The WNBL Grand Final series ended as March began, and the offseason is just getting started as the month comes to an end. Head coaches have been moving in every direction while young players started re-signing with roughly seven months in hand before the next season.
Geelong Venom
The first cab off the rank was Chris Lucas of the Geelong Venom, who opted out of a mutual option to helm the franchise’s third season. Lucas was the inaugural head coach for the team after they relocated and rebranded from the iconic Melbourne Boomers. In February, Lucas shared:
“They made me realize every day why I coach. I have loved every minute with these young women, they motivate me every day and what I admire more than anything is the way they’ve handled the adversity we’ve been through and a horror run of injuries.”
“They have stayed together, they’re a great group of people and I wish them nothing but the absolute best for their basketball futures and decisions made moving forward.”
Lucas also added, “it’s now time to spend time with my family, refresh and reflect. If the opportunity presents itself, I’d love to coach again. I’m really passionate about it.”
With his departure comes the return of a WNBL stalwart in Cheryl Chambers. Her last foray in the WNBL saw her cutting the net at the end of the 2023-24 season with the Southside Flyers. Her ability to attract reputable players cannot be overstated, with her Flyers roster boasting the likes of local legends Lauren Jackson and Leilani Mitchell, as well as imports Jasmine Dickey and Mercedes Russell.
Following the news of her signing, Chambers spoke about what enticed her to Geelong with the WNBL in a press release: “It’s just a wonderful sporting town, that really attracts me. They’re only two years into the league and I think it’s a place where I can make a real difference.”
“I’ve been able to use the time to add to my craft. It’s been a really good period of time to reignite, learn and develop a lot.”
“There’s lots of competition and players will go to the place that suits them, it’s great that we’ve got some really good experienced coaches in the league,” she added.
Chambers understands the nuances of the league and Australian basketball, having coached 326 games and remained as an assistant on the Opals coaching staff since 2017. Even with her two year hiatus, she’s a three-time WNBL champion coach in the past decade. Oddly enough, this still makes her the winningest coach in the past decade by measure of WNBL championships.
Venom CEO Mark Neeld spoke with The IX Basketball on what Chambers brings to the team: “She’ll bring vast experience in not only game day coaching, but developing a program over time, developing individual athletes, working towards assisting some of our local talent plus other players, Australian born players, to be putting their hand up for Opal selection. So where she brings a lot to our program and not just to the players that will be in the Venom team, but to our entire Geelong United basketball community.”
Neeld then spoke on what sets Chambers apart: “She’s very much down the education path on coaching. She’s one of these coaches and people that is always looking for ways to improve. Going out of her way to engage in training and engage in mentorship to make sure that her methods, etc., that people can stay relevant, they stay modern. Being fully aware that the way that people learn from generation to generation is changing. Our education system changes a lot and regularly. Cheryl’s making sure that she’s doing what she can to make sure that her methods are adapting to that. So she’s a very impressive coach, Cheryl, a very impressive person to speak with.”
The Geelong Venom went a combined 13-31 in their first two seasons. They finished equal last in their debut campaign and second last in the season just past. When the WNBL announced its new CBA ahead of the 2025-26 season, the Venom headlined themselves as a franchise showing a willingness to spend. They attracted imports Alissa Pili and Mackenzie Holmes, with the latter being the early frontrunner for MVP. They also brought in global Aussie talent Shyla Heal, but the roster was decimated by injury.
“First and foremost we were very pleased with the roster that we had put together for last season and injuries happen,” Neeld said. “It’s a part of sport, it happens all around the world in all sports.”
He then made mention of how fresh the appointment of Chambers was, “I’d urge you to keep in mind, we only [just] made the appointment. We had a roster management committee meeting this morning which Cheryl is an enormous part.”
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With Alex Sharp being the only player currently under contract in Geelong, Neeld looked forward to what a roster under Chambers might look like: “Cheryl has presented her ideas around the scaffold and the make up of a roster, and there certainly will be a recruitment strategy. Cheryl’s got some clear ideas about how she wants to play and how that lends itself to having a roster over time, not just this season.”
“We’ll be looking for players that will complement the style of play that Cheryl wants to bring to our organization. And we’ll also be looking for a number of players that Cheryl believes will fit that over time, that she can keep together as a core group. I think it’s extremely well documented that in the sport of basketball, one of the things that’s missing with rosters is a high retention rate. And we know that that is so closely linked to on-court success. So Cheryl will be looking for a group of people that she is going to work with over time.”
Chambers’ last game in the WNBL saw her winning a championship. It appears that success is the end goal for Geelong, but they’re willing to be patient while they build something substantial.
Southside Melbourne Flyers
The Venom weren’t the only Victorian team to have a coaching change, with the Southside Melbourne Flyers announcing that Kristi Harrower would be leaving in lieu of Australian basketball figurehead Sam Mackinnon.
On the in a press release, owner Gerry Ryan stated, “We thank Kristi for her contribution to the Flyers and wish her every success in her ongoing head coaching role in NBL1 and into the future.”
ESPN’s Megan Hustwaite posted on Twitter that: “Among several reasons given to the 4x Olympic medalist was that she had not improved as a coach.”
Otherwise, not much has been said on Harrower’s departure. In her first season at the helm of the Flyers, they tied Geelong for worst record in the league. They finished fourth in the most previous season and took a game from the Townsville Fire in the semifinal series. It would be the Fire’s only loss in the postseason en route to a WNBL championship.
Enter Sam Mackinnon, who has a long resume in Australian basketball across his playing and coaching career. Of Mackinnon, Ryan shared in a press release: “We are thrilled to welcome Sam to the Flyers. His distinguished playing career and extensive coaching experience bring outstanding leadership and a proven ability to build strong teams. He will drive a high performance culture, sharing our vision to deliver both team success and the individual growth of our athletes, on and off the court.”
The move has been met head on by Flyers fans, but as the old adage goes; winning fixes everything. If Mackinnon brings his pedigree to the WNBL, it can paper over any lingering resistance from the offseason.
Bendigo Spirit
Staying in Victoria, the Bendigo Spirit are happy with what they had last season. There is no head coach signed at present but players are re-signing by the day. Georgia Booth and Olivia Pollerd have re-upped in the past week, while MVP Isobel Borlase was the second domino to fall in free agency after fellow 2024 Atlanta Dream draftee Nyadiew Puoch re-signed with the UC Capitals. For what it’s worth, the pair of Dream draftees signed in the WNBL on the eve of the WNBA CBA announcement.
Borlase spoke to The IX Basketball on her motives for re-signing: “I really enjoyed my season last year. I think it was the environment, the coaches, my teammates. I think why change something if it was successful. That’s why I wanted to go, because I enjoyed it so much and I hope that with most of the girls coming back, with Polly signing and all those sorts of things, we can build on what we did last year.”
She was MVP in her first season with Bendigo, an organization touted for having high character people. “In particular, Kelsey’s perspective on the game,” Borlase said of Spirit captain Kelsey Griffin. “She has been around for so long. Her perspective is quite calming. She just breaks it down to a basketball game and like the sun comes up tomorrow.
“I think, for a lot of us young players, we think that. Like the outcome of this game is going to dictate the way we feel and those sorts of things. I think the way that she breaks it down like, we don’t actually know what the outcome of the game is going to be, but if we can control our effort and planning for each other. I think that’s what brings good teams together if you want to play for each other, that’s something you can control. So yeah, I think those philosophies, I think I always believe that, but I think being a part of Bendigo last year it made me feel it, I guess. I felt that a bit when I was playing with the Opals and that’s the sort of teams I want to be a part of,” Borlase continued.
At just 21, Borlase is ahead of her peers and continuing to evolve her game. She’s a sponge, taking on and implementing Griffin’s philosophy which Griffin has refined over her 16 year professional career. By Borlase’s age, Griffin had yet to start said pro career. Borlase also reflected on the past season with cutting honesty:
“I think Townsville and Perth were probably the two best teams and we could definitely compete with them and get a game off them every now and then,” she said. “I think it just showed that they were the two better teams at the time and I think perhaps our depth, we probably struggled in that area. Losing Tolo probably hurt us a little bit, but it also enabled Kelsey Rees and Liv Pollerd to stand up. There’s pros and cons to it, and yes, perhaps towards the end of the season, [Griffin] was maybe not producing like she was in the middle of the season. But we needed to find other ways to be successful and she was a big part of our success, but it can’t just be her carrying us all the way.”
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Borlase then cast her eyes upon the 2026-27 horizon: “To keep everyone, to be honest, not too much needs to change. I think we gained some experience from last year. That was like our first little snip at Finals for a lot of us, except for Abbey Wehrung and [Griffin], so I think experience will help us. Perhaps just finding a couple of different scoring avenues. I think it showed Townsville’s depth in that area. You need everyone contributing at different times and I think if we can find different avenues to score and play good defense, that will help us a lot.”
Griffin’s future is unknown, but she has just signed for the Bendigo Braves in the NBL1; a competition that runs in the WNBL offseason. She debuted for the Braves at 38 years old on the weekend, alongside rookie head coach Tess Madgen, of whom Griffin is her senior.
Adelaide Lightning
Madgen has also been busy in the WNBL, signing as the general manager for the Adelaide Lightning. This news came just days after the Lightning extended head coach Aja Parham-Ammar for two seasons. Parham-Ammar joined Adelaide amidst the past season after Kerryn Mitchell was let go seemingly overnight. It was a whirlwind that took all of four days for Parham-Ammar, as she explained to The IX Basketball:
“It was literally about three to four days of a turnaround,” she said. “I got a message on a Tuesday, met with the ownership in Moh and Mel, the owner and CEO of the team. And from there, I was coaching on Sunday. It was a very, very quick turnaround.”
Now in March of 2026, Parham-Ammar not only has one whole offseason cycle to build this team behind the scenes, but two: “The team that we had on court last year, we maximized our potential,” she explained. “And I think that we know what different positions we need, what different kinds of personalities that we need. A little bit more experience across the board would be of use for us, then we just continue to build from there. Ultimately the wins and losses will take care of themselves and more so, continuing to build on what we did in the back end of last season.”
There were a lot of positives for the Lightning and the environment they were able to cultivate is a clear strength, regardless of the success in the win column: “Look, it’s almost like a family,” Parham-Ammar said. “It sounds, kind of, corny. Ultimately you’re battling against each other every day, you’re spending so much time with each other. And so it’s really important to have good humans involved, and when you can have the good humans, it makes for getting up to go to work and, you know, put your body in the line and all of that. It makes for that to be easy”
It brought the most out of a few players, with no brighter spark than Breakout Player of the Year Dallas Loughridge. It was Loughridge’s first season both with Adelaide and as a starter.
“Dallas is a workhorse,” Parham-Ammar said. “It wasn’t surprising after I got to know her and see how much she wants to be in the gym and how hard she works and how much she wants to sit and watch video and learn and continue to develop her game. Like really, and I truly believe this, sky’s the limit as to what her potential can be. She can shoot the hell out of the ball. She can handle the ball. She’s great defensively. She’s a really good teammate. She’s young, she’s eager, she’s learning. She’s gonna continue to get better, and yeah, it’s gonna be fun to be a part of that.”
Extending beyond that were the strengths of the team at large, which Parham-Ammar had a very intriguing insight: “We had a really, really good personality of the team, and the players came in to work every day. They enjoy each other’s company. They enjoyed each other’s space and although that didn’t equate to wins, it makes for a good foundation to build on that. And I think we’re gonna bring back enough players where we’re able to maintain that personality, and build on the skills and experience that we kind of lacked last season.”
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As for Madgen, creating a team environment where players can enjoy working and turning up to isn’t new to her. The Lightning general manager captained the Australian Opals to a medal less than two years ago at the Olympics and understands the intricacies of team success more than most. She was an advisor for the Lightning last season and will now have a direct hand in shaping the organization for the next two seasons. Along with Parham-Ammar, she’s very complimentary on how the team was able to craft its welcoming atmosphere, telling The IX Basketball:
“There were some tumultuous times last year, so I just tried to be around the group in those moments and use the experience I had with the Opals to, I guess, bring that culture together. But all credit to the players, they were just such a fantastic group to be around and the locker room was really healthy and really happy the whole way through the season. It was just always such a pleasure being around the team.”
She spoke in greater detail as to what this is built upon: “I think players are happy and taken care of off the court, like, it really, really helps. At the end of the day, it really comes down to the personalities and the type of people that you do recruit. Obviously the locker room was filled with a lot of South Australians, we’re pretty great people! But besides that, I think being really mindful of the players that you bring into a team, you can’t have all the same type of personality. You need to have a really good mix and I think the club did a fantastic job in their recruitment of personalities last year. That was one thing that they did fantastic for sure.”
“But then we have really great facilities and service providers as well with a state government partnership with SASI (South Australian Sports Institute). And I think players that are taken care of, players know when it’s serious when you’re being invested in as a person. I think that goes a long way into creating a healthy locker room as well. So, huge shout out to the state government and SASI for providing those services,” Madgen continued.
Interestingly enough, both Parham-Ammar and Madgen brought up personality as a strength of the team independently of one another. If the Lightning can maintain a core and a locker room then it will allow any addition to fit right in and thrive in a natural ecosystem.
As for what Madgen believes she brings to the table: “My strength is culture and leading in that front. Making a really positive environment for all players and staff to thrive in and just focus on basketball and everything else is taken care of. I do think the Adelaide Lightning did a great job last year, but as the demands of professional sports increase, I think that’s going to be even more important and more resources need to be dedicated to that. Something I’m really looking forward to is that stakeholder management. So creating really strong connections with the basketball landscape in South Australia. So Basketball South Australia, the district sporting clubs, the community. Implementing, you know, an academy and making a really viable pathway for the young girls in South Australia to one day play for the Adelaide Lightning. It is there, but I think the Lightning can tap into it even more.”
Her insights as both a GM and a recent player go hand in hand. She understands the role basketball plays in the wider community and how important a basketball players identity is beyond their career.
“[I reflected] on my career,” Madgen said. “The ups and downs in it. When I was happy, when I was playing well compared to the other times, it was definitely where I had a more balanced life and all my eggs were going into the basketball, um, basket, I guess. Then as I researched it more, the more we can shape our identity around multiple things, the happier and healthier any human being will be. I guess it’s that work-life balance.”
“And then the personalities, you can’t change your personality. You can obviously grow as a person and I definitely did along the journey of my career, but the traits of who I am are really ingrained from a very early age. You can try and help people on their growth journey, but at the end of the day, you do need that mix. You can’t just recruit someone knowing they’re fiery or someone knowing they’re quiet and expect them to be a different person coming into your environment. So, having that mix, there’s so much research out there on team culture, team environments, successful teams. They do really have a mix and balance of personalities, leaders, followers, introverts, extroverts. Being able to get that mix right often goes so far in having a successful team.”
The Adelaide Lightning sound like a team looking to move forward as a unit and bring positives from last season into this.
UC Capitals
The UC Capitals are in somewhat of a similar position, yet their 2025-26 season was heavily impacted by unavailability. Their core of Jade Melbourne, Sara Blicavs and Zitina Aokuso barely ticked any time on court together throughout the season. Poor health definitely isn’t something they want to take into next season.
They will be taking Nyadiew Puoch, however, who re-signed with the team on March 19. Puoch has since been joined by fan favorite Isabella Brancatisano, and head coach Paul Goriss will remain in the chair for two more seasons. On Puoch’s return, general manager Christy Collier-Hill opened up her response to the news on a video call:
“Nards, officially, welcome back. Could not be more excited. What I want more of those half court shots!”
Collier-Hill then took a more serious tone: “No, look, seriously, on top of being obviously an exceptional athlete on the court, she’s just a terrific person off the court. That’s just exemplified in the work she does for us with our community, camps and clinics, with our sponsors and partners, with all of the fans who absolutely love her. She really embodies what it is to be a Capital. She represents the Caps brand and jersey with such pride and it makes me really proud to see her do that. I just think she’s just such a great person and genuinely could not be more thrilled.”
She may also have let slip a pretty crucial detail: “Obviously I know you’ll talk to her about it, but she’s going to head off to America now that WNBA CBA is done. It’s very exciting and obviously building a roster with Nards at the core of that was kind of part of our thinking.”
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The two year wait for Puoch to join the WNBA was long enough for WNBL fans, but as for what motivated her extension with the Capitals, she shared: “I think I kind of like everything. Moving back, from the last season, I enjoyed it, and I loved being there. And I think this season just topped it off as well. And obviously coming from Melbourne, it’s a lot easier to get to places. I don’t have to be in the car all day, which is nice, but I just love it. I love the how nice it is and the community and everything about it and the club have, like, made it a home for me.”
On her relationship with coach Goriss, Puoch said: “He coaches me really hard which is something I really need. And he does really invest in me. I think every player needs a coach that has that confidence in them. Places where I was lacking in myself, he’s helped me. I was like, wow, I need to be like this and I need to be better.”
That appetite to grow will continue to get her further and further. Puoch, like Loughridge and Borlase, was also born in 2004. Unlike those two, Puoch is a wing who has primarily played off the ball and grown as a shooter and cutter, as well as being an exceptional athlete and lengthy defender. At 6’3, she provides an advantage in size at the three position and is faster than almost everyone in her height class.
The WNBL offseason has hit the ground running. All teams barring Bendigo have a solid head coach in place and at least one core piece to build with. The league is in good stead to build on what it had in the 2025-26 season and the new ownership group can enjoy the fruits of its labor in their second season in charge. The next import class may not be as strong as last season, but the bottom end of the league could be set to improve, raising the standards.
With six months until the start of the season there are still a lot of dominoes to fall, but opening this window now has put front offices on the clock. The WNBA is now set to fit an entire offseason in April and the flow on effect of that could heavily impact the movement in the WNBL.