Postponed Round 3 WNBL game preview: Flyers, Spirit meet in blockbuster clash

This weekend there’s only have one game being played in the WNBL. The postponed game between the Southside Flyers and the Bendigo Spirit, ironically, holds more power over the standings now than it would have back then. It is a match up that will pit third (Flyers) against fourth (Spirit) on the ladder, only a few rounds shy of finals.

The Flyers have gotten the better of the Spirit in their previous two contests, both by considerable margins and that was when Kelsey Griffin was still involved! It’s important to note that both teams are in similar positions, coming off bad losses last week and are down a star player each, it ought to be a hard-fought battle with nothing coming easy for either team.

Key matchup: Wilson vs Rocci

There aren’t many guards fiercer than these two, they are both serious competitors and neither shy away from a physical game. You can expect to see them play high pressure defence in the full court and there will be plenty of contact between them. Maddy Rocci has been a key scorer for her team, more consistently than Ally Wilson, however, Wilson can light it up from deep and is not afraid to draw contact and finish at the rim — a move often used by her opponent Rocci.

Kelly Wilson will be key for Bendigo while the Flyers will be missing Lauren Jackson after an Achilles injury cut her season short. Kelly Defina/Getty ImagesWho’s missing: Griffin and Jackson

Although having Kelsey Griffin playing for them didn’t make much of a difference in their previous games against the Flyers, the playing field will be a little more even now, as star Lauren Jackson is out of action too. Being a prominent figure inside and dominating for her team, the Flyers will now have to rely on Abby Bishop for their inside game or hope that Kayla Thornton and Rocci can produce enough offence to compensate for the loss of Jackson.

X factors: Wehrung and Blicavs7

Sara Blicavs, being an Opal herself, is not someone you would normally overlook. However, in a star-studded team like the Flyers she can sometimes fly (pardon the pun) under the radar. It goes without saying though, that she can turn it on for team and there’s no better place to do it than her hometown stadium in Geelong. Not only is Blicavs a scoring threat, but she may well be the only player to stop or at least stem, the rebounding prowess of Anneli Maley.

Although Abby Wehrung has improved steadily over the last few years, she too can be put on the backburner of her team. But in recent rounds, when the Spirit has lacked a spark, Wehrung has been there to turn it around and shoot the three ball extremely well, providing momentum when her team needs it the most.

The Flyers certainly have more depth, any player that steps on court can enhance the team’s performance on both the offensive and defensive end. It takes a strong defensive effort to control the flow of their offence and eliminate the possibility of them going on a run, the Spirit would need to be particularly locked in on the defensive end or else they’ll find themselves on the backfoot very quickly.

In saying that, recently the Spirit have proven to be able to bounce back from being down and truly challenge teams down the stretch — with their gritty style of play and hunger for the ball, there’s no reason they can’t collect the win this Saturday night.