The Southside Flyers are an Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Victoria. The Flyers compete in the

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is a professional women's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the Women's sports, women's counterpart to the Na ...

(WNBL) and play their home games at the State Basketball Centre. For sponsorship purposes, 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

The Dandenong Rangers made their debut in the

(WNBL) in the 1992 season after Dandenong Basketball Association (DBA) obtained a WNBL license from the Nunawading Spectres. The Rangers went on to finish as runners-up in their first season, losing 58–54 in the grand final to the Perth Breakers. 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. In July 2019, the Dandenong Rangers franchise was purchased from DBA by long-time sponsor

Gerry Ryan Gerard Ryan (4 June 1956 – 30 April 2010) was an Irish people, Irish presenter of radio and television employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). He presented ''The Gerry Ryan Show'' on radio station RTÉ 2fm each weekday morning from 1 ...

and rebranded to the Southside Flyers. The team continued to play at Dandenong Stadium until moving to the State Basketball Centre in 2022. 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. The Flyers won their second WNBL championship and the franchise's fifth in the 2023–24 season. In the third and deciding game of the 2024 grand final series, the Flyers won 115–81 over the

Perth Lynx The Perth Lynx are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at both WA Basketball Centre, Bendat Basketball Centre ...

, breaking the record for both the biggest winning margin in a grand final and the highest score. Following the 2023–24 season, the Flyers sought to rebrand as the Melbourne Flyers following the transfer of the

Melbourne Boomers Geelong United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Geelong, Victoria. United compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at Geelong Arena. Beginning as the Bulleen Boomers in 1984, the ...

' WNBL license to Geelong. The name change was initially accepted but later declined by the new league owners.

Season-by-season records

Source
WNBL

Players

Current roster

Former players

* Jessica Bibby * Stephanie Blicavs *

Liz Cambage Elizabeth Folake "Liz" Cambage ( ; born 18 August 1991) is a British-born Australian professional basketball player for the Sichuan Yuanda of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association. She won the Women's National Basketball League in 2011 and ...

* Aimie Clydesdale * Alison Downie * Jacinta Kennedy * Kathleen MacLeod * Anneli Maley * Emily McInerny * Leilani Mitchell *

Jenna O'Hea Jenna O'Hea (born 6 June 1987) is a former Australian professional basketball player and former captain of Australia's national team, the Opals. O'Hea was the captain of the Australian Women's basketball team (Opals) at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic ...

* Laia Palau * Kayla Pedersen *

Cappie Pondexter Cappie Marie Pondexter (born January 7, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. She was born in Oceanside, California and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Pondexter is known for her scrappy play, quick crossovers and midrange ju ...

* Stephanie Reid * Mercedes Russell * Penny Taylor * Samantha Thornton * Louella Tomlinson * Carly Wilson

References

External links

Official WNBL club website
{{Melbourne Sports Teams Basketball teams in Melbourne Women's National Basketball League teams Basketball teams established in 1992 1992 establishments in Australia Sport in the City of Greater Dandenong