'Eye of the Flyer': Rocci's Olympic dream still burns

• Maddison Rocci is a three-time WNBL champion, two with the UC Capitals and one with the Southside Flyers
• She was named to the All-WNBL Second Team in 2020
• Rocci won bronze with the Opals at the 2023 FIBA Asia Cup

Southside Melbourne Flyers star guard Maddison Rocci will have one big dream driving her as she tries to lead her team back to the WNBL playoffs this season.

"I have the goal in the back of my head that I want to go to an Olympic Games, and I'll probably never give up until I can get there," she said.

The three-time WNBL champion already has a long list of achievements any professional player would envy by the age of 27. Rocci won two titles with the University of Canberra Capitals and one with the Flyers, she has represented the Opals at a FIBA Asia Cup in 2023, was named All-WNBL Second Team in 2020 and also played at junior world championships for Australia.

But as she enters her ninth season in the league, there's one thing Rocci hasn't reached yet and that's wearing the green and gold jersey she loves so much at a FIBA World Cup or Olympic Games, just missing out on making the team for the 2024 Games in Paris. It's something which still drives her every day.

"My major goal is to go to an Olympic Games and play in a World Cup. I haven't got there yet, but hopefully I'll build myself up to get there," she told basketball.com.au.

"To represent your country, it's a massive honour. Obviously, just missing out on the Olympics was was something that was pretty shattering for me but I think ever since missing out on that, I just look at a lot of things differently. There's a different perspective on the game of basketball and probably life in general.

"But I think for me to get there, it's just about developing my game in many ways. Like a lot of people know that I'm a quick point guard that likes to defend, likes to get up and in likes to attack the but it's just putting in those little final touches, I think for me."

The former Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence scholarship holder also spoke about the pain she felt after missing out on last year's Olympic team.

"Getting there would be something, that's just been at the top of my goals for a really long time and just missing out on one really did hurt," Rocci said.

"I think it took me some time to get over. But now, with the new phase coming through, there's four years until the next Olympics and the World Cup in between, just putting in all the hard work just to try and get there.

"It would be massive to get to an Olympic Games."

The pain she felt from missing out on the world's biggest sporting event in 2024 was only doubled by the fact she was a late exclusion from the Opals' maiden FIBA Asia Cup title earlier this year after suffering an injury in the lead-up to the tournament.

"Finding out I had strained my ACL and was going to miss out on the Asia Cup was heart breaking, I was so prepared for this tournament and to not be able to go was so tough for me and it mentally took me some time to get over it," Rocci said.

"My mind shift shifted and I just focused on getting myself back on court and took it day by day and now I feel like I am back to where I was before my injury and in such a better state of mind."

While those heartbreaks have been difficult, it's the support of her partner and professional footballer, Tom Fullarton, which has helped her get through the tough times.

"Having Tom is something that does help me, he knows the ins and outs of being a pro athlete, he knows how hard you have to work to get there and I think having him does help me," Rocci said.

"We probably don't see each other during the day a lot cause we're doing our own things... (but) having Tom in my corner has been something that has been helpful to me. Just leaning on him and having him be there through everything has been pretty special."

Almost a decade into her professional career, going from a fresh-faced teenager out of the AIS to now a leader of one of the WNBL's powerhouse clubs, Rocci reflected on her time in the league and how far she has come.

"It's pretty crazy. I do look back on my career... In those Canberra days, I was a little girl, probably a little fatty to be honest but you can just see over time how much like you change on the court, you develop as a player, your body changes, like you probably learn how to be the ultimate pro," she said.

"You can just see that I've probably developed more as a as a point guard (over time)."

She also praised current Flyers coach and Australian basketball legend Kristi Harrower for much of her development after signing her to play NBL1 South at the Keilor Thunder before becoming her coach at Southside.

"Personally for me, I think being involved in Keilor has really helped me probably become the person that I am today with the people that have been around me," she said.

"When Kristi signed me here, I would say that I was probably in a dark stage of my career where I was really second guessing myself, really wondering like where basketball would probably take me.

"I had come off probably a pretty horrible WNBL season, I was inside myself a little bit but then getting recruited to Keilor, I think has probably made me the person that I am today, being involved with Kristi and my assistant coach, Anth."

While Rocci has enjoyed so much success at the WNBL level with three championship rings, Southside had a season to forget in 2024-25 after claiming the title the year before, finishing eighth with just six wins from 21 games.

But after the key additions of Cayla George and Issie Bourne, they will be looking to bounce back and return to the playoffs in Harrower's second campaign in charge.

"I think that last season was probably one of the biggest learning seasons that we've probably had as a whole, as a club and as probably an individual player myself," she said.

"We had a group that were talented, but it just probably it didn't work out the way that we wanted and coming off the championship, there's always so much pressure on a club, but you never know what goes on behind the scenes at a big franchise like that.

"I think that this year, with the recruiting Kristi has done... it's something that's pretty exciting."

"We want to get back to playing finals basketball, and we want to be back at the top. So, hopefully this season will be one that we can definitely get there."

The Flyers tip-off the season against rivals, the UC Capitals, in a landmark game for the rejuvenated WNBL with it being played at John Cain Arena on October 18.