1
Mar
Game 2
'It's been 34 years': Atwell knows weight of history
Lynx players regroup during Game 1 of the WNBL Grand Final series between Townsville Fire and Perth Lynx at Townsville Entertainment Centre on February 26, 2026 in Townsville. Photo: Albert Perez/Getty Images
Highlights
Perth Lynx must flip rebounding and tempo as Townsville chase WNBL Grand Final sweep in Perth
- Bec Cole outlines what Perth and Townsville must fix in Game 2 after Fire’s 88–79 win
- Ultimate WNBL26 Championship Series Guide
- Game 1: Captain Woods sparks Fire to series lead over Lynx
Perth Lynx star Amy Atwell understands the weight of history ahead of Game 2 of the WNBL26 Grand Final Series against the Townsville Fire.
The Lynx are down 1-0 and haven’t won a championship for 34 years, when Tanya Fisher led the Breakers over the top of the Dandenong Rangers 58-54 in 1992.
“It’s been a conversation, I think, around the club for years,” Atwell said.
“It’s something brought up in pre-seasons. We haven’t won one in 34 years. For me, being from Perth, that’s obviously a huge motivation for me to bring one back to my home city.
“For us, it’s just about the next game, as cliché as it sounds, we wanna bring one home to Perth regardless of how long it’s been.”
On the flipside, Townsville is chasing its fifth title in 11 years, and star guard Courtney Woods wants the Fire to leverage the experience of the "Keep your mouth shut" Game 2 blow-out loss to Southside Melbourne Flyers less than two weeks ago as the catalyst to sweep in the series today in Perth. Tip-off is 4pm AEST.
“I feel like for Game 2, last time we had kind of all the tools and plans to do it, we just didn’t execute it,” Woods said.
“So I feel like that should hopefully be the biggest wake-up call, and obviously, you don’t want to continue to have wake-up calls at this point in the season, so that will hopefully be enough.
“One game doesn’t really mean anything in a series. We’re happy to go to Perth with the lead, but we need two games to finish it off.”
Game 1 delivered the standard expected from the league’s top two teams, but the separation came in areas Perth can control. Townsville won the rebound count 45–37, generated 23 free-throw attempts to Perth’s 12, and repeatedly found paint touches when perimeter shooting stalled.
Perth shot 31 per cent from beyond the arc. Townsville shot 25 per cent. The three-ball wasn’t decisive. The difference was physicality and possession control, especially in the third quarter when the Fire outscored the Lynx 24-10.
Speaking on It’s a Cole World, former Opal Bec Cole identified second-chance opportunities and dribble penetration as the defining themes.
“Townsville won the rebound count 45–37, generated 23 free-throw attempts to Perth’s 12, and found consistent paint touches when the three-ball wasn’t falling,” Cole said.
Lynx head coach Ryan Petrik said: “We go and cut us some film, especially the third.
“We just have to clean up some stuff in our own backyard.
“Townsville were great, they got some things to go their way. We’d get a really good defensive possession executed, and then we couldn’t get a defensive rebound. In that third quarter, it felt like it all – and this will sound like a discredit to Townsville, I don’t mean it that way – but it just felt like every time we just needed a break to go our way, we couldn’t get one.
“So the Maley three that goes in, there’s an offensive rebounding foul. We’d get a stop, they’d get an offensive rebound, they’d score a layup. We’d get a stop, they’d get an offensive rebound, they’d go shoot free throws, they’re an elite team, they’ll make you pay for it. So I don’t mean that as a diss at all, but at some point, you’ve got to try and win the ball game.”
Meanwhile, five-time WNBL Coach of the Year Shannon Seebohm expects Perth to get after the Fire in a bid to send the series back to Townsville for a deciding winner-takes-all Game 3.
“We learned a lot in that Southside series about how we need to approach games,” Seebohm said.
“When you go and play a finals game on someone else’s home floor, it's different to the regular season and obviously, coming off a loss, Perth are gonna be seething, they’re gonna be coming after us.
“It’s gonna be really aggressive and physical, and they, you know, they’re in their home gym where they feel comfortable.
“We need to be ready to defend at a really high level and hopefully have a little bit more focus than we did in the Southside series in Game 2.”
What Perth Must Change in Game 2
Cole’s assessment of Perth’s response was direct.
“They must flip the rebounding margin and limit second-chance points, particularly by gang-rebounding and reducing Townsville’s offensive boards,” she said.
Perth conceded 15 offensive rebounds. That cannot be repeated in a Finals series on the road.
Han Xu’s 16 points came largely from mid-post and elbow touches. Cole believes that positioning must deepen.
“Han Xu needs deeper post catches, not elbow touches, and the Lynx must re-establish pace.”
Transition is Perth’s advantage. Defensive stops must convert to early offence. In Game 1, half-court possessions dominated the rhythm.
“Defensive stops have to ignite transition offence, where Perth are at their most dangerous,” Cole said.
Ball-screen coverage on Woods is another pivot point.
“More ball-screen pressure on Woods is essential – different coverages, more disruption, fewer clean reads.”
What Townsville Must Repeat
For Townsville, the equation is simpler: discipline and duplication.
“It’s about discipline and repeatability,” Cole said.
Stay physical in the half-court. Collapse the paint. Trust shot selection.
The Fire scored 29 two-point field goals in Game 1. Interior efficiency over perimeter volume defined their offensive identity.
If Townsville win the rebounding battle again and maintains composure against Perth’s expected home surge, they move within one win of the title.
“If they win the rebounding battle again and maintain composure under Perth’s home-court surge, they put themselves in position to close the series in two,” Cole said.
The Deciding Factor
Game 2 will not be decided by shot-making variance alone.
“Game 2 will hinge on who controls tempo – structure or speed,” Cole said.
Townsville prefers a controlled half-court structure. Perth thrive in pace and transition.
Today in Perth, the style that survives will be determined.
WNBL Champions
- 1981 – St Kilda Saints
- 1982 – St Kilda Saints (2)
- 1983 – Nunawading Spectres
- 1984 – Nunawading Spectres (2)
- 1985 – Coburg Cougars
- 1986 – Nunawading Spectres (3)
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- 1988 – Nunawading Spectres (5)
- 1989 – Nunawading Spectres (6)
- 1990 – North Adelaide Rockets
- 1991 – Hobart Islanders
- 1992 – Perth Breakers
- 1993 – Sydney Flames
- 1994 – Adelaide Lightning
- 1995 – Adelaide Lightning (2)
- 1996 – Adelaide Lightning (3)
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- 1998–99 – Australian Institute of Sport
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- 2000–01 – Sydney Panthers (3)
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- 2002–03 – Canberra Capitals (3)
- 2003–04 – Dandenong Rangers
- 2004–05 – Dandenong Rangers (2)
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- 2006–07 – Canberra Capitals (5)
- 2007–08 – Adelaide Lightning (5)
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- 2010–11 – Bulleen Boomers
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- 2012–13 – Bendigo Spirit
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- 2019–20 – Canberra Capitals (9)
- 2020 – Southside Flyers (4)
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- 2022–23 – Townsville Fire (4)
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