Geelong Venom: Five things you need to know

• Cheryl Chambers takes over Geelong on a two-year deal after Chris Lucas departs
• Shyla Heal, Jaz Shelley and three more WNBL26 players have left the club
• Geelong have won 13 of 44 games across their two seasons in the city

The Geelong Venom are three years into life in Geelong, on their second name, their second coach and something close to their third roster.

They have won 13 of 44 games in that time.

The response has been the most aggressive thing the club has done since the licence moved south: they hired Cheryl Chambers, who has won three WNBL championships as a head coach, and then rebuilt the roster around her.

Why it matters

Geelong finished WNBL26 sixth at 7-16, after going 6-15 and seventh in their debut season. Two seasons, no finals, 13 wins.

Chris Lucas, the club's inaugural WNBL head coach, declined a mutual option for a third year and announced it before his final game on February 7, 2026, a 76-67 loss to the UC Capitals at AIS Arena. He gave family and a break as the reason, not the results, and he passed 400 WNBL games during the season.

"What they have dealt with internally, I'm extremely proud that they've stayed together. I haven't experienced that in my whole career," Lucas said after that game, in comments published by AAP.

He had reason to say it. The season was wrecked by injuries before it started. Shyla Heal, signed as the marquee point guard, tore ligaments in her knee playing NBL1 in July and did not debut until round six, seven games in.

The appointment

Cheryl Chambers was announced as head coach on March 30, 2026, on a two-year deal covering WNBL27 and WNBL28.

She has won three WNBL championships as a head coach, with the Sydney Flames in 2017 and the Southside Flyers in 2020 and 2024, and she is a three-time WNBL Coach of the Year. She has been an Opals assistant under Sandy Brondello since 2017, including the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, and she has coached more than 300 WNBL games. She also coached this same franchise once before, as the Bulleen Boomers, in 2001-02.

Chambers was direct about why she took a club that has finished seventh and sixth.

"It's just a wonderful sporting town, that really attracts me. They're only two years into the league and I think it's a place where I can make a real difference," Chambers told the WNBL.

She was more specific about the basketball.

"We'll certainly be looking to have a style of play that's exciting to watch, get some athletic players, lots of shooters and people that can get up the floor, so that defensively we can be disruptive as well," she said.

"Without names, they're the style of players that we'll be looking to."

And she framed the job as a long one.

"[Geelong is] such a sport-central town and I'm really excited to get women's basketball right up in that echelon and make it a destination for players to come and develop their games," Chambers told the Geelong Times.

"When I'm done, I want to leave a legacy and I think that this is a way to do that.

"My style is pretty much formulated on building a really good culture. A place where everyone belongs, everyone looks after each other."

Geelong United Basketball chief executive Mark Neeld said the fit was clear early.

"Cheryl is one of the most respected and accomplished coaches in Australian basketball, so to have her join Geelong Venom is a significant moment for our program," Neeld said in a club statement.

"Her experience at the highest level, combined with her ability to build strong, connected teams, makes us all incredibly excited about what she will bring, not only to our playing group but to the broader Geelong basketball community."

Who left

Almost everyone.

Shyla Heal activated a European out clause and will not play WNBL27. The club confirmed it in early May 2026.

"We understand that Shyla is a highly sought-after player in Europe following several outstanding seasons in the highest leagues in the region, and we fully support her decision to return," Neeld said in a club statement.

"She does so with our thanks and our very best wishes for her next challenge."

Heal averaged 15.75 points and 3.6 assists in WNBL26 after finally getting on the floor.

Jaz Shelley signed a two-year deal with the Sydney Flames. Gemma Potter and Elissa Brett both went to the Adelaide Lightning. Taylor Mole joined the expansion Tasmania Jewels, becoming their first Tasmanian-born signing. Casey Benson, Bec Allen and Kate Oliver are also not returning.

That is five WNBL26 rotation players and the head coach, out of one club, in one off-season.

Who arrived

Chambers rebuilt the backcourt first, which is what she said she wanted.

Maddy Rocci arrived from the Southside Melbourne Flyers on May 5, 2026, reuniting with the coach she won a championship under. Bec Cole signed a two-year deal on April 22, 2026, returning after missing WNBL26 entirely. Dakota Crichton came from the Townsville Fire on a two-year deal on May 8, 2026, having been on Geelong's outgoing list only a season earlier.

Alex Sharp re-signed on March 31, 2026 for a third straight season as co-captain. Lilly Rotunno re-signed on May 4, 2026. Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard re-signed on May 15, 2026. Indiah Bowyer was promoted from the Geelong United NBL1 program on June 18, 2026.

Cole, incidentally, spent WNBL26 interviewing players for basketball.com.au. She is now one of them.

The centre position remains the hole. The club lists a starting centre and backcourt depth among its needs.

Han Xu, confirmed

Geelong confirmed Han Xu for WNBL27 on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, pending league approval. It is the biggest signing of the Venom's short history and it fills the one position they had listed as vacant.

The 211cm centre averaged 16.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks across 18 games for the Perth Lynx in WNBL26, guiding them to the Grand Final series, and was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year and an All-WNBL Second Team member.

"She's a WNBA veteran, a multiple-time WCBA MVP, and reigning WNBL Defensive Player of the Year, her shot-blocking and rebounding are genuinely elite," Chambers said in comments published by the WNBL.

"Adding that size and experience to our roster gives this team a real edge, and we can't wait to see what she brings to the club this year."

Han was drafted 14th overall by the New York Liberty in 2019 as the youngest player in her class, and still plays for them. She is a three-time WCBA MVP, a two-time WCBA champion and a WNBA Commissioner's Cup winner. She won silver with China at the 2022 FIBA Women's World Cup and made the tournament's All-Star Five, then was named MVP of the 2023 FIBA Women's Asia Cup.

"I've played against Australian teams before, including a season with Perth, and I know how passionate this League's fans are and how much the competition has grown," Han said.

"I'm looking forward to bringing everything I've built over my career, from China to the WNBA, into this team, and pushing for something special with my new teammates this year."

The rebrand, and the history behind it

The club has changed identity twice in two years, and that is the shorter story.

The franchise entered the WNBL in 1984 as the Bulleen Boomers, became the Melbourne Boomers in 2013, and moved to Geelong in 2024 when a consortium of local investors took over the licence, playing that season as Geelong United. On July 1, 2025, it became the Geelong Venom.

The name came out of an eight-week process involving players, staff, fans and partners. It started from a blank slate, generated more than 100 candidates, and came down to two: Geelong Force and Geelong Venom. Public feedback was taken before the decision. Jaz Shelley and Gemma Potter were among the players consulted, and both have since left the club.

"When creating our new identity, we wanted to make sure we chose something that fans could really get behind as a strong representation of our region," Neeld said in a club statement.

"The Geelong Venom rebrand not only matches the new direction of the league itself, but will be a driving force in the future of women's basketball for our city."

The franchise underneath the names has won two championships. The first came in 2011 as the Bulleen Boomers, with Jenna O'Hea, Sharin Milner and a young Liz Cambage, in the middle of a run of four straight Grand Finals. The second came in 2022 as the Melbourne Boomers, built around Ezi Magbegor, Lindsay Allen and Cayla George.

Before that there was Debbie Slimmon, the 1990 league MVP, and Katrina Hibbert, who won back-to-back MVPs in the mid-2000s.

One thing to be clear about: the Venom are no longer the newest club in the WNBL. The Tasmania Jewels debut in WNBL27, and Geelong are the opponent for their first game.

WNBL26 season summary

• Finished sixth at 7-16, missed the finals
• Mackenzie Holmes led the league in scoring for much of the season and finished second at 21.9 points and 9.6 rebounds a game
• Shyla Heal missed the first seven games with knee ligament damage sustained in NBL1
• Head coach Chris Lucas declined a third year and left at the end of the season

Five fast facts

1. The franchise has won two WNBL championships, in 2011 as the Bulleen Boomers and 2022 as the Melbourne Boomers.

2. The club has competed under four names since 1984: Bulleen Boomers, Melbourne Boomers, Geelong United and Geelong Venom.

3. Cheryl Chambers has won three WNBL championships as a head coach, and coached this same franchise as the Bulleen Boomers in 2001-02.

4. The Venom name beat Geelong Force in a public vote, from a list that started with more than 100 options.

5. Geelong are the opponent for the Tasmania Jewels' first WNBL game, on October 15, 2026.

Club timeline

• 1984: Enters the WNBL as the Bulleen Boomers
• 1990: Debbie Slimmon wins the league MVP
• 2004-05, 2005-06: Katrina Hibbert wins back-to-back MVPs
• 2010-11: First WNBL championship, in the middle of four straight Grand Finals
• 2013: Renamed the Melbourne Boomers
• 2021-22: Second WNBL championship
• 2024: Licence transferred to a Geelong consortium, club becomes Geelong United
• 2024-25: Seventh at 6-15 in the first Geelong season
• July 1, 2025: Rebranded the Geelong Venom
• 2025-26: Sixth at 7-16
• 2026: Chris Lucas departs, Cheryl Chambers appointed, five players leave

What's next

Geelong open WNBL27 away to the Tasmania Jewels at MyState Bank Arena in Hobart on Thursday, October 15, 2026.

It is the first game of the season and the first game in Tasmania Jewels history.