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Opinion
Townsville Fire had a 5–16 season in 2019-20, seeing them tied for last place. However, due to a tiebreaker they finished in seventh over Bendigo.
It was a down year and the Fire will be looking to bounce back in the bubble.
Townsville is one of only two teams last year to not use an import slot on an American.
Major additions and subtractions
Additions
Loz Nicholson- Was one of the marquee signings of the offseason. The dynamic combo guard is a menace on both ends of the floor and one of the top 20 guards in the league.
Her resume includes NBL1 Defensive Player of the Year, Australian Opal and WNBL Defensive Player of the Year.
Nadeen Payne- Came over from Perth Lynx, the versatile Power Forward is quite literally a huge singing as she plays bigger than her height. She will most likely start for the Fire and gives great depth in the front court for the coach to work with.
Stephanie Reid- A great PG pickup for the Fire, to either start besides Nicholson or be a plug in sixth man at either guard spot. The do it all guard had a great season last year and will be looking for a larger role in 2020. Much like most of the Fire roster, she is young and will improve yearly with this core.
The Youngsters- Townsville has done a great job of collecting young talent that will pay dividends in years to come. This year they will have chances to get on court and grow, while hopefully developing into stand out players of the league in the future.
Subtraction
Tess Madgen- Any time you lose an Opal, it will be mentioned. The loss is offset by other signings but Madgen is a legend of the game. Her IQ and passing will be hard to replace.
Summary
Maybe only one of two or three teams who can legitimately say that they are more talented this season than last, even with no imports. The Fire added some HIGH-level vets to help the team now and added some very skilled youngsters to set the team up long term. the future is bright for the Fire.
Prediction
Move up a spot to 6th. However, another year of this group together and 2022 could be a playoff year.
(5-9)
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