Canberra Capitals flying blind in WNBL season opener against Sydney Flames

The Capitals will travel up the highway for a round one clash with Keely Froling and the Sydney Flames at the Sydney Super Dome on Sunday afternoon.

Froling won two titles in Canberra but now co-captains a new look Sydney side built around rising star Shyla Heal with former Boomer Shane Heal at the helm.

Capitals coach Paul Goriss admits his side is going to have to adapt on the run, conceding "we know very little" about the newest iteration of the Flames.

But the Capitals boast a new-look team themselves with only half of last season's squad returning in pursuit of the club's record-extending 10^th championship.

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"We're going to have to learn on the fly very quickly as they throw different things at us," Goriss said.

"They've probably got inside information with Keely being here and playing here before. We know the individuals but they'll probably know a little bit more about us than we know about them.

"Other than individual players, we know very little. New coach, very much a new team and new players, so we know very little about them, their style and what they're going to play like.

"All we can do is guess, try and do a better job with our individual scout and we'll have to just coach and fly on the run and make adjustments as we see.

"To make adjustments on the fly and make them very quickly, experience helps. Having Kelsey [Griffin], Mik [Ruef], Kelly [Wilson], all of those players that have been around, is definitely going to help in those situations."

The prospect of facing Sydney in a pre-season game had been floated but the Capitals opted against playing a team they were originally scheduled to face in each of the opening three rounds.

Border restrictions dashed opportunities for pre-season games against interstate rivals but Goriss says the Capitals are in a better position to launch their campaign than they have been in years.

"We're just champing at the bit to get started. This is the longest pre-season we've had in my time here," Goriss said.

"We haven't had the niggling injuries we've had in the past, and we're probably in a better spot because we've got a few new pieces that have come into the group. We're further ahead than we thought we would be, especially with a longer pre-season.

"The inability to get games has really hampered that so we're unsure where we're at against WNBL opposition. We played against boys teams but it's not the same as playing against other WNBL teams."

WNBL ROUND ONE

Sunday: Sydney Flames v Canberra Capitals at Sydney Super Dome, 12.30pm.

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