Woods says Fire have 'all the pieces' to win championship

On the verge of the tip-off of the 2025-26 WNBL season, all eight teams are quietly confident about their prospects.

One that isn't so quiet is the Townsville Fire.

Rightfully so too, after taking out the inaugural pre-season 'Townsville Tip-off' in September on their home court.

Because of this, and their solid off-season recruiting, Townsville skipper Courtney Woods believes her squad 'has all the pieces' to go one better than last season's grand final.

"I think the grand final, we obviously learned a lot. It was pretty hard to lose at home against Bendigo in that last bit of the season,” Woods said to the Townsville Bulletin.

“I think honestly, in the recruiting, we’ve added a lot of pieces that we were maybe missing. Adding people like Miela Sowah and Lucy Olsen, I think gives us that little bit extra.

“I feel like this year in pre-season, we know we have all the pieces. That adds a little bit more pressure, but it’s really exciting knowing that we have a team that’s capable of winning a championship.”

Woods, who was part of the Australian Opals' Asia Cup success this year, and her Fire open their 2025-26 campaign with a grand final rematch against Bendigo at Red Energy Arena.

That Round 1 clash of the revamped WNBL competition tips off at 12.30pm AEST, live on 9GO.

Read the full story here >> FIRE UP: ‘We have all the pieces’: Why Townsville Fire should be red-hot WNBL favourites