A Jade Melbourne fan cut-out awaits her return to Canberra, where the Opals guard and Bendigo Spirit will open the WNBL27 season against her former club, the UC Capitals. Photo: Mark Nolan/Getty Images.
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Jade Melbourne returns to Canberra plus Tasmania Jewels prepare for their historic WNBL debut.
Australian Opals star Jade Melbourne can't escape Canberra just yet. The Bendigo Spirit play their first game of the WNBL27 season against her former club at AIS Arena, one of six fixtures in an Opening Round spread across six days.
The season tips off on October 15, when Steph Reid leads expansion club the Tasmania Jewels into their historic first WNBL game against the Geelong Venom in Hobart. Bec Cole returns to the league in Geelong colours after a season away, alongside Chinese imports Han Xu and Wanglai Zhang.
WNBL27 tips off in
Round 1 · the first game of the season
The season is under way.
--Days
--Hrs
--Min
--Sec
Tasmania Jewels v Geelong Venom
Thursday 15 October 2026·7.00pm AEDT
MyState Bank Arena, Hobart
Tip-off time is the scheduled start and is set by the WNBL.
Perth's Opening Round has been reshaped by injury. Sami Whitcomb is out of the entire WNBL27 seasonwith the knee that also cost her the World Cup in Berlin, and the Lynx moved within 24 hours to sign Washington Mystics guard Georgia Amoore, the Ballarat point guard who was the sixth pick of the 2025 WNBA draft. She joins Anneli Maleyfor a Grand Final rematch against reigning champions Townsville Fire.
Chinese national team guard Wang Siyu, known as Rainy, will debut for the Southside Melbourne Flyers against Sydney, while sisters Nyadiew and Manuela Puoch line up together at Canberra, Nyadiew arriving from a WNBA season with the Portland Fire and Manuela from Southside.
Courtney Woods leads a largely unchanged Townsville Fire squad featuring Alicia Froling, Alex Fowler, Miela Sowah, Abbey Ellis and Chloe Forster, while Steph Talbot returns from the WNBA to spearhead Adelaide Lightning, who play twice in the opening round.
WNBL27 will feature 99 games broadcast live and free, new fan-friendly scheduling, a five-team finals series including an elimination final, and themed rounds including Indigenous Round, Mental Health Round, Pride Round and HoopsFest in Perth.
Every WNBL club and its basketball.com.au profile. Sort by club or state by tapping a heading; tap again to reverse, and a third time to return to alphabetical order. Club logos are trademarks of their respective clubs and the WNBL, used here for editorial identification.
