Melbourne has been a consistent source of production for Seattle and somewhat of a veteran presence, even though she\u2019s just 23 years old. Borlase, a WNBA rookie, has grown in her role<\/a> as the season has progressed, showcasing her scoring acumen in short bursts. The two track as the Opals backcourt until 2040, so pairing them together is a massive coup for Bendigo.<\/p>\n In fact, everything points to Melbourne\u2019s signing being the biggest free agency move in the league\u2019s history, combining the outgoing value with the incoming value.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re obviously ecstatic to get [Melbourne],\u201d Spirit head coach Kennedy Kereama told The IX Basketball. \u201cProbably more effort went into what our pitch was gonna be and what that was gonna look like, figuring out what was probably gonna resonate most with her whilst being authentic to ensure that whatever we deliver on or what we present, we deliver on well. I think that\u2019s something that our program\u2019s done a great job [of]. \u2026 So a lot of it was around that.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the same time, we knew there was a lot of uncertainty because Jade is a highly sought-after player. So I\u2019m sure plenty of clubs had interest, and obviously there was plenty of overseas interest. I think we need to be honest with ourselves. Our league\u2019s made huge inroads with what payments look like for players, but we\u2019re miles away. \u2026 There were probably much more lucrative financial offers out there for her. And so to then come away with getting the nod from her is incredibly exciting in that sense and humbling, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Melbourne, a regional Victorian, is moving to a regional Victorian professional basketball team for more than money. Bendigo puts her much closer to her family in Victoria, which is important to her given that she\u2019s in the United States for half of the year.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, it was just time for a change for me,\u201d she told The IX Basketball. \u201cI\u2019ve been in Canberra for six years. I\u2019m not the player or the person I am without them, but I feel like sometimes you can only give so much to a franchise, and Canberra was just continuing to go through rebuilds. New faces were coming in and out of the program.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I decided that I kind of had given it all, and also I wanted to be in the same state as my family. \u2026 I spent a lot of time over here [in the U.S.], a lot of time away from family, so basically, honestly, it\u2019s just a switch-up. It was time for some fresh faces. Bendigo have a great group of people, and I think it\u2019s a team that, one, I\u2019ll be able to contend for a championship with; two, get better; and then three, I\u2019m also back home. So it was a perfect fit, and I can\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n Kereama commented on Melbourne \u201cbeing a regional Victorian superstar that\u2019s sort of come through the program.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I think she\u2019s a great champion for our program and being able to highlight that is great for us to be able to promote it within our program.\u201d<\/p>\n The roots are all intertwined. Melbourne has every reason to set up shop in Bendigo, and any WNBL team has every reason to throw the farm at her. The Spirit have an added incentive for her: Melbourne grew up in Traralgon, known for its farming, where the Spirit played one home game last season. The game ranked dead last in attendance. So what did the WNBL do? Scheduled two games there for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n The investment in community, with finances as an afterthought, is a perfect parallel to Melbourne\u2019s decision to join Bendigo. The Spirit also played two games in Ballarat last season that drew the second- and third-smallest crowds, but they\u2019re returning for two more in WNBL27. Their commitment to community is a genuine value that courses through the team and helps separate them in the league.<\/p>\n Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women\u2019s Sports Daily Another new teammate for Melbourne will be Olivia Pollerd. Yet Pollerd revealed that their partnership has been long-standing.<\/p>\n \u201cWe started playing together from Under-14 onwards,\u201d she told The IX Basketball. \u201cI was in every state team with her,\u2029 a lot of junior Australian teams, and then we moved to the [Australian Institute of Sport] together. So \u2026 we just know exactly how each other plays.<\/p>\n \u201cI absolutely love playing with Jade because we also really complement each other. She knows I love to shoot [the] three-ball. She\u2019s also a phenomenal passer, so any pick-and-pop situation that we can get into, we will get into. She loves it, I love it, and yeah, I think our games really complement each other, but it\u2019s also just having that history and that knowledge of one another.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked, \u201cYou two probably won a lot of games?\u201d Pollerd laughed confidently. \u201cYeah, we had a pretty successful run through our juniors,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n That chemistry doesn\u2019t end there, as Pollerd, Melbourne, Borlase and Spirit forward Kelsey Rees all played on Australia\u2019s U-19 World Cup team in 2021, winning the silver medal.<\/p>\n In fact, the Spirit have the most continuity in the WNBL, which is one of their competitive advantages. Melbourne bolsters the chemistry, even though she\u2019s a newcomer. She and Borlase were roommates at that U-19 World Cup and at the 2024 Olympics.<\/p>\n \u201cIzzy\u2019s one of my best friends,\u201d Melbourne said. \u201cSo when that opportunity arose, it was definitely an exciting one for me. Her development over the last 12 months, and just seeing how composed she stayed when she\u2019s playing her role in Atlanta as well, is exciting. So Izzy as well is someone that can get downhill, create shots for herself and teammates, but I think it\u2019s going to be transition where we thrive.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s just going to get out. I\u2019m going to make sure I hit her in transition [for] catch-and-shoot threes. I really want to make her life easy because last year she had a fantastic year. She averaged 24 points, but I think 20 of them were really tough to get, so if I can get her 10 easy ones a game, that\u2019s a goal of mine. But yeah, she\u2019s gonna get me catch-and-shoot threes. If one of us gets trapped, the other one\u2019s gonna be open, so our games are gonna complement each other so well. And \u2026 I\u2019m smiling ear to ear [right now], and I can\u2019t wait to be a part of that and play with her.\u201d<\/p>\n Kereama spoke on the team chemistry, too:<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the toughest things to manufacture is building chemistry. You aim to peak later in the season towards finals, and sometimes the challenge bringing in internationals is you\u2019ve got to try and build that chemistry and dynamic really quickly. And so the fact that Jade has runs on the board with myself and with [Kelsey Griffin<\/a>] and [Marianna] Tolo and obviously Izzy through the Opals, that automatically wouldn\u2019t mean everything\u2019s going to click instantly, but it\u2019s certainly going to help us.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019ve got high-caliber, WNBA-level Australian players, the likelihood is they\u2019re going to come in late with WNBA. You don\u2019t really have much runway to try and create that dynamic quickly. So being able to have that instant chemistry, I think, is going to be great. And not only that \u2026 [but] the way Jade plays and her personality is such that I think she could fit into any program, irrespective of who she\u2019s playing with. She\u2019s that quality of person.\u201d<\/p>\n The Spirit players\u2019 styles all complement each other, and there\u2019s already a desire to support each other. There\u2019s another theme that emerges: Aussies playing with Aussies. Whether it\u2019s a player joining forces with other elite Aussies, a general manager landing top-level Aussie talent or a coach being able to coach players they are familiar with, everybody benefits.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we always try and prefer to bring in Australians rather than imports,\u201d general manager Dan Jackson told The IX Basketball. \u201cWith an Australian, you know what you\u2019re going to get. \u2029Americans are a bit of a risk. Now, we\u2019ve been pretty lucky that the Americans we\u2019ve brought in have been pretty high quality for the past two years \u2014 initially Veronica Burton<\/a> and last year Meg McConnell \u2014 so two really good players have contributed to our successful seasons.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure if it was a deliberate thing for this year. It was just that this year there was a point guard available to us, whereas in the last couple of years, there was not really anyone on the market kind of on the level that we were hoping for.\u201d<\/p>\n Kereama was candid in discussing the topic:<\/p>\n \u201c[I\u2019m] not saying the devil you know is better than the devil you don\u2019t. But the reality is a bit of that, right? We\u2019ve kind of all got some synergy and history together in a number of different programs, so I think that\u2019s an incredibly helpful tool. [I] certainly see it as more of a catalyst than a hand brake, right? I think that\u2019s probably more of the consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Rare Gems\u2019 is out now! If you enjoy Megdal\u2019s coverage of women\u2019s basketball every Wednesday at The IX Sports, you will love \u201cRare Gems: How Four Generations of Women Paved the Way for the WNBA.\u201d <\/p>\n That synergy extends to the Aussies when they\u2019re in the States. As Borlase told The IX Basketball, \u201cAny time us Opals get to connect, it\u2019s genuinely super special because I guess we\u2019re going through the same things \u2026 Everything\u2019s new, it\u2019s different, and just to have that little touchpoint means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Borlase and Melbourne will bring that connection back with them and get to play in the same color jersey. Every time Melbourne has gone against Bendigo, the Spirit have been a juggernaut. She mentioned how tough Bendigo is defensively in particular, changing up schemes and making it difficult to score. Now she\u2019s part of that.<\/p>\n \u201cThey do stuff that is different [than] a lot of the teams in the league, and I feel like Kennedy is really good with those finer details and maximizing players\u2019 strengths,\u201d Melbourne said. \u201cSometimes on paper, Bendigo haven\u2019t had the most talented team, but they\u2019ve just had the right pieces, they\u2019ve had the right game plan. It\u2019s a tough night every given night, so I\u2019m just hoping that I can add to that. \u2026<\/p>\n \u201cLearning those details, getting kind of tricky with the game is something Bendigo has been really good at. I\u2019m excited to get amongst that, and also just embrace their fans and their community.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year, the Spirit were hampered by availability. Casey Samuels missed nearly the entire season injured. Marianna Tolo<\/a> was unavailable due to pregnancy. Micah Simpson also had a season-ending ACL injury, and Ashlee Hannan pulled the pin before the season started due to multiple concussions.<\/p>\n Pollerd spoke on the silver lining this gave Bendigo. \u201cWith our injuries, it was good for people like me and Kelsey Rees because we did kind of get thrown in the deep end earlier on and had more minutes,\u201d she said. \u201c\u2026 We got to grow into that space quickly. Now I feel like our team\u2019s going to be full of people with experience, which is so cool.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the absences also highlighted what Bendigo was missing most: playmaking. That\u2019s what Melbourne is elite at.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year, we thought we were pretty good, but we just fell short in kind of shot creation,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cWe\u2019d rely on Izzy so much to create offense for us. Hopefully Jade comes in and in late-clock scenarios, we\u2019ve got another option to throw it to rather than just Izzy having to do her thing.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, those two are both two of the best players in the league in transition, so I\u2019m sure they\u2019re going to get out and run as much as possible. Then also, it makes sense to put them in a ton of on-ball situations because we\u2019ve got guards that can get in the lane and create and then we\u2019ll have people like Abbey Wehrung on the perimeter that can shoot. So \u2026 we\u2019re pretty excited with the two and yeah, hopefully it\u2019s successful.\u201d<\/p>\n It sounded like there were children running around in the background of Jackson\u2019s call, which was presumably taken in Bendigo. Kereama, who was dealing with Melbourne\u2019s trademark traffic, had an eerily similar response, even though the two were speaking in completely different worlds:<\/p>\n \u201cJade\u2019s an incredibly dynamic scoring point guard that has the ability to play two ends of the floor, and Izzy Borlase is a scoring machine who\u2019s obviously come off an MVP-winning season. So really that\u2019s a situation where I thought last season teams could really sort of hone in on Izzy, and look, let\u2019s be honest, that didn\u2019t necessarily stop her. \u2026 But now we put another dynamic scoring guard that can create off pick-and-roll, that\u2019s incredibly quick in transition, who\u2019s great at getting downhill and forcing defenses to collapse. Now that creates another dimension to our offense and not to mention, Jade\u2019s an exceptional full-court defender.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I think there are some real challenges for opposition teams.\u2029 So for my perspective, I mean, it\u2019s going to be probably a bit of a match made in heaven, and we\u2019ve got all the right floor spacers within our group.\u201d<\/p>\n This team is spiritually bound regardless of its geography. It\u2019s always on the same page. There\u2019s still a bit of work to do on the roster, but the bulk of it has been done.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got seven contracted players at the moment,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cObviously, we\u2019re hopeful for results across Kelsey Griffin deciding to play again, but then also giving Marianna Tolo enough time, post-baby, to make a decision if she wants to try and come back and play. So there are two spots available. And then the last spot\u2019s probably just going to be like a backup point guard. So there\u2019s a chance that we go into the season with no imports.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Marianna decides not to play, maybe we do field just a depth position there. We\u2019re very happy and excited with Kelsey Rees and the progress she made last year. So we don\u2019t think we need to bring in someone that\u2019s going to play 35 minutes a game. So we\u2019ll just be looking for someone to kind of share minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n Imports are an important part of every team. Building a roster that is driven by Australian talent and supplemented with foreign excellence that can thrive while fitting in is a complicated tango that a contender has to dance to win a WNBL championship. As of right now, Bendigo doesn\u2019t have to worry about that.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can go the import routes,\u201d Kereama said. \u201cI mean, we had this up our sleeve last season. \u2026 Good Australian players are incredibly hard to replace; that\u2019s the reality. The Spirit, we\u2019re in an interesting phase of our program. We\u2019ve had success and we\u2019re playing good basketball. We\u2019re attracting people to our program. But also, we want to continue to build stronger connection with the community. And so Jade fits that for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Imports are usually key signings who start and play around 30 minutes a night. To have that \u201cup your sleeve\u201d illustrates how strong the Spirit\u2019s roster construction is.<\/p>\n Rep The IX Sports at your next game! <\/p>\n
We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women\u2019s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women\u2019s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!<\/p>\n![\"Seattle](\"https:\/\/www.theixsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-03T225836Z_1782260675_MT1USATODAY29321248_RTRMADP_3_WNBA-SEATTLE-STORM-AT-PHOENIX-MERCURY-1024x713.jpg\")
Seattle Storm guard Jade Melbourne (5) points to a teammate during a game against the Phoenix Mercury at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on July 2, 2026. (Photo credit: Mark J. Rebilas | Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
Howard Megdal, founder and editor of The IX Basketball and The IX Sports, wrote this deeply reported book. \u201cRare Gems\u201d follows four connected generations of women\u2019s basketball pioneers, from Elvera \u201cPeps\u201d Neuman to Cheryl Reeve and from Lindsay Whalen to Sylvia Fowles and Paige Bueckers.<\/p>\n![\"Australia](\"https:\/\/www.theixsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2024-08-11T104959Z_556315332_MT1USATODAY23971961_RTRMADP_3_OLYMPICS-BASKETBALL-WOMEN-FINALS-BRONZE-MEDAL-GAME-1024x683.jpg\")
Australia guards Jade Melbourne (2) and Isobel Borlase (20) celebrate after a 3-pointer against Belgium in the bronze-medal game of the 2024 Olympics at Accor Arena in Paris, France, on Aug. 11, 2024. (Photo credit: James Lang<\/a> | USA TODAY Sports)<\/p>\n
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