FRESH off a busy 2024 off-season that included an Olympic medal, Aussie young gun Jade Melbourne is ready to take the UC Capitals to the promised land in the upcoming Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) fixture.

The Capitals endured a tough season last year, finishing with just four wins from 21 games, and ended the campaign on the bottom of the ladder. However, when speaking to Rookie Me Central at the WNBL season launch, Melbourne says Canberra has put in the work over the off-season and is determined to improve.

“We’re feeling good,” she said. “The team has come together really well, the new girls have fitted in seamlessly. We have put in a really good system that suits our personnel and its going to be a great style of basketball.

“Everyone knows I like to play fast. We’ve got pieces that can fit around that and are really athletic. We are going to pride ourselves on the defensive end. We’re gonna get up and down the court and its going to be a really exciting brand of basketball.”

Melbourne loves to play in transition, and that seems to be a focal point for the Capitals in season 2024/25 as the team builds around her creativity at the point guard position.

“That’s the way I play and that’s the way I encourage my teammates to play too,” Melbourne said. “We know transition offence is going to look the best for us when we’re getting stops down the defensive end. We’ll focus on taking care of the ball and making sure we guard our player 1v1.

“We want to be annoying on defence, and we know we’ve looked slow in the preseason when we’re not getting stops so that’s important for us. If you’ve got an open look in the first six seconds of the shot clock, its a green light.

“Go shoot it. If you’re open on the perimeter and you’re a shooter, shoot it, everyone has free reign within reason. Its going to be fun, I am encouraging everyone to get their shots up because that’s how we want to play.”

Melbourne and Nicole Munger are the only returning players for the Capitals from last season, and will take leadership roles for Canberra this season, which certainly excites the former.

“Everyone who has come in has really bought into the system,” she said. “Everyone comes from their own journey and is out to prove a point. We’re excited, there is no fuss at practice. Everyone is competing and working hard and I am excited to put Caps’ basketball on display.”

Melbourne helped the Opals secure a podium finish at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and is one of the brightest young basketballers in the country, stating that she took plenty of lessons from her time in the green and gold.

“The Olympics was crazy, probably the best two weeks of my career,” she said. “In just six games I learnt so much. You’ve always got to be ready, and ultimately I had never played the point guard at the international level. There was a lot of learning on the fly and in between games and watching film with teammates and coaches.

“I learnt a lot about how to play my role and benefit the team by filling a role. It also helped me in taking up leadership and how to find my spots. It definitely helped in the back half of my WNBA season and I am looking to bring that to the WNBL.”

Melbourne was buzzing with excitement with the opportunity to bring success to the Capitals, drawing on last year’s champions in the Southside Flyers as inspiration. The young gun prefers team success over individual accolades and would prefer to bring the title to the Capitals rather than chase it with another team.

With some incredibly talented youngsters recruited over the offseason and Melbourne further developed after experience at international level, expect the Capitals to improve on last season and make a climb up the standings.

ROSTER

Chantel Horvat, Charli Collier, Ella Tofaeono, Indiah Bowyer, Jade Melbourne, Jayda Clark, Katie Deeble, Meg Jefferson, Monique Bobongie, Nicole Munger, Nyadiew Puoch