Amidst up and down season, the future is bright for the Caps

The UC Capitals ended the season with a 76-67 win over the Geelong Venom last Saturday and after the club’s awards night and player exit interviews this week, the formalities for the 25/26 WNBL season are officially over.

The off-season looms where Executive General Manager Christy Collier-Hill and newly extended Head Coach Paul Goriss will plot a way for the Caps to move past the team’s consecutive 5th place finishes and jump back into title contention.

"There's some unfinished business of trying to get this club back into the finals again,” said Goz.

"We've been close enough the last two seasons finishing fifth and we want to crack into that top four once again. We want to be consistently finishing [in the top four] and pushing towards winning a championship.”

Makes

While the 25/26 version of the Caps weren’t able to crack the finals, the season was memorable and filled with some incredible on-court highlights that fans will talk about for years to come.

We had two spectacular game-winners this season – both ‘saving’ the season in the context of where things were at both times

Nicole Munger’s three-pointer with 2 seconds left against Geelong in Round 8 came after the Caps had suffered back-to-back losses to Townsville and Perth and were stuck at the bottom of the standings at 2-6. The shot capped a gritty rally from a 7-point deficit with less than 90 seconds left in a hostile road environment and started a 4-game winning streak for the Caps – its first since 2022.

And of course, you wouldn’t be able to tell the story of this season without mentioning Nyadiew Puoch’s steal-to-halfcourt-buzzer-beater to beat the Perth Lynx in Round 12. Similar to the Geelong game, the Caps rallied late to win, with Kadi Sissoko draining clutch jumpers late in that game. In the context of the season, the Caps had just lost two straight games and were missing Jade Melbourne and Sara Blicavs due to injuries. The team needed that game to keep up with Southside in the race for 4th.

Milestone moments

The Caps also celebrated milestone moments for Sara Blicavs (300 games) and Jade Melbourne (100 games) and in page taken from Hollywood, both achievements happened in the same game!

The Caps’ Round 9 game against Southside at home was definitely one to remember for everyone. Special t-shirts, a sizeable December crowd, and a dominant team win over the Flyers. Jade delivered a point guard masterclass (10 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists) and Sara put on a scorching shooting clinic (22 points, 6/9 3PT) en route to a 97-71 victory.

Nyadiew Puoch and Jayda Clark coming into their own

On the surface, Nards’ numbers were slightly down from last season. But her impact, assertiveness and leadership were more apparent this season.

Coming off offseason ankle surgery, Nards started slow offensively as she worked on her conditioning and navigated a new roster. But in the back half of the season, she was thrust into the spotlight offensively and she responded in a big way averaging over 15 points per game in the last 10 games while carrying the offense as the primary option.

Defensively, she was as good as ever, locking down opponents’ best players one-on-one, playing the passing lanes for steals, and flying from the weakside as a rim protector.

Jayda Clark sat out all of last season recovering from ACL surgery. She came back this season looking bigger, better, and ready to step into a bigger role. She stepped up in a big way, playing all 23 games and becoming a reliable two-way contributor for the squad. Using her length and athleticism and a killer off the dribble pullup game, she posted career numbers across the board and capped off the season with a career high 16-point effort against Geelong.

Misses

Injuries and player movements derailing the team’s momentum and chemistry

Perhaps it was an ominous sign Zitina Aokuso injured her knee early in the team’s first preseason hit out in Townsville. The injury knocked her out for almost two months and cost her the first five games. Even when she came back, she was only able to play 3 minutes before sitting out the rest of the game against Sydney and the ensuing week’s match in Townsville.

Then when the Caps were rolling in December, Jade Melbourne would break her hand in the next game costing her 5 games. Sara Blicavs would also sit out the next 3 games with knee inflammation before announcing she would be leaving the club to take up an opportunity in China.

Kadi Sissoko and Teige Morrell each missed games with various injuries as well, and while Nicole Munger played every game, she was dealing with a foot issue which limited her minutes in some games. Even Jade’s injury replacement, Tahlia Tupaea couldn’t escape the injury bug, getting knocked out of her only game after 4 minutes with a concussion.

All the injuries and player movements made it difficult for the team to build chemistry, momentum, and establish an offensive identity, especially with all the new pieces added to the roster this year. This group had massive potential – the team was 5-0 in games where all 10 full rostered players suited up – it just couldn’t fully live up to it with players being in and out of the lineup.

‍What lies ahead

With Goz locked in through the 27/28 season, the next part now is figuring out what happens with the roster as the team and the rest of the league deals with an evolving global basketball landscape.

But the Caps have built an incredible program that gives athletes all the support they need, and prioritises their well-being. The goal is to lock in key pieces of the roster to build continuity in the playing group, before league-wide Free Agency starts.

“There’s no getting around the fact that we were shooting for finals this year – and while we didn’t quite get there, I can say with absolute confidence that this has been an incredibly successful season for the UC Capitals,” said Christy.

“Because success isn’t measured by ladder position alone. It’s measured by growth, connection, standards, and momentum – and across all of those areas, this club has taken significant steps forward.”

With the culture and resources here in Canberra, a rich history, backed by the best fans and the best home stadium in the league, the Caps are an attractive team to play for. The team is right there on the edge of breaking through and the future is bright. It’s only a matter of time before this franchise is back as a contender once again.

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