Canberra Capitals enter 'soft bubble' to avoid COVID-19 concerns in WNBL season

Capitals players are effectively limiting themselves to attending practice and games, and where possible avoiding exposure to any person outside of the organisation to lessen the risk of the virus infiltrating their ranks again.

Ten matches have been postponed across the competition this season with a pair of Capitals games, slated to be played against Sydney and Melbourne, still stuck in limbo.

The WNBL season is already poised to stretch into April, with officials now scrambling to reschedule the delayed games amid concern about further game-day cancellations caused by the pandemic.

Canberra will return to action for their second outing of the new year when they face the Perth Lynx at the Ballarat Sports Events Centre on Wednesday night.

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It tips off a hectic schedule boasting three matches in five days, with Sunday's clash likely to mark the return of head coach Paul Goriss following his suspension for an integrity breach.

"We've been working really hard on the court still, that never stops. We've got to keep focusing on what's coming next even if it's a surprise," Capitals player Casey Samuels said.

"We've been limiting what we've been doing and just really focusing on what game we have ahead. It's always going to be hard, we don't know what is next sometimes. We've got to keep taking it day by day.

"We've had a few weeks off now due to some cancellations so it's going to be good to get some games under our belt. Hopefully we come away with some wins there to keep us at the top of the ladder."

Wednesday's clash is closely followed by a meeting with the Southside Flyers on Wednesday, before the Capitals return to the National Convention Centre to face Bendigo on Sunday.

The Capitals were the first team to be struck by COVID-19 this season, though at one stage thereafter they were the only club not to be stuck in the league's health and safety protocols as the virus ran rampant.

"Our group is really lucky, we haven't had much COVID come into our group. We can keep training. We're building that chemistry with each other," Canberra guard Tahlia Tupaea said.

"The group that went to Melbourne last week, it must have been pretty frustrating for them to have to come all that way and then come back, and they drove as well.

"It is what it is, at the end of the day we can't control these things. As long as we're ready when the game comes.

"Three games coming up is going to be really tough. We have the team to do it and we have the coaching staff, so we'll all get on board together and talk about how we're going to get through it."

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