully a Lynx sweep against the Fire would be great! Fire's defense has become so porous in the last third of the season. In the end the Lynx should have won by double figure digits in the end.

Lynx were at 13s to win it all before the semis began.

Incredible yet frustrating game. If Perth win it all, what a story after their season's ups and downs.

What a game, what a final. Aari McDonald take a bow. Perth have been lucky enough to have the likes of Courtney Williams and Jackie Young play for them, but she's right up there. The team was on the brink of this being their last season, and still managed to sign her. Legend.

That game seemed to have everything. Two of the best coaches in the league reacting and trying to figure it out across the full 40 mins. One of the best games of the season imo.

Thought Perth had bottled it after tehy did all that hard work getting a lead but then when they couldn't make a FT whilst Sami was destroying hearts out West making every 3 Townsville looked unstoppable.

They held on though! Awesome.

Townsville overall though, are they spending all their time on the beach? For a team that's had the luxury of not travelling since January they've really seemed to have lost home form on a court that was a literal fortress at times. Concerning, not sure if it is just personnel, or a focus problem but I think they have enough quality to still win the whole thing - though the one-eyed fan in me is hoping their season now ends on Sunday.

Go Lynx!What a game, what a final. Aari McDonald take a bow. Perth have been lucky enough to have the likes of Courtney Williams and Jackie Young play for them, but she's right up there. The team was on the brink of this being their last season, and still managed to sign her. Legend.

That game seemed to have everything. Two of the best coaches in the league reacting and trying to figure it out across the full 40 mins. One of the best games of the season imo.

Thought Perth had bottled it after tehy did all that hard work getting a lead but then when they couldn't make a FT whilst Sami was destroying hearts out West making every 3 Townsville looked unstoppable.

They held on though! Awesome.

Townsville overall though, are they spending all their time on the beach? For a team that's had the luxury of not travelling since January they've really seemed to have lost home form on a court that was a literal fortress at times. Concerning, not sure if it is just personnel, or a focus problem but I think they have enough quality to still win the whole thing - though the one-eyed fan in me is hoping their season now ends on Sunday.

Go Lynx!

Fml, the formatting on mobile...sorry for the mess above.

Awesome game that one...

Cracking game and finish. Perth are in red-hot form going into game 2.

Blicavs ruled out of any further playoff action due to her foot injury

Blicavs has struggled with form & fitness all year, in hindsight it wasn't a great idea to not play at all in the WNBL offseason...

Wonder if there is any more to Blicavs missing, or just purely a foot injury? Melbourne Boomers article said she has ruled herself out, which if true is interesting wording. Maybe it wasn't supposed to say that, but went from starter to bench to decreased minutes? Could be because of the foot, but another thought?

Word is Blicavs isn't injured at all, but rather cracked it over being removed from the starting lineup.

Be interesting to see if she’s on the bench supporting the team or not.

Where did you hear / read this from BIGD? Interesting, but doesn't suprise me either.

Wouldn't surprise me if an Opal cracked it if they had to come off the bench. (Thinking of Sami here too)

I think it's common knowledge Blicavs left Southside because Cheryl was phasing in Puoch at her expense from a minutes perspective & now Lucas is starting to do the same thing at Melbourne. I reckon the only Coach who thinks she is perfect is Sandy Brondello...

Blicavs has struggled with form & fitness all year, in hindsight it wasn't a great idea to not play at all in the WNBL offseason...

I wonder whether Maddi Rocci ever gets home from another hard night of sooking at the refs and actually watches the replay

Some of these calls have certainly got home cooking over them.

Top 5 'I didn't Foul her!’:

1) Maddi Rocci
2) Cayla George
3) Lauren Jackson
4)Keely & Alicia Froling
5) Isobel Borlase

Strong Teflon team you've got there, LOL. Thank God they don’t all play together.

Who’s their coach?

Couldn't agree more Luuuc and SamCro - every single call she complains to the referees. Its actuallyy ridicolous and they are basically all fouls.

Hoopie - Coach has to be Guy Molloy with Chris Lucas Runner Up!

SamCro, you've just started the idea of the anti-Dream Team. Love it!!

Big game today for Fire to stay alive & pull out of their bad form nosedive! Zahuie B needs to do less trash talking & actually start making some type of basketball contribution, she's effectively been out here on a paid holiday offering very little contribution when she’s been healthy! Your on very good money Zahuie B time to show up today when the Fire need you the most!

I'm worried since we have an IKEA here, unlike in Townsville, that so she'll feel right at home.

I'll see myself out.

I was at the Melbourne WNBL game. It was a fun game to watch at the old Cage. Forget how close to the action you are compared to JCA.

What happened to the Fires D and rebounding?
First time I've seen Seebohm furious...

Yeah, Lynx doing an awesome job on the boards so far.

Very good game, Perth deserve this, Poter outstanding.

Would be a great result for Perth, looked out of it with no McDonald. Favourites perhaps against the boomers or the flyers.

Fire look spent, need a huge last qtr.

Did I miss something? What happened to Zitina?

Kunek certainly not 100%...

Both injured for the fire.

Perth just enough, McDonald, Atwell and potter excellent.

Maley and Ciabatoni also very, very good. Excellent game, enjoyable. Perth clearly the better team and well deserved win.

Brutal end for Townsville, the top seed. Hard not to root for Perth, they've been so impressive with Aari back in the lineup.

Will either Southside or the Boomers stand a chance against Perth, I wonder...

Yeah what was with the subs? Zitina and Alice injured? Alice seemed to barely play and I think she would have been handy for more offense.

Reid and Sam seemed out of sorts and were too passive early. I feel Sam playing the point has taken away from her shooting a lot.
Perth have definitely hit their straps at the right time.

Kunek was limping and it looked like zitina hurt her ankle.

The pace of Perth would destroy Southside, boomers would be the best match up.

Fire couldn't get out of their late season nosedive of form maybe their internal issues was too much for them to mitigate. When you’ve got the biggest player budget in the WNBL & limp out in straight sets, changes will certainly happen. I don’t expect Whitcomb or Kunek to be back at the Fire next season.

Good contribution from Maley despite playing this and the previous game injured.
Nice to see the Perth players working hard for each other.
Surprising Perth coach not in the final 3 list for Coach of the Year.

Love these Lynx. So good to watch.

Surprising Perth coach not in the final 3 list for Coach of the Year.

They probably would have gone with Seebohm, chambers, Lucas even if they chose coy after the regular season.

Why they don't wait until the season is over is ridiculous, makes collier look stupid.

Maybe - how do you know Maley is injured? Did Petrik say in his press conference? I love Maley - just an absolute competitor, team player, high IQ and terrific rebounder.

High iq?

Yeah Maley has high IQ of game, knows when to get it inside, when to distribute, attack the rim and read the defense. Her assist numbers have been up the last few weeks, reflecting her improved passing game.

Agree WeedySlug - they absolutely should wait to season is over, the awards were a shambles this year.

how do you know Maley is injured? Did Petrik say in his press conference?

M Rocci and the Frolings (Keely especially) second only to Cambage in biggest whingers and general pains in the arse in WNBL history. Blicavs' opinion of herself is far too high for what she brings.

Would have liked to see a game three for Fire and Lynx, but Fire threw it away for themselves in that first game.

It would be quite the feat for a BWA-owned team to win a professional title.

This season from Perth, from the off-season announcement that this was likely to be their last (I don't think it is, there's been no noise for ~6 months - but confirmation would be nice!) to making the GRAND FINAL series after looking out of the race for finals - what a roller coaster!

Post-Season Potter - yer a wizard [discovering how not to get fouled and therefore more impactful durig the game!]

Everytime I thought Townsville had momentum someone sunk a huge 3. Such a team performance. I was unsure all season if the team cohesion/vibes were as good as last season, but clearly Maley's positivity of Perth is a reflection of how things have been. Also reflects well on the coaches - Petrik has done wonders working out Townsville/Seebohm for a coach not rated in the league's best/ ;)

A Macdonald vs Canada GF series would be some showdown! Melbourne Derby go into many OT quarters please! At least some tiredness to off-set all the travel Perth will have done in last couple of weeks

Those in the know are fully aware of how good Petrik is as a coach, a remarkable achievement given that he's got the 2nd smallest budget in the league (don’t forget Bendigo are paying half of Maley’s salary).

This season from Perth, from the off-season announcement that this was likely to be their last (I don't think it is, there's been no noise for ~6 months - but confirmation would be nice!) to making the GRAND FINAL series after looking out of the race for finals - what a roller coaster!

If the structure of the league is changing then the picture is hopefully a lot better for potential investors as well.

What's happening with the league?

BA are undertaking some sort of structural review.

It's BA though so who knows.

Maybe I have my head in the cloud because I love basketball and the NCAAW has taken off in the US... but I feel this season of the WNBL has been extra exciting and it gives me hope that more of Australia can get invested in the league.

I hope there's real growth in the future. It’s a good product that’s only getting better as more and more young girls grow up realising basketball is a real future for them.

@Perthworld - I hope so! We need a team in the West, and not a good luck if trying to expand into Brisbane if a team is folding. I don't think it is but some news would be nice.

@cabbage NCAAW is getting huge. Can't be understated that Amoore is set to be a household name in the US this month, especially if her team-mate has done ACL, she's going to be doing all the scoring on a contender.

If BA had any foresight they'd try and work out how to use these players being developed, essentially from their pov for free, increasing the player pool for the WNBL. Alex Fowler did alright this year coming straight from college to Canberra.

The crowd numbers in finals would suggest otherwise. Not one finals game has sold out and the average crowd is 1197 for the four games so far.

When you compare that to AFLW season average of 2597 and netball season average of 4437. And that's for the season, not just finals.
Netball routinely sells out games and derbies and have sold out every finals match for the last 3 years.

Then you have a look at the average pay packets.
AFLW = 60,000
Netball = 89,000
WNBL = 43,000

It’s not even a comparison. We have a long way to go and BA needs to take a good hard look at itself in terms of how and where it’s investing to improve the league.

Mid-week games and short notice for finals are the reasons for poor attendance

Would have to think that they need to bring back the players that have gone to Europe. There is easily another team that is playing overseas at the moment. The money is just too juicy over there and with such a small and fragile revenue base in the WBNL that will always be a struggle.

Full free to air coverage for all games maybe a starting point.

FIXTURE UPDATE: WNBL 2023/24 Grand Final Series

On Sunday the Perth Lynx secured their place in the Cygnett WNBL Grand Final Series for 2023/24. Their opponent will be either the Southside Flyers & Melbourne Boomers, who are due to clash tomorrow night in the Game 3 decider of their semi-final, therefore the Grand Final is confirmed to be in Melbourne / Perth / Melbourne (if required).

To ensure the best experience for fans, and avoid clashes with NBL, the finals fixture has been amended, and is now confirmed:

Game 1 - Sunday 10 March – 3.30pm (AEDT) – Melbourne Sports Centres Parkville
Game 2 – Thursday 14 March – 6.30pm (AWST) – Bendat Basketball Centre
Game 3 (if required) – Sunday 17 March – Time TBC – Melbourne Sports Centres Parkville

Note: Game 3 time is TBC due to NBL Grand Final also being on same day. We are working with the NBL to ensure we avoid a time clash, and will advise as soon as confirmed.

@Perthworld - I hope so! We need a team in the West, and not a good luck if trying to expand into Brisbane if a team is folding. I don't think it is but some news would be nice.

@cabbage NCAAW is getting huge. Can't be understated that Amoore is set to be a household name in the US this month, especially if her team-mate has done ACL, she's going to be doing all the scoring on a contender.

Mid-week games and short notice for finals are the reasons for poor attendance

Basketball = global game, you can play in most countries.

Netball = half a dozen countries and minnow sports in most

AFL = media backed big time, one country, less skill required.

If only the pay packets could match. Try getting a college degree in the US or any country playing netball and afl. lol.

So your justification that WNBL athletes being paid peanuts compared to other women's sports in Australia is because they can get a degree in the US?

A degree that has an ever increasing chance of not being recognised in Australia (most athletes don’t work in their field of study at all because it isn’t recognised over here) and secondly, in an environment where a large amount of Australian athletes playing in US college actually stop playing the sport because of their experience in the system. For every big name you hear succeeding, there are many, many more who give the game away because of their negative experiences. The US system is known for their less than great treatment of college athletes, especially in women’s sports.

Selling them a college experience and then less money afterwards over being paid a larger amount of dollars sooner isn’t going to convince anyone.

Who is everyone's tip for tommorow nights game? Boomers or Southside? Looking like an intruguing battle and no doubt both coaches will have to make adjustments again.

No justification at all, just trying to show how stupid our sporting landscape is re global sports.

The Lauren Jackson comeback Cinderella story needs another chapter or two

Perth v Boomers would make for a more entertaining grand final series in my opinion.
Jordin v Aari could be epic- the top 2 players in the league this season (in my guard-biased opinion) going head to head, and the fact that they were recently traded for eachother by their WNBA teams adds to the narrative.

@everyone - of the two Melbourne teams, who has a better chance of challenging Perth?

Tonight I'm rooting for whoever’ll make the Grand Final more interesting!

who has a better chance of challenging Perth?

Southside at home in Melbourne.

Home court advantage, huh?

Maybe because I don't watch a great amount of WNBL but after watching games lately it’s very impressive, you don’t notice the refs like you do in the nbl either. It’s an excellent product.
Jackson unstoppable tonight, a bit like Magnay on her brother the other night.

Jackson dominated.
Boomers can't play D in the 3-4-5 spots.
The end of Lucas? Harrower in?

Wow Lucas gets them to prelim final and now calls for his axing. Is player disconnect as high as they are making out. Harrower great player but head coach, not sure she is ready or has coaching skill set. And, she contributed to apparent players disconnect.

Lucas been in the league for a while now, got to go sometime.
WNBL needs new coaches, such little turnover in a 8 team league.

Veal contract renewed after going 6W, 36L. 14% win rate
Hurst contract? 13W, 29L. 31%
Kereama at 50%

Apart from Heal being replaced by Gorman/Molloy, same coaches as last year.
Year before that the only changes were Goriss and York who both left for overseas opportunities. Both would still be in the league if those opportunities did not come.

When's the last time someone got fired for having multiple poor seasons?
You have to go all the way back to stewart in 19/20.

Coaches tend to stay in jobs despite multiple poor seasons because there's a lot of people who think the perception of good culture and losing means more than winning and results, despite it being a professional league. Second factor to consider is most coaches in professional sports get fired resulting from fan & media pressure, this doesn’t happen in the WNBL.

Be interesting what happens with Hurst given she had a loaded top 6 (7 with Talbot) and how poor they were offensively.

As for Harrower, there’s very little to no chance she’s back at the Boomers next season.

Wow.

That was GOATy af.

Emily Potter will need to be at her best defensively to stop LJ (and Russell) and stay out of foul trouble for Perth to be any chance. What a performance by the GOAT.

Yeah, that is going to test her foul-proneness to the absolute max.

Can Jackson get up and down the floor at Perth's pace?

Petrik will be banking on that being a no.
It's going to be an interesting contrast of styles.

Southside beat Perth twice this year (once with McDonald, once without). The time they lost they were missing Jackson & Mitchell. Maley normally matches up on Jackson, that's been the problem for them. I'm guessing we see Perth in a lot of zone.

Perth were up 20 in one of those losses, for what that's worth.

It is very weird to judge coaches and teams by just using the Wins column as the only qualifier when there's such a discrepancy between team's budgets, roster and season expectations.

There's only 8 HC spots. I would much rather newer coaches get the experience to learn and develop like Veal and Hurst have, than retread with known quantities likes Molloy or Lucas.

Melbourne B were a Melbourne, J miss away from not playing finals. Bendigo run had them from 6th/7th to 3rd and only out on final game. The margins are narrow already, just looking at W-L record is so simplistic.

Why don't you think Harrower would be back at the boomers next season BigD ?

Well... they may be the Geelong United Boomers next year…

why would that mean no Harrower though? Is Lucas signed for next year as HC?