Discussions happening to bring a WNBL team to southeast Qld after six seasons off the court

After six seasons without a team and two botched attempts – it appears a WNBL team returning to southeast Queensland may be gaining momentum.

It’s been six long seasons since the WNBL has hit the court of southeast Queensland but it appears plans have already started to bring an expansion team to the region.

Just days away from tip-off in the 2021/22 season, one of the best women’s leagues in the world still remains without a franchise in an area, which Basketball Australia CEO Matt Scriven has described as a “heartland” of the sport.

But there have been movements behind the scenes to start the process of putting a bid together for a team in the coming years.

One basketball administrator in southeast Queensland said he had been approached by people and was engaged in discussions regarding a WNBL bid.

“Southeast Queensland needs a team for sure,” he said.

However, he also said unfortunately it did not look realistic in the next two seasons.

Kristen Veal playing for the Logan Thunder in 2014. The Thunder represented southeast Queensland in the WNBL for six seasons before folding.

Scriven said he believed the WNBL would need more teams in the near future.

“The number of girls playing basketball in Australia continues to grow rapidly and we envisage that the WNBL league will require more teams to facilitate the number of players we have coming through at the elite level,” he said.

”Southeast Queensland is a basketball heartland and would be ideal for an expansion team based on participation numbers.

“The WNBL have had teams in the past in SEQ and we believe will again in the future.”

The last time southeast Queensland boasted a WNBL team was in the 2015/16 season with the one-season wonders that were the SEQ Stars, who miserably failed in an attempt to replace the region’s previous team in the Logan Thunder.

SEQ quickly fell into financial trouble just six months after being granted a license while the Thunder folded after the 2013/14 campaign following six seasons in the competition.

The SEQ Stars one and only season in the WNBL was in the 2015/16 season, where they lost in the preliminary final to Townsville. Picture: Wesley Monts

But a lot has changed on the basketball scene in southeast Queensland since 2016 including the return of the Brisbane Bullets as well as the sport experiencing major growth in the state even despite the Covid pandemic.

Junior membership numbers as well as female participation in Queensland has also significantly grown during this time.

On top of that, the sheer amount of female talent who hail from southeast Queensland shows the region needs a WNBL team – not only to create a more direct pathway but just to give these elite athletes the chance to play at the highest level in the country.

Two-time WNBL champion Maddison Rocci played for the Southern Districts Spartans in the NBL1 North competition. Picture: Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images

This talent was on show in the recent inaugural NBL1 North women’s finals with arguably two of the best NBL1 teams in the country playing out a championship series which had everyone on the edge of their seats.

That series featured more than 10 players with WNBL experience including the likes of Opals squad member and Southside Flyers star Maddison Rocci, Sydney Uni Flames’ Kalani Purcell, Townsville Fire forward Nadeen Payne, Canberra Capitals big Mikaela Ruef, New Zealand Tall Ferns Ashleigh Karaitiana, Chevannah Paalvast and Ashley Taia as well as several players who should be in the league such as Mikhaela Cann and Maddy Willey.

Unfortunately no team in southeast Queensland has made it much more difficult for some players to feature in the WNBL, including former Melbourne Boomers forward Karaitiana and Townsville Fire championship player Cann, who both have children of their own.

Former Townsville Fire championship guard Mikhaela Cann is a southeast Queensland talent. Picture: Alix Sweeney

Maddy Willey, who plays NBL1 North for the Southern Districts Spartans, would be a strong chance to feature in the WNBL if there was a southeast Queensland team.

While others, such as Willey, would no doubt have been given more of an opportunity – a deserved one at that – if there were a team in the area.

“The amount of elite talent in the NBL1 North women’s competition is phenomenal and a true testament to the appeal of basing a team in southeast Queensland,” Basketball Queensland chief operating officer, Joshua Pascoe, said.

“Basketball Queensland supports any initiative that gives female athletes in southeast Queensland the chance to stay at home and play professionally.”

Scriven also said Basketball Australia expected record attendances in light of it being a World Cup year with the event being played on home soil in Sydney.

But one thing is clear for the WNBL to move forward, there needs to be a team in southeast Queensland – however after two botched attempts in the past 13 years, this time it needs to be done properly.