Southside Flyers

Last updated

Southside Flyers
Southside Flyers logo.jpg
Leagues WNBL
Founded1992
History
  • Dandenong Rangers
    1992–2019
  • Southside Flyers
    2019–present
Arena State Basketball Centre
Capacity3,200
Location Wantirna South, Victoria, Australia
Team colorsAqua, Navy, White
Main sponsorJayco
General managerIan Coutts
Head coach Kristi Harrower
Ownership Gerry Ryan
Championships5 (2004, 2005, 2012, 2020, 2024)
Website wnbl.basketball/southside

The Southside Flyers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Flyers compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at the State Basketball Centre. For sponsorship purposes, they are known as the Jayco Southside Flyers.

Contents

The team was founded as the Dandenong Rangers in 1992. In 2019, the team was rebranded as the Southside Flyers.

History

Dandenong Rangers DandenongRangers1.jpg
Dandenong Rangers

The Dandenong Rangers made their debut in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) in the 1992 season after Dandenong Basketball Association (DBA) obtained a WNBL license from the Nunawading Spectres. [1] The Rangers went on to finish as runners-up in their first season. In the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons, the Rangers won back-to-back WNBL championships. They finished as runners-up in 2005–06. The team won their third championship in 2011–12 and finished runners-up again in 2016–17. [2]

In July 2019, the Dandenong Rangers franchise was purchased from DBA by long-time sponsor Gerry Ryan and rebranded to the Southside Flyers. [3] [4] The team continued to play at Dandenong Stadium until moving to the State Basketball Centre in 2022. [5]

In the 2019–20 WNBL season, the Flyers finished as runners-up. In the 2020 WNBL Hub season in Queensland, the Flyers won their first championship and fourth in franchise history. They finished runners-up again in 2022–23. [2] The Flyers won their second WNBL championship and the franchise's fifth in the 2023–24 season. [6] In the third and deciding game of the 2024 grand final series, the Flyers won 115–81 over the Perth Lynx, breaking the record for both the biggest winning margin in a grand final and the highest score. [7] [8]

Following the 2023–24 season, the Flyers sought to rebrand as the Melbourne Flyers following the transfer of the Melbourne Boomers' WNBL license to Geelong. The name change was initially accepted but later declined by the new league owners. [9]

Season-by-season records

SeasonStandingsRegular seasonFinalsHead coach
WLPCT
Dandenong Rangers
1992 3rd14670.0Won Semi Final (Canberra, 67–65)
Won Preliminary Final (Melbourne, 67–57)
Lost Grand Final (Perth, 54–58)		Alex Palazzolo
1993 4th10855.5Lost Semi Final (Perth, 68–83)Alex Palazzolo
1994 5th10855.5Did not qualifyAlex Palazzolo
1995 8th41422.2Did not qualifyAlex Palazzolo
1996 6th9950.0Did not qualifySteve Barr
1997 4th9950.0Lost Qualifying Final (AIS, 66–76)Steve Barr
1998 6th7558.3Did not qualifySteve Barr
1998–99 7th61528.5Did not qualifyMark Wright
1999–00 5th111052.3Did not qualifyMark Wright
2000–01 4th15671.4Won Semi Final (Adelaide, 83–71)
Lost Preliminary Final (Sydney, 72–78)		Mark Wright
2001–02 3rd15671.4Lost Semi Final (Sydney, 85–98)Mark Wright
2002–03 5th111052.3Did not qualifyGary Fox
2003–04 1st17480.9Won Semi Final (Sydney, 85–68)
Won Grand Final (Sydney, 63–53)		Gary Fox
2004–05 1st19290.4Won Semi Final (Bulleen, 63–59)
Won Grand Final (Sydney, 52–47)		Gary Fox
2005–06 1st14766.6Won Semi Final (Adelaide, 75–70)
Lost Grand Final (Canberra, 55–68)		Gary Fox
2006–07 4th12957.1Lost Semi Final (Adelaide, 61–66)Gary Fox
2007–08 4th121250.0Won Semi Final (Canberra, 60–54)
Lost Preliminary Final (Adelaide, 64–74)		Dale Waters
2008–09 7th71531.8Did not qualifyDale Waters
2009–10 7th71531.8Did not qualify Dale Waters / Dean Kinsman
2010–11 4th121054.5Lost Elimination Final (Logan, 73–83)Mark Wright
2011–12 3rd14863.4Won Semi Final (Townsville, 77–66)
Won Preliminary Final (Adelaide, 91–78)
Won Grand Final (Bulleen, 94–70)		Mark Wright
2012–13 2nd19579.2Lost Semi Final (Bendigo, 71–78)
Lost Preliminary Final (Townsville, 64–78)		Mark Wright
2013–14 2nd16866.6Lost Semi Final (Bendigo, 62–71)
Lost Preliminary Final (Townsville, 71–74)		Mark Wright
2014–15 3rd121054.5Lost Semi Final (Sydney, 80–89)Mark Wright
2015–16 3rd15962.5Lost Semi Final (South East Queensland, 82–86) Larissa Anderson
2016–17 2nd15962.5Won Semi Final (Perth, 2–1)
Lost Grand Final (Sydney, 0–2)		 Larissa Anderson
2017–18 7th71433.3Did not qualify Larissa Anderson
2018–19 5th91242.8Did not qualify Larissa Anderson
Southside Flyers
2019–20 1st17480.9Won Semi Final (Adelaide, 2–0)
Lost Grand Final (Canberra, 0–2)		 Cheryl Chambers
2020 1st11284.6Won Semi Final (Townsville, 106–93)
Won Grand Final (Townsville, 99–82)		 Cheryl Chambers
2021–22 7th51241.1Did not qualify Cheryl Chambers
2022–23 2nd15671.4Won Semi Final (Melbourne, 2–1)
Lost Grand Final (Townsville, 0–2)		 Cheryl Chambers
2023–24 2nd13861.9Won Semi Final (Melbourne, 2–1)
Won Grand Final (Perth, 2–1)		 Cheryl Chambers
Regular season38928757.55 Minor Premierships
Finals182047.35 WNBL Championships

Source: WNBL

Players

Current roster

2023–24 Southside Flyers roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.
F 00 Flag of the United States.svg Hillmon, Naz 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)24 – (2000-04-05)5 April 2000
G 1 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cole, Rebecca  (C)1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)32 – (1992-03-19)19 March 1992
G 2 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Burrows, Paige 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)23 – (2001-09-01)1 September 2001
G 3 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Young, Nikita 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)22 – (2002-08-04)4 August 2002
G 7 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Loughridge, Dallas 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)20 – (2004-01-23)23 January 2004
G 9 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rocci, Maddison 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)26 – (1998-06-01)1 June 1998
F 10 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kunek, Alice 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)33 – (1991-01-06)6 January 1991
C 11 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ernst, Carley 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)30 – (1994-08-01)1 August 1994
G 14 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Burrows, Tayah 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)23 – (2001-09-01)1 September 2001
C 17 Flag of the United States.svg Vaughn, Mikayla 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)25 – (1998-12-17)17 December 1998
G 24 Flag of New Zealand.svg Reed, Tera 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)26 – (1998-09-24)24 September 1998
F 32 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Puoch, Manuela 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)18 – (2006-10-05)5 October 2006
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • (I) Import player
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured
Updated: 28 January 2024

Former players

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References

  1. ↑ "History". wnbl.basketball/southside. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  2. 1 2 "2023–24 Media Guide" (PDF). wnbl.basketball. p. 62. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  3. ↑ "SOUTHSIDE FLYERS – A NEW LOOK TEAM IN THE WNBL". wnbl.com.au. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  4. ↑ Ward, Roy (2 July 2019). "Gerry Ryan to take over Dandenong WNBL licence". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  5. ↑ "FLYERS LAND IN BASKETBALL HEARTLAND". wnbl.basketball/southside. 18 July 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  6. ↑ "WNBL24 SOUTHSIDE FLYERS CYGNETT WNBL CHAMPIONS". wnbl.basketball. 17 March 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  7. ↑ O'Donoghue, Craig (17 March 2024). "WNBL grand final: Perth Lynx smashed in game three by Southside as championship dream gets shattered". The West Australian . Archived from the original on 17 March 2024.
  8. ↑ O'Donoghue, Craig (17 March 2024). "WNBL grand final: Perth Lynx coach Ryan Petrik admits inexperience was costly against Southside in decider". The West Australian . Archived from the original on 17 March 2024.
  9. ↑ Randall, Michael (5 October 2024). "Tasmania Jackjumpers star Will Magnay learns verdict after NBL Game Review Panel investigates 'choke' in Cairns Taipans game". codesports.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 October 2024.
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