How the Townsville Fire landed hometown favourite Alex Fowler
Alex Fowler was always destined to return to her beloved hometown team. Read how Townsville secured its local product, plus key match-ups ahead of the Fire’s clash with the Sydney Flames.
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Alex Fowler was always destined to return to her beloved hometown team, the Fire.
Growing up as a triplet didn’t make things easy for the “tall kid” from Townsville, but Fowler was able to forge her own pathway to basketball success with the guidance of some of the city’s most famous ballers.
While basketball began as a way for the Fowler family to burn through excess energy and keep fit, it soon became evident that Alex had a talent that would take her across the globe.
The 23-year-old forward was given her first WNBL opportunity during the 2018/19 season by then Fire coach Claudia Brassard as a bright-eyed teenager, playing understudy to the likes of Townsville legends Suzy Batkovic, Micaela Cocks and Mia Murray.
Fowler made six appearances across that season, and she said it was invaluable experience for the rising star still completing her schooling at St Margaret Mary’s College.
“When I was in high school, Claudia Brassard thought it’d be great for my own development to play alongside and behind Suzy (Batkovic) and all that, which was a really good experience for me,” Fowler said.
“It was quite scary as a little teenager, but it was a lot of fun. It was a cool experience for me to do that.
“Mic Cocks, Mia Murray, Gazey (Kate Gaze), there were a lot of players I really looked up to in that group – like all of them – and a lot of them went through the NBL1.
“A lot of them in the off-season would play for the Townsville Flames, so I got the opportunity to play with them in the off-season as well.”
That was about the time Fowler was first introduced to current Townsville head coach Shannon Seebohm, who was in charge of the Australian under-17s team at the time.
Fowler played her first international tournament in 2017 when she went to India to contest the U16 Asia Cup.
After winning that tournament, Australia qualified for the U17 World Championships where Fowler won a silver medal in Belarus with Seebohm.
She would return to the World Championships as an under-19s player, claiming a bronze medal in Thailand in 2019.
“Around that time is when everything started happening,” Fowler said.
“He (Seebohm) was my under-17s Australia coach. He does a really good job of keeping tabs on his former players, for sure, and everyone wants to come back and play for him.”
After graduating year 12, Fowler was straight on a plane to the United States to play for the University of Portland.
She quickly made a name for herself in her freshman year, and she was named in the All-WCC (West Coast Conference) First Team in all four of her years as a Portland Pilot.
Fowler said she didn’t think she would be such an instant success.
“I wasn’t expecting a lot as a freshman. I came in and no one really knew much about me, so it was kind of easy for me to slide my way in a little bit,” Fowler said.
“I had a good team, a good system around me, and a great coach, so I think that just helped as well.”
When Fowler returned from overseas, it surprised some to see her join the UC Capitals for her first fully professional season.
Despite the Caps’ struggles last season, Fowler said it was an important step in her journey.
“The adjustment from college to WNBL was insane. Everyone always talks about it but until you really experience it, you don’t understand fully the physicality, the IQ, everything is just so much more intense,” Fowler said.
“I think going to the Caps was a good decision for me, just to kind of get out and start fresh.
“I’ve always wanted to play for the Fire, and I’m glad I’ve ended up here, but the Caps was just a great opportunity for me to take, and I think it helped me for my first season.
“I got to experience things, and although we lost, I had a great season with the girls, and I worked on a lot through the year.”
Returning home to Townsville in 2024 gave Fowler an opportunity to work closely with Seebohm, and the WNBL supercoach was able to convince her to give the Fire a go – even if she can’t stand the tropical heat.
“In the off-season, I was training with Shannon and doing workouts every day because I was here for the NBL1 season,” Fowler said.
“He was nice enough to work me out every day to develop my game.
“He caught up for a coffee with me and said he’d love to coach me for a year, just to give him one year, because I’ve always hated the heat here.
“I’ve always hated how hot it is here, but he told me to just to give it a year, and I’ve loved every minute of it, and I’m really glad with the decision I made to stay here.”
Playing at home gives Fowler the opportunity to play in front of many of her former coaches and teammates, and she said she loved being able to inspire the next generation of Townsville basketballers.
“There was Jenny Froling, Alicia’s mum, there was Claudia (Brassard), there was Alison Ward. I mean, there were so many people that really helped me along the way, so it’s really hard to name just one,” Fowler said.
“It’s really special because I get to see all those people come out to the games, and they’re genuinely really happy to see me play when I come on the court.
“The impact that we have on other people and little kids, when they come up to get our autographs and they have our jerseys on, that’s really cool that we got to have an impact on little kids’ lives like that.
“It’s cool that I get to play with ‘Frols’ (Alicia Froling) and Maj (Majella Carey). They are the local kids that have grown up here, so it’s cool to see us still be able to come through that pathway and show other younger Townsville kids that they can do this if they want to.”
‘A NO-BRAINER’: WHY COURTNEY WOODS MUST BE CONSIDERED FOR OPALS
By Kate Gaze
The Townsville Fire’s fearless leader, Courtney Woods, has been a dominant force this season.
She would be at the top of the list on any opposition’s scouting report and the last person opposing players would want to defend.
As we have seen throughout the season, just when you think that ‘Woody’ has been shut down, BANG, she goes on a scoring run and will suddenly have double digits in the points column. Whenever the Fire need a basket or find themselves in trouble, it’s none other than Courtney Woods who somehow finds a way and steps up.
I love nothing more than when we see Woody hit a big three and she turns to the crowd with both arms in the air pumping up the Fire Pit. She’s passionate, she loves this team and she wants to win!
This season we have also seen that not only is she an efficient and effective scorer, but her ability to distribute the ball and assist on so many of the Fire’s scores is remarkable. She is currently second in the league in assists per game, at 5.5 to go along with her 16 points per game which has her sitting in fourth position in the league.
With how she’s playing, she is one of the best players in the WNBL, and would surely be in contention to finally be named in an Australian Opals squad. She certainly deserves to.
We have seen the retirement of Tess Madgen from the Opals, a perfect position for Woods to step into, and with several players on the older end of the spectrum, I think it would be a no-brainer to have Woody in the squad going forward in the lead up to the next Olympics.
KEY MATCH-UPS AGAINST THE SYDNEY FLAMES
ALICIA FROLING v CAYLA GEORGE
George returns to the Fire Pit after playing three seasons, and claiming three championships, in Townsville between 2014 and 2018.
The 366-game WNBL veteran is a bona fide champions with the Commonwealth gold medal and four WNBL championship rings to prove it.
The 2023 MVP is a tough assignment for anyone, and multiple Fire players will likely get the chance to try and slow her down.
Froling has been defensive dynamite this season and she will need to use all of her length to keep George’s impact on the score sheet to a minimum.
ABBEY ELLIS v SHANEICE SWAIN
Ellis continues to impress in her rookie WNBL season, averaging 27 minutes a game.
Swain is a Cairns junior who has enjoyed a breakout year with the Flames, leading the team in scoring after playing just three games last season.
Swain is notching up more than 16 points per game – including the second-most three-pointers in the competition (48) – while dishing out an average of 4.2 assists.
However as Sydney’s main ballcarrier, Swain has given up more turnovers than any other player this season (73) and this is something Ellis can exploit with her tenacious defence.
LAUREN COX v YEMIYAH MORRIS
Standing at 198cm, Morris is one of the toughest match-ups in the WNBL.
The giant Sydney centre is coming off a monumental game against Adelaide where she finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds – a tough task when you’ve got Cayla George as a teammate claiming 13 points and rebounds herself.
The Californian import will likely face off against her compatriot Cox, who will not back down from the challenge despite giving up some height.
Cox has consistently been on of Townsville’s best in offence and defence and she will have to be sharp again tonight.
Originally published as How the Townsville Fire landed hometown favourite Alex Fowler
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