BASKETBALL FIBA BY BLAKE METCALF-HOLT   IN what will be her third time repping the green and gold at the top level, Traralgon’s Jade Melbourne will be heading over to Germany this September. Officially selected to the Australian Opals squad ahead of the FIBA Women’s World Cup, Melbourne gets the chance to make it back-to-back medals for her country. The 12-player squad was announced on Monday (July 27), featuring six members of the 2024 Olympic bronze medal team, which included Traralgon’s own. Melbourne has familiarity with Alanna Smith, team captain Sami Whitcomb, Steph Talbot and WNBA teammate of the Seattle Storm Ezi Magbegor (who has visited the Latrobe Valley in recent years). New WNBL teammate at the Bendigo Spirit, Isobel Borlase, is also in the World Cup squad and won the bronze medal with Melbourne. The Opals are again being coached by Sandy Brondello, who has coached the Australian women’s national team since 2017, having won silver and bronze medals at the 2018 and 2022 world cups, as well as the recent Olympic bronze medal. “I’m very confident in this group. We have a great mix of experience, talent and chemistry,” Brondello said. “Sami is the Opals captain and is an amazing leader. She will (be) well supported by Ezi, Alanna, Steph and Jade. “While our preparation is short with this full group, we trust the work we’ve done over the past few years, we believe in each other, and know it’s about being at our best when it matters most. “If we play to our identity, we know we can compete with anyone.” Brondello is supported with a coaching contingent of Paul Goriss, Kennedy Kereama and Renae Garlepp, the latter of which is the latest WBL head coach of Moe’s Jaz Shelley at the Sydney Flames. Shelley was listed on the extended Opals squad in the lead-up to the final announcement. Over in the WNBA, Melbourne’s Seattle Storm are struggling immensely. The Storm have won just six of its 29 games at the all star break of the season, with Melbourne averaging career-highs in points (8.8 per game), assists (3.8), rebounds (two) and steals (0.9). Melbourne played five World Cup qualifying games for the Opals this year, but her trip to Germany from September 4 to 13 will be her World Cup debut.

BASKETBALL WNBA BY BLAKE METCALF-HOLT   FULL circle moment. Jade Melbourne has signed with the Seattle Storm for the upcoming WNBA season. The Traralgon star was previously drafted to the Storm in 2022, and has spent the last two seasons with the Washington Mystics. After featuring in just 29 games in her lone season in Seattle, Melbourne showed incremental improvement as a member of the Mystics with more responsibility. She posted career highs across the board in the 2025 season – in minutes, rebounds, assists, and points – while also starting 12 games after previously never doing so. Melbourne now returns to where it all started, with the chance to go to the next level, team-wise. “We’re thrilled to welcome Jade back to Seattle,” Storm general manager Talisa Rhea said. “She’s a young, dynamic playmaker with a high basketball IQ who can impact the game in multiple ways. “Jade’s growth and experience in international competition continue to elevate her game, and we’re excited for the energy she’ll bring to our team this season.” On the same day as the Melbourne announcement on Monday (April 13), the Storm also resigned fellow Australian Ezi Magbegor on a reported $2 million AUD supermax deal. Magbegor and Melbourne are both bronze medallist players as a part of the Opals 2024 Olympic campaign, and will now prepare for the FIBA Women’s World Cup in September. The 2026 WNBA season is set to begin on May 9, with Seattle taking on the Golden State Valkyries.

BASKETBALL FIBA BY BLAKE METCALF-HOLT   A SECOND medal is there for the taking. Traralgon’s Jade Melbourne and the Australian Opals took care of business during their FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying campaign, going undefeated throughout their stay in Instanbul. Taking place from March 11 to 18, the Opals weren’t to be denied in their journey back to the World Cup – where they’ve competed in every tournament since 1967. While Australia was made to work in each game across the qualifying tournament, including their penultimate group stage against Turkey in which the Opals passed by three points. The final match against Canada was equally as tough, with Australia breaking the game open slightly in the third quarter to hold on by six points. To conclude that third quarter run, Melbourne hit a running shot well beyond the three-point line as the clock expired, to extend the Opals lead to seven points in time for the final term. Just as she was called upon during Australia’s 2024 Olympic bronze medal run, the Traralgon star was utilised during her minutes for defensive purposes and unselfishness. Melbourne’s best performance came in the Opals’ first game in Instanbul against Argentina, where she posted 12 points and three assists in a 26-point victory. In Australia’s final game against Canada, Melbourne saw court time down the stretch, finishing with seven points, three assists and two rebounds. She was limited in a lot of games due to foul trouble, in which Melbourne was equal-second in the qualifying tournament for total fouls. The Opals had already secured World Cup qualification during the 2025 Asia Cup, which Melbourne did not play in due to still being in the thick of the WNBA season with the Washington Mystics. Australia now moves their attention to Germany, where the FIBA Women’s World Cup takes place from September 4 to 13. Sitting third for most medals in the tournament’s history, the Opals will be locking in and hoping to pull of their first gold medal finish since 2006. That team featured the likes of basketball greats Lauren Jackson, Kristi Harrower, Penny Taylor, equal AFLW great Erin Phillips, and Mirboo North’s Belinda Snell. As by far Australia’s highest ever achievement, in either men’s or women’s competition, the gold medal team was inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022. This will be Melbourne’s first ever World Cup run, having previously missed the cut for Australia’s 2022 bronze medal. In 2021, Melbourne captained Australia to a silver medal at the FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup, succumbing to the US in the final. One of Melbourne’s direct opponents was WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark in the gold medal match.

BASKETBALL FIBA BY BLAKE METCALF-HOLT   SEVEN cuts were made for the Australian Opals, with Traralgon’s Jade Melbourne holding her spot. The duel WNBL and WNBA player will don the green and gold for the third time in her professional career at the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers held in Istanbul, Turkey from March 11 to 17. At the lead-in tournament, the Opals will do battle against some serious competition, including Argentina, Canada, Japan, Hungary, and host nation Turkey. While still being branded as a qualifying event, all countries listed in Group A alongside Australia have already been permitted into the FIBA Women’s World Cup, but will use these games as high intensity preparation. Melbourne, who is close to completing her sixth season in the WNBL with the University of Canberra Capitals, previously played for the Opals in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in 2021 as a 19-year-old, and most recently won a bronze medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. After the qualifiers wrap up, the FIBA Women’s World Cup will be played in Germany from September 4 to 13. This will overlap with the upcoming WNBA season, which will begin on May 8, only if the league and players’ association can complete a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement in time. If a new deal isn’t met before the start of the season, a lock-out could ensue (essentially a players strike, halting the start of competition). It will be Melbourne’s fourth season in the top basketball league in the world, and her third with the Washington Mystics. Last year, the Traralgon star played the most games in her career and started 12 times after previously never doing so. The 2026 season serves as the WNBA’s 30th anniversary, which includes the introduction of two new franchises in Toronto and Portland, expanding the league to 15 teams. Despite this growth, a 44-game season will stay put, with a near three-week break for the FIBA Women’s World Cup at the start of September.