The key to Ellis' strong start to season

Going into the 2025-26 campaign, all signs were pointing to a massive WNBL season for Abbey Ellis.

The electric guard won last season's Betty Watson Breakout Player of the Year for breakout player of the year, before being part of the Australian Opals' Asia Cup gold medal winning side.

So when the 24-year-old scored a career high 31 points in Townsville's grand final replay win over Bendigo in Round 1, it came as no surprise to coach Shannon Seebohm.

“She was fantastic throughout the pre-season, and I think I was really impressed with how she came back in with her mindset,” Seebohm said to CODE Sports.

“She’s worked really hard on her body, gotten stronger this off-season, and you can just tell she’s now comfortable within how we play and she understands our system really well, and that was evident throughout the pre-season.

"We kind of saw that a performance like this was coming.”

Ellis and her Fire will look to make it two straight wins to start the season when they travel to Canberra on Saturday to face the Capitals at the AIS Arena.

That Indigenous Round fixture tips off at 7pm, live on ESPN2 and 9Now.

Tickets to the Capitals home opener are still available here.

Read the full story here >> Gruelling pre-season behind Ellis’ stunning season-opener