Southside Flyers
Southside Flyers logo
LeaguesWNBL
Founded1992
History
  • Dandenong Rangers
    1992–2019
  • Southside Flyers
    2019–present
ArenaState Basketball Centre
Capacity3,200
LocationWantirna South, Victoria, Australia
Team colorsAqua, Navy, White
Main sponsorJayco
General managerIan Coutts
Head coachCheryl Chambers
OwnershipGerry Ryan
Championships5 (2004, 2005, 2012, 2020, 2024)
Websitewnbl.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 reasons, they are known as the Jayco Southside Flyers.

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

History

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]

Season-by-season records

Season Standings Regular season Finals Head coach
W L PCT
Dandenong Rangers
1992 3rd 14 6 70.0 Won Semi Final (Canberra, 67–65)
Won Preliminary Final (Melbourne, 67–57)
Lost Grand Final (Perth, 54–58) 		Alex Palazzolo
1993 4th 10 8 55.5 Lost Semi Final (Perth, 68–83) Alex Palazzolo
1994 5th 10 8 55.5 Did not qualify Alex Palazzolo
1995 8th 4 14 22.2 Did not qualify Alex Palazzolo
1996 6th 9 9 50.0 Did not qualify Steve Barr
1997 4th 9 9 50.0 Lost Qualifying Final (AIS, 66–76) Steve Barr
1998 6th 7 5 58.3 Did not qualify Steve Barr
1998–99 7th 6 15 28.5 Did not qualify Mark Wright
1999–00 5th 11 10 52.3 Did not qualify Mark Wright
2000–01 4th 15 6 71.4 Won Semi Final (Adelaide, 83–71)
Lost Preliminary Final (Sydney, 72–78) 		Mark Wright
2001–02 3rd 15 6 71.4 Lost Semi Final (Sydney, 85–98) Mark Wright
2002–03 5th 11 10 52.3 Did not qualify Gary Fox
2003–04 1st 17 4 80.9 Won Semi Final (Sydney, 85–68)
Won Grand Final (Sydney, 63–53) 		Gary Fox
2004–05 1st 19 2 90.4 Won Semi Final (Bulleen, 63–59)
Won Grand Final (Sydney, 52–47) 		Gary Fox
2005–06 1st 14 7 66.6 Won Semi Final (Adelaide, 75–70)
Lost Grand Final (Canberra, 55–68) 		Gary Fox
2006–07 4th 12 9 57.1 Lost Semi Final (Adelaide, 61–66) Gary Fox
2007–08 4th 12 12 50.0 Won Semi Final (Canberra, 60–54)
Lost Preliminary Final (Adelaide, 64–74) 		Dale Waters
2008–09 7th 7 15 31.8 Did not qualify Dale Waters
2009–10 7th 7 15 31.8 Did not qualify Dale Waters / Dean Kinsman
2010–11 4th 12 10 54.5 Lost Elimination Final (Logan, 73–83) Mark Wright
2011–12 3rd 14 8 63.4 Won Semi Final (Townsville, 77–66)
Won Preliminary Final (Adelaide, 91–78)
Won Grand Final (Bulleen, 94–70) 		Mark Wright
2012–13 2nd 19 5 79.2 Lost Semi Final (Bendigo, 71–78)
Lost Preliminary Final (Townsville, 64–78) 		Mark Wright
2013–14 2nd 16 8 66.6 Lost Semi Final (Bendigo, 62–71)
Lost Preliminary Final (Townsville, 71–74) 		Mark Wright
2014–15 3rd 12 10 54.5 Lost Semi Final (Sydney, 80–89) Mark Wright
2015–16 3rd 15 9 62.5 Lost Semi Final (South East Queensland, 82–86) Larissa Anderson
2016–17 2nd 15 9 62.5 Won Semi Final (Perth, 2–1)
Lost Grand Final (Sydney, 0–2) 		Larissa Anderson
2017–18 7th 7 14 33.3 Did not qualify Larissa Anderson
2018–19 5th 9 12 42.8 Did not qualify Larissa Anderson
Southside Flyers
2019–20 1st 17 4 80.9 Won Semi Final (Adelaide, 2–0)
Lost Grand Final (Canberra, 0–2) 		Cheryl Chambers
2020 1st 11 2 84.6 Won Semi Final (Townsville, 106–93)
Won Grand Final (Townsville, 99–82) 		Cheryl Chambers
2021–22 7th 5 12 41.1 Did not qualify Cheryl Chambers
2022–23 2nd 15 6 71.4 Won Semi Final (Melbourne, 2–1)
Lost Grand Final (Townsville, 0–2) 		Cheryl Chambers
2023–24 2nd 13 8 61.9 Won Semi Final (Melbourne, 2–1)
Won Grand Final (Perth, 2–1) 		Cheryl Chambers
Regular season 389 287 57.5 5 Minor Premierships
Finals 18 20 47.3 5 WNBL Championships

Source: WNBL

Players

Current roster

2023–24 Southside Flyers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht.
G 1 Australia Cole, Rebecca (C) 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
F 4 Australia Brown, Lou 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
G 5 Australia Mitchell, Leilani 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
G 7 Australia Loughridge, Dallas 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
G 9 Australia Rocci, Maddison 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
C 11 Australia Ernst, Carley 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
F 12 Australia Wischer, Klara 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
F 13 Australia Puoch, Nyadiew 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
F/C 15 Australia Jackson, Lauren 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
G 17 Australia Booth, Georgia
G 20 United States Dickey, Jasmine (I) 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
C 21 United States Russell, Mercedes (I) 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • (I) Import player
  • Injured Injured
Updated: 28 January 2024

Former players

References

  1. ^ "History". wnbl.basketball/southside. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b "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.

External links

Southside Flyers
Women's National Basketball League (2023–24)
Professional sports teams based in Melbourne
Categories