Townsville's focus on firepower for WNBL26

Five-time Coach of the Year Shannon Seebohm has led the Townsville Fire to three Grand Finals appearances between 2020 to 2025, winning the WNBL23 Championship. 

For WNBL26, the Fire are once again looking set to be Grand Final contenders. 

Reflecting on last season’s Grand Final loss, Seebobm explained that Townsville struggled to score against Bendigo’s size – averaging 57.5 points in the WNBL25 Championship Series versus 81.8 in the regular season. 

This season, the Fire have retained a majority of their core, while adding multiple high-level talents – including Asia Cup gold medallist Miela Sowah (Nee Goodchild) and Washington Mystics guard Lucy Olsen. 

With these two additions, Seebomb believes Sowah and Olsen will remedy the Fire’s scoring woes. 

“We saw how difficult scoring can be when teams shrink the floor and play with extra physicality. We didn’t have enough players who could consistently create their own shots against Bendigo’s defence, and once our first and second options were taken away, we struggled to generate plays,” he said. 

“We identified the need to add more creation and scoring in our guard spots to complement our playmaking.”

Seebomb explained Sowah’s diversity in scoring is just what the Fire needed. Her scoring acumen is well known among WNBL fans, with her outstanding shooting, breakneck pace and classy inside scoring – she was named to the All-WNBL Second Team with the Perth Lynx last season. 

“She can score points in a hurry without needing the ball in her hands a lot in the half-court,” he said.

“Her ability to catch and shoot with very little time or space, along with her skill at attacking closeouts, will be a real asset.” 

While Olsen is a new face to the WNBL, Seebomb explained just how she’ll fit at the Fire pit this season. 

“Olsen brings the ability to handle the ball and make plays for herself and others, as she showed at Villanova and then Iowa when she stepped in as the replacement point guard for Caitlin Clark,” he said. 

“She’s a big guard who can pass over the top of defences, sees the floor well, and scores at all three levels. She’s coming here with a driven mindset, eager to grow her game while fitting into our culture and team dynamic.” 

The first chance to see Townsville’s new side live will be in the Townsville Tip Of ‘25, don’t miss your chance to see all eight teams in one location for the league’s first-ever standalone pre-season tournament with multi passes starting from $37, get your tickets here. 

The season starts on October 18th, check out how to watch each game live and free here. 

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