Fire Flashback: Townsville's history-making title team

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The Townsville Fire are back on the big stage, which is nothing new in the past 13 years.

Since the 2012-13 WNBL season, the Fire have featured in eight grand finals, with five of them being best-of-three series and the team from north Queensland taking home four championships in that time.

But let's rewind to the team that started it all.

Coached by the legendary Chris Lucas and captained by veteran point guard Rachael McCully, Townsville were also led by one of the most dominant players in the league's history Suzy Batkovic - who would go on to become a six-time WNBL MVP and have the award named after her - the Fire finally reached the promised land 12 years after the club's inaugural season.

"We had a great group, we all had the same goal after making the grand final the previous two years," McCully said.

"The first year 2012-13 we were just happy to make the grand final with a great finals run after finishing fourth, then second year in 2013-14 we lost to Bendigo again, that loss really hurt and motivated us for the next season with the majority of the team sticking around the next season.

"I remember this season being fun, the core group had been together for a few years and we had great chemistry on and off the court."

McCully also spoke about the dominance of Batkovic and the leadership of Lucas at the helm.

"It was Suzy just doing Suzy things. She was the ultimate competitor and would do anything to win," she said.

"Her presence on the court and in the key is unmatched but we had a great team game that year with the likes of Steph Cumming (now Blicavs), Mia Newley (now Murray), Cayla George and Micaela Cocks and also a very young Alex Wilson.

"Chris wears his heart on his sleeve, will do anything for his players. He has had a major impact on my career, coaching me in junior state team in Adelaide and to a WNBL championship in my final ever WNBL game of my career.

"He knew just how much not only the Fire wanted that championship but the city and supporters. He has an ability to get teams playing their best basketball at the pointy end of the season consistently."

After going down to the Bendigo Spirit in back-to-back deciders in 2013 and 2014, the Fire overcame their fierce rivals to take home the 2014-15 title. It would go on to become the title that catapulted the Fire into becoming one of the most dominant teams in Australian sport.

Townsville would go on to win consecutive titles under Lucas, win another one under Claudia Brassard in 2017-18 and then reach more grand finals series under five-time Coach of the Year Shannon Seebohm, who led the Fire to the 2023 championship.

And just before tip-off on another championship series, this time against the Perth Lynx, we decided to take a look back at the team who started it all for the Fire and see where they are now.

TOWNSVILLE FIRE 2015 WNBL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM

ALEX WILSON

This time Wilson is on the opposing side as the point guard for the Perth Lynx. Wilson has become one of the best point guards in the WNBL, making All-WNBL First Team this season and featuring in the Australian Opals side for the upcoming FIBA World Cup qualifiers.

After Townsville, the 31-year-old has had stops in Adelaide, Sydney and Bendigo before finding the perfect match for her style under Ryan Petrik at the Lynx.

Wilson will be one of the key talents to limit if the Fire will capture its fifth championship.

RACHAEL MCCULLY

Now in charge of her own basketball club, McCully is running Suncoast Clippers at Maroochydore on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

The two-time WNBL Defensive Player of the Year, who was known for her basketball IQ and ability to run quality teams from the point guard position, has coached in the NBL1 for the Sunshine Coast Phoenix and is now involved as a coach in Queensland's state junior programs.

ROSIE FADJLEVIC

A former Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder, who was in the same class as Alex Wilson in Canberra, was a hardnosed forward and was one of several talented youngsters on the Fire roster.

After Townsville, Fadjlevic then moved to the Canberra Capitals before playing for the Dandenong Rangers. Following her WNBL career, she remained playing in the NBL1 South until recently.

STEPHANIE BLICAVS (NEE CUMMING)

Another star in this Fire team who would finish with a long list of accolades in the WNBL.

Now Steph Blicavs, the 35-year-old would finish her professional career as a three-time WNBL champion, winning one with Dandenong in 2012 before titles with Townsville (2015) and the Southside Flyers to finish her career in 2020.

Blicavs moved from Townsville back to Dandenong in 2016, where she won the league's Defensive Player of the Year award.

SUZY BATKOVIC

Subtle flex, Suzy Batkovic has the WNBL MVP award named after her, and fair enough too given she's a six-time winner of the award.

Following a decorated professional career, which spanned more than 23 years as well as five WNBL championships and seven All-Star Five honours as well as two seasons in the WNBA with Seattle and three Olympic Games appearances for the Opals, Batkovic moved into politics in 2020 become a local councillor for the Townsville City Council.

The 45-year-old, who is still an advocate for the Fire and is seen at almost all of their home games, is the representative for Division 6 in the Townsville City Council and has even had a brief stint as Deputy Mayor.

MIA MURRAY (NEE NEWLEY)

One of the biggest fan favourites in Townsville, Mia Murray (nee Newley) was dominant during the 2015 championship series, taking home Grand Final MVP.

The South Australian product and sister of Boomers legend, Brad Newley, played in three Townsville championships (2015, 2016 and 2018) before being the skipper of the Fire team which made it to the grand final in 2020.

Murray would play one season under Lucas at the Melbourne Boomers in 2022-23 before retiring and moving back to Townsville, where she calls home.

She also helped the Townsville Flames win an NBL1 North championship in 2022 and is playing for the Flames this upcoming season.

KATE GAZE

An absolute lazer from the three-point line, Gaze went on to be a part of three championships for the Fire, winning in 2015 as well as 2016 and 2023, with the last under the Fire's current coach in Shannon Seebohm.

Gaze still plays for the Townsville Flames in the NBL1 North but is also still part of the WNBL as the sideline commentator for the broadcast games in Townsville.

JACQUI ZELENKA

A development player for the Fire when they won their inaugural title, Zelenka would play for her hometown team, the Mackay Meteorettes in the Queensland Basketball League and NBL1 North following her stint in the WNBL.

CAYLA GEORGE (NEE FRANCIS)

No surprise here, George is now one of the most decorated players in WNBL history and still going strong with the Southside Flyers.

George almost helped the Flyers eliminate the Townsville Fire in this season's semi-finals series, having one of the best games of her career in game two to push the series to a deciding game three.

The 36-year-old's achievements in the WNBL are almost too long to mention. She is a four-time champion, winning three with the Fire and one at the Melbourne Boomers, won the WNBL MVP award in 2023 and is now top 10 in every statistical category in the league's history.

She was also named to the All-WNBL Second Team this season.

Outside of the WNBL, the Australian Opals legend would go on to play at three Olympic Games, winning a bronze medal in Paris in 2024, claim a FIBA Asia Cup gold medal last year and win a WNBA title with the Las Vegas Aces.

MICAELA COCKS

One of the most decorated New Zealand players to feature in the WNBL, Cocks was a major part of Townsville's three championships in four seasons, winning Grand Final MVP in 2016.

The Tall Ferns international had her No.32 jersey retired by the Fire last season after spending her whole WNBL career with the north Queensland club.

On the international stage, Cocks won two Commonwealth Games medals in 2006 and 2018, and competed in four World Championships for the Tall Ferns.

She now lives in Melbourne with her family.

JILLIAN HARMON

An American-New Zealand talent who arrived at the Fire having already played for the Tall Ferns at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Harmon played one season for Townsville and helped them to their maiden title.

Following that season, Harmon returned to Europe to play another five seasons professionally and also played 3x3 at the Commonwealth Games for New Zealand.

She is now the leader of the NBA Basketball School's move into France.

COACH: CHRIS LUCAS

Lucas continued to be one of the best coaches in the WNBL and recently finished his two-year tenure with the Geelong Venom.

After leading the Fire to back-to-back championships, Lucas returned home to coach the Adelaide Lightning before later taking over the Melbourne Boomers and then Geelong, where he would eclipse the 400-game mark as a WNBL coach.

He was also an assistant Coach of the Australian Opals, which won a silver medal at the 2018 World Cup in Spain, and due to his track record - we should see him back on a WNBL sideline sometime soon.