THE WNBL has wrapped for another year, and there was plenty of excitement across the course of the 2023 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a different looking landscape as the campaign rolled on, with contenders rising and falling in a tense finish to the home and away fixture. Ultimately, the strongest side in the Townsville Fire<\/a> claimed the grand prize, but other teams showed plenty of promise and delivered highlights of their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we did with the NBL over the past few weeks, Rookie Me Central <\/em>will be taking a look at how each side fared in the 2022\/23 season, with mixed results across the eight teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was a tumultuous campaign for the Sydney Flames<\/a>, who dealt with some unfortunate off-court issues that proved to be a constant distraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The team parted ways with head coach Shane Heal<\/em><\/strong> and his daughter and star player Shyla Heal<\/a> headed north to join the Fire. Both moves happened mid-season and came with a reasonable amount of consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shelly Gorman <\/em><\/strong>replaced Heal at the helm, and the Flames played at a much higher level. Their style of play completely changed and began to get some wins on the board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although it was a case of too little, too late given the poor play seen in the first half of the fixture, Sydney showed an immense amount of potential to close out the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Flames were forced to deal with an off-court saga that changed the look and dynamic of the club, but appeared to have manoeuvred the issue well, and looked a different outfit to close out the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Froling was a powerful presence for the Flames across the entire season, maintaining her consistency across the rockiest of periods. She formed a damaging duo in the back half of the fixture with Tiana Mangakahia<\/a>, and the pair were the spark that turned things around for Sydney. Froling appears to improve on a yearly basis, and has firmly established herself as one of the best bigs in the country. The 27-year-old posted averages of 18.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, in yet another eye-catching campaign for the Townsville native.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Flames will be looking at their performance in the second half of the fixture as the blueprint for the 2023\/24 season. Under Gorman, the Flames played inspired basketball, and will be eager to replicate that by the time Round 1 arrives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Their offence will need to improve, as the Flames delivered the least amount of points per game, so the team will be likely looking to add a number-one scoring option in the coming months, while Mangakahia may take another step forward after a promising first season in the WNBL. However, a one-point win over the Flyers on the road showed the Flames had the tools to take it up to anyone, so a winning formula is not far away, and could come in their next campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\nSydney Flames<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2022\/23 record – six wins, 15 losses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
MVP – Keely Froling<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Next season<\/h3>\n\n\n\n