The World Cup is under a month away. The Australian Opals have stamped their envelope, eagerly posting their squad before any other nation. It’s nearly identical to the team they took to the qualifiers back in March, aside from one massive change, as head coach Sandy Brondello told The IX Sports.
“We’ve stayed true to what we did back in March,” Brondello explained. “We’re really the same team from those March qualifiers, except Isabelle Bourne has come in to replace Cayla George.”
George was the captain of the gold medal winning 2025 Opals Asia Cup team. She and Sami Whitcomb have both had turns at the helm after Tess Madgen‘s iconic reign as captain. Madgen embodied the role of captain to a great degree, routinely playing above her paygrade and hitting every big shot the team required. Her absence was always going to be felt, but George and Whitcomb have stepped into that role with class.
“These leaders that have been a part of this Opals program, and definitely Tess Madgen deserves a huge amount of credit for the work she’s done,” Opals assistant coach Kennedy Kereama told The IX Sports. “Although these players exit the program, you can see the legacy that they leave behind with the level of leadership that they’ve instilled within the group that are here.”
Kereama is the head coach of the Bendigo Spirit in the WNBL. In the past two seasons he has coached the league MVP — last season, it was Isobel Borlase, with Whitcomb taking it home the year prior. He credited the entire pipeline of the Opals system as to how well these players take on new roles in the WNBL, WNBA and with the Opals.
“Those two players who have had incredible WNBL seasons over the last couple of seasons here, obviously they go to the WNBA and their role is significantly different,” Kereama explained. “I think this is what Sandy does a great job of, getting them back into the different type of role that they’re required to play for the Opals.”
Proud to be an Opal
Whitcomb will captain Australia at the upcoming World Cup.
“I think it’s always a point of pride for me,” she told The IX Sports. “It’s always an incredible honor and opportunity anytime you’re selected. So yeah, I’m thrilled about it. I’m really excited.”
As a somewhat new arrival to the Opals program, Kereama noticed this pride carried by the players right away.
“One thing I’ve learned with my small amount of time in the Opals program, is just how much pride that the player’s take in representing their country and representing Australia and wearing the green and gold,” he said. “I know it means a lot to all of them, and I certainly have seen the level of work that these players put in.”
With George announcing the arrival of her second child in 2027, Australia was left with a huge hole. George ticks the experience box, which Australia always prioritizes at international competitions. She can also play the five, a position Australia usually likes to staff up with four of. In the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Opals had George, Marianna Tolo, Lauren Jackson, Ezi Magbegor and Alanna Smith. A few of those players also addressed Australia’s desire for experience.
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At the World Cup in 2022, the Opals had the same cohort, just sans Smith. For the upcoming World Cup, Smith and Magbegor are joined by Zitina Aokuso, with all three options at the five in their 20’s. It’s somewhat uncharted territory for what Australia has taken to major tournaments in recent times.
The good news for the Opals is that Magbegor and Smith are two of the best defensive players in the world of basketball. Both bigs are rediscovering their conditioning at the right time for Australia’s World Cup campaign.
“Alanna Smith is finally getting the mask off, which would have been incredibly difficult to play with,” Kereama said. ”She traded the mask, and Ezi’s inherited the mask now. So I just think there are lots of really exciting prospects for a lot of those players who perhaps were playing limited time and now all sort of starting to play more, which is great for the Opals program.”
Kereama also made mention of Aokuso as a depth piece. “Zitina played a great China series. She’s incredible, and she has an incredible basketball IQ, is really unselfish, probably a little too unselfish sometimes,” he said. “She’s always looking for teammates and looking to make the pass. Does an incredible amount of work with screening, creating separation for her teammates and has got a really nice soft touch around the rim.”
It’ll be a great opportunity for Magbegor and Smith to star in their role with the Opals after interrupted seasons with their WNBA teams. For Aokuso, she has a great chance to announce herself to the world of basketball at a major tournament. A strength of the Opals is continuity, which these three players have.
“I think the biggest difference is that we’ve had time together,” Brondello addressed. “Even though we haven’t had a long preparation, we’ve had more continuity as a unit through training camps, the Asia Cup and the March qualifiers. That’s been really important.”
Tournament generates excitement
Although they’re currently foes at the Phoenix Mercury and Toronto Tempo, captain Whitcomb is aligned with Brondello in the enthusiasm for the tournament.
“I love playing for Australia, representing Australia, and I love the group of women that I get to play with. I think it’s fun that we’ve got some new faces and debutantes,” Whitcomb said. “I’m really proud of them and super excited for the group that remains the same from qualifiers in Istanbul. I really liked how we came together in that tournament. So yeah, super excited.”
Kereama also weighed in on the anticipation for the tournament. “Teams that have good chemistry and synergy early, that’s going to be a huge advantage,” he said. “I certainly can say from my time being in the program that Sandy and the leadership group have got an incredible culture together where people, the players really do go out and play for each other and play for the singlet, play for Australia.”
When Madgen and Jackson retired — the latter for the final time — it turned a page for Australian basketball. There were questions as to what the team would look like and how it would galvanise around a new nucleus. The team answered a few of those questions with relative ease at the Asia Cup, and a little bit more comprehensively at the World Cup qualifiers, but are yet to approach them at a major tournament.
“We’ve got a nice blend of experience, but also young players coming through,” Brondello shared. “Jade Melbourne is still young, [Ezi] Magbegor is still growing, and [Isabelle] Bourne is another young player we’re continuing to develop.”
Brondello also focused on the positives this team boasts across the rotation. “We have versatility, so it depends on who we’re playing. Ezi and Lan will start, and they can both play the four or the five. They’ve got that versatility. Isabelle Bourne is a player I see as a four. Alex Fowler can play the four, and Chloe Bibby can also play the four depending on the matchups.”
The further down the rotation, the more Australia’s depth riches are on display. With five options at the four, it allows the Opals to let Magbegor, Smith and Aokuso key in at the five if need be.
“Really, we see [Isabelle] Bourne as a big in our eyes,” Brondello shared. “We’re very mindful that size is important for us, but versatility is also important. Issie is 6’2″-6’3″, so I still consider her a big.”
With every question about a role comes an answer about versatility. Steph Talbot, Bibby and Fowler will fill most of the minutes at the three, and Bourne spent a large chunk of her last WNBL season alternating between the three and the four with the Southside Melbourne Flyers.
“Alex Fowler is one of the most versatile defenders and rebounders and players going around,” Kereama said. “I think her best position is at the four but can slide to the three, can defend, really, you see her at WNBL defend one through four and defend the five even. She’s just incredibly talented and her work rate is incredible and I think that Shannon [Seebohm] has done an incredible job with her [with the] Townsville [Fire]. She’s just an absolute workhorse and an incredibly unselfish and a great teammate.”
Fowler spoke about her role and her thoughts on the upcoming tournament with The IX Sports.
“They always go into those tournaments a bit closer to the games, telling you what your roles are. But I think my role would kind of be similar to how it is anywhere else,” Fowler explained. “I’m a great off-ball player. I can get other people open and be a good screener, passer, rebounder or whatever’s kind of needed for me; I kind of fit the mould of the team. Hopefully I can do that to the best of my abilities.”
Over the past 13 months, Fowler won a gold medal and MVP at the Asia Cup, a WNBL championship, appeared at the World Cup qualifiers and even had a stint in the WNBA.
“The WNBA is a whole different ball game,” Fowler reflected. “The physicality, the speed of the game, the talent, everything. You have to be on [for] 40 minutes of the game. You can’t lose your focus because the standard’s just so high over there.”
She also spoke on the continuity of the Opals squad from the World Cup qualifiers and how it benefits her as a player.
“I’m really grateful that I got the opportunity because, again, I got to feel what it was like to be against the best of the best,” Fowler said. “Like, Turkey is so aggressive and they’re really physical. All the teams we played, European basketball, they’re all just that next level of physicality and IQ. So to have that leading up to the World Cup, I think it’s really going to help prepare me. It was a bit of a wake up for me. I was like, oh wow, like Asia Cup was really hard, but this is even another level.
“And it was good for me to get a run with the Australian girls, like there’s not many opportunities for everyone to get to be together,” she continued. “So, for me to be around that and try and understand how everyone plays it was helpful for me and hopefully it’ll be helpful going into this World Cup.”
It’s hard to go past Talbot as the starter in the three slot, and Fowler will put Brondello’s mind at ease at both the three and the four whenever the Opals are faced with a question. But Talbot has been, and will continue to be, the answer.
“Talbs very much sits in the middle as a sort of a swing and I think people forget that she has an incredible amount of experience as well,” Kereama declared. “Just to go back one step with form, I mean, Talbs has been playing a really consistent role for the Las Vegas Aces, who have been bloomin’ incredible all season long.”
How the pieces come together
Talbot connects the backcourt and the frontcourt with a unique skillset. The backcourt is extremely strong with Whitcomb, Melbourne, Borlase and Steph Reid; even when Wilson is off with the wings, that’s an elite quartet. The first three are household names in the WNBA, and Reid is coming into her own star in Australia, Europe and China. She will make her return to the WNBL as a marquee player for the Tasmania Jewels in their inaugural season after spending a few years abroad.
“I think playing internationally, and really being an import overseas, is a different experience. I think her game grew there because of that,” Brondello said of Reid. “She’s way more confident now. I think she handles pressure well, she’s improved her shooting as well as her defense, and overall she’s just a better player from the experiences she’s had over the last few years.”
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Reid is an elite table setter and excels at the point of attack. Whether that’s on offense or defense, she can dictate the pace of a game on each end of the court. If the Opals want to keep things going on their terms, or disrupt their opponent, Reid can do both. She’s a full time point guard, but even within that she’s versatile.
“Every player is so vital when you go to any major event,” Kereama said. “Not only are you travelling with them. Understanding most basketball teams, seven to eight players will play the majority of the time and minutes, but all 12 players are still going to be required to have their moments at different times.
“I’ve spent a bit of time with pretty much all these players,” Kereama continued. “Even coached [Chloe] Bibby at NBL1 level. So then you’ve got Chloe as well. You know, talking about front court players, and Chloe, obviously, can play anywhere between sort of the three to the four, similar to [Alex] Fowler.”
Bibby has been here, there and everywhere, both within the WNBA and outside of the States. She claimed gold at the Asia Cup and continues to be a fixture of the Opals. She backed up a Polish league MVP with a Spanish league MVP ahead of her travels throughout the US, having played for a third of the WNBA in one and a half seasons.
“I’ve played with a lot of different teams,” Bibby explained to The IX Sports. “In college, I played with some really good players. Leaving college and becoming a pro and going over and playing in places like Poland and Spain really allowed me to grow my game. At the end of the day, I just want to win. So I think having those opportunities to grow my game obviously really helped. But I also just want to win. So whether that means that I take threes or I wave the towel off the bench, I can do either of those, and I’m really happy to do that as long as we get the win.”
Winning has always been the priority in the Bibby household.
“My family were all super competitive in card games and all that, and it just turns into fights,” Bibby laughed. “But it’s fun — as long as I win.”
“Growing up I always wanted to play for Australia,” she continued. “Watching anything on TV, watching the Olympics and things like that. We’re a massive sporting country, so getting this opportunity to represent on the world stage is just awesome. I never would have thought. So I’m just really excited.”
A fierce yet humble competitor who can have a laugh is all Australians ask of the people who pull on the green and gold. And Bibby is every bit of that.
“Yeah, I’m obviously just honored, really. Any time you get to put on an Australian jersey is just such an honor. I was just super excited, and I think pride just fueled me, and I was just super grateful for the opportunity. So I’m really excited.”
This is clear to Kereama too. “I know that it’s something they certainly mark on their calendars and really look forward to,” he said. “Every player that plays in it, and that’s the same sense I get throughout the locker room of every player that’s been involved in the program in my very short time being around it, is they take a lot of pride in that.”
Kereama sees how proud the Opals are to put on the jersey and represent their country, and he can speak to that eloquently.
“One thing that has impressed me so much about being part of this program is how much they honor their past players and how much of an impact that those players still have on the current group,” he said. “I think one thing this group, this program has done a great job of is they’ve ensured that a legacy of leadership, empowerment and ownership has been passed down to the next group. You can see that they really take a lot of pride in nurturing and highlighting those types of things within the program.”
The Opals’ strengths run deep. In past major competitions, they’ve leant on experience, depth and continuity. In the upcoming World Cup, they’ve had those elements impacted by the availability of their senior players, so they’ve constructed them in new ways. At the pointy end of the competition, against nations like the US, France, Spain, Belgium and China, winning will be a matter of will more than anything else. If Australia can prepare their team to fulfill the needs in experience and depth, then that will be the first step to proving to themselves that they have the will to grit out wins against other top nations.
And frankly, they’re also exceptional at basketball. In FIBA’s latest World Cup power rankings, they have Australia in third, behind the USA and France, which is the equal lowest they have been since 2017, when they fell all the way to fourth. A podium finish is firmly in the Opals sights and this perfect storm of preparation might be what they need to get there.
The IX Sport’s Dylan Kane and Maggie Hendricks contributed reporting for this story.
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