WNBL free agency: Anneli Maley the first to re-sign with Lynx since new owners took control
In Melbourne chasing her dream of wearing the green and gold in Paris, the WNBL’s rebounding queen Anneli Maley has put pen-to-paper on her next contract.
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Anneli Maley will spearhead Perth’s road to redemption after the rebounding queen became the first player to put pen-to-paper since new owners took control of the beaten grand finalists.
CODE Sports can exclusively reveal the 25-year-old, in Melbourne this week competing against China in 3X3 clashes ahead of the Paris Olympics, has signed a one-year deal to remain at the Lynx.
Perth went into free agency without a single name on its roster after all 10 Lynx players came out of contract at the end of last season.
With the club in the throes of a licence transfer from Basketball WA to local hoops superfans Jodi Millhahn and Christian Hauff, the new owners have kicked off their 2024-25 roster rebuild with the retention of the World Cup bronze medallist.
The Maley news comes on the same day coach Ryan Petrik, the WNBL’s coach of the year in 2022, recommitted to the club for next season.
Maley was an integral part of a Lynx outfit that snuck into fourth place in the final round of the season, before falling to Southside across three championship games.
The 2022 WNBL MVP while in Bendigo, Maley made the move west at the beginning of WNBL23 and, while her performances were often vital to team success, she closed the season with two below-par displays as Southside escaped Perth in a drama-packed game two and then annihilated the Lynx in game three to claim the title.
That disappointment will fuel her in WNBL25.
The daughter of NBL legend Paul Maley, Anneli, at 185cm, possesses a unique and uncanny ability to read and understand angles, along with a desire to crash the glass that makes her one of the best pound-for-pound rebounders ever to play in the Australian league. Her 12.2 rebounds per game was second in the entire WNBL, and her 12.9 points made her one of only two players (Alex Sharp) in the competition to average a double-double.
Maley has become a shining light for the LGBTQI+ community and a uses her platform to advocate for and highlight issues in the mental health space.
She won a bronze medal with the Opals at the 2022 World Cup and is presumed a walk up starter for the 3x3 Gangurrus at the Paris Olympics.
Petrik, 43, said he had unfinished business in Perth, having been to the championship series twice in the past three seasons.
PERTH LYNX ROSTER
Coach: Ryan Petrik
Contracted: Anneli Maley
Out-of-Contract: Alex Ciabattoni, Amy Atwell, Sarah Allen, Amy Jacobs, Aari McDonald, Emily Potter, Steph Gorman, Chloe Forster, Emma Klasztorny,
STRATEGY BEHIND MELBOURNE’S DEAL DECISION
Jade Melbourne hasn’t ruled out playing for the UC Capitals in the 2024-25 WNBL season, despite opting out of her contract early to explore free agency.
The 21-year-old UC Capitals co-captain sparked interest across the entire WNBL when she decided to look at her options outside Canberra following four seasons representing the blue and gold.
After the re-signing of coach Kristen Veal for another season in February, the UC Capitals last Friday announced that Veal would be stepping down for medical reasons and former UC Capitals coach Paul Gorris would return to the helm.
Melbourne said a coaching clause in her UC Capitals contract had allowed her to dissolve the agreement and look elsewhere.
Her sole reasoning for doing so was to explore her value on the market.
“Vealy (Kristen Veal) had stepped down from coaching and there’s an out clause in my contract that says if there is a head coach change I can opt out,” Melbourne said.
“So basically I’ve opted out as I wanted to explore the market, see where my value is and see if there’s potentially another option out there for me.
“But the Caps are very much in consideration, I’m not crossing a line through them, but essentially off the end of my contract I just want to see what I’m worth.”
With leading talent such as Steph Reid taking opportunities in Europe rather than staying local, Australian basketball fans can rest easy because Melbourne said she “will definitely be playing the WNBL next season”.
Melbourne also found herself at a new WNBA team after the Seattle Storm traded her to the Washington Mystics on the eve of the season.
Jade â©â©#BallOnOurTermspic.twitter.com/PePJuDEIHm
— Washington Mystics (@WashMystics) June 15, 2024
With WNBA in action and her sights on an Olympic campaign, the guard said she was keen to make a decision as soon as this week so she could turn her attention back to her present most pressing goals.
“I’ve heard from most teams and he (Melbourne’s management) is managing it, setting up zoom calls when I can,” Melbourne said from her Washington apartment.
“But I want to make a decision fairly quickly.
“I don’t want to muck teams around and for myself as well, I want to focus on my goals for this year, which are going to the Olympics and being a good player for the Washington Mystics.
“I think within the next few days I’ll have a decision made for where I’m playing next season.”
With the WNBL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) finally confirmed for the 2024-25 season, the WNBL free agency period opened last Friday, which Melbourne said had affected “almost everybody in the league”.
“It’s had an impact on coaches because they have to put a team together quickly in a short amount of time,” Melbourne said
“It has had an impact on players because they want to know what they’re doing over the summer and it’s especially had an impact on ninth or 10th-role players because they don’t know if they are going to have a job or not.
“It’s been hard for everyone but the players’ association has done a fabulous job getting a great CBA together.”
Opals and WNBA star Bec Allen emerges as a WNBL free agency target for Geelong United
OPALS and WNBA sharpshooter Bec Allen has emerged as a marquee free agency target for the WNBL’s newest franchise Geelong United.
Code Sports can reveal Allen is on United’s radar as the perfect player to help launch the club in its inaugural season.
The veteran guard, currently playing at the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA, last played in the WNBL between 2012 and 2015 with the Melbourne Boomers.
Allen has also excelled for the Opals on the international stage, winning a World Cup silver and two bronze medals while representing Australia at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
The 31-year-old hailing from Wangaratta in regional Victoria would become the face of Geelong if she joined the franchise.
It comes as a whopping 88 WNBL players across eight teams are off-contract heading into one of the biggest free agency periods in league history.
Code Sports has every club’s list of free agents, with a large percentage of the competition off-contract.
2024 WNBL FREE AGENCY: *import player
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BIG OPALS DUBS 🔥
— Sydney Flames (@TheSydneyFlames) June 3, 2024
Our Flames Tess Madgen, Cayla George and Lauren Nicholson played crucial roles in the Aus Opals 2-1 series win over China!
Check out the report here 👉 https://t.co/85ehjtr8Ua#FlameOnpic.twitter.com/mQfnPASnaG
Originally published as WNBL free agency: Anneli Maley the first to re-sign with Lynx since new owners took control
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