Canberra Capitals star Alex Bunton making memories on and off the court

With the event coinciding with her birthday, the annual spring festival proved a perfectly timed outing for the Canberra Capitals star and her family.

So when Bunton returned to Floriade on Wednesday with her two-year-old daughter Opal, it didn't take long for the childhood memories to return.

"I always remember Floriade for my birthday on October 13," Bunton said. "Canberra is known for Floriade and I've been coming here since I was a little girl. It's an amazing place.

"Opal loves it as well. She's here for the donuts and the ferris wheel and she's telling me all the colours of the flowers. It's a great bonding moment for us."

Floriade isn't the only special place Opal has attended with her mother, with Bunton juggling the rigours of an elite basketball career and life as a mother.

It's a task that came into focus last summer when the veteran stepped out of retirement to have another crack at the WNBL with the Capitals.

With the new season now just weeks away, Bunton is confident she will be able to apply plenty of lessons from an eventful 2021-22 both on and off the basketball court.

"I consider myself a pro mum and a pro athlete now," she said. "Opal's the best, she loves it.

"She now says 'mummy goes to basketball'. That's a beautiful thing for me. Instead of just disappearing and going to training, to have her recognise where I'm going and be part of it."

Bunton and the Capitals are putting the finishing touches on their preparations for the WNBL season with a pre-season clash with the Sydney Flames at Tuggeranong on Friday.

It's a game that comes just three weeks out from a round one match against the Bendigo Spirit.

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A pair of fresh faces will be present for the contest, with Canberra confirming the signing of development players Abby Solway and Chloe Tugliach.

It will mark Solway's second year in that role and comes after a standout NBL1 season with the Canberra Nationals.

Tugliach also featured for the Nationals and impressed Capitals coach Kristen Veal at a future talent day in September and was rewarded with a development contract for the upcoming season.

Having first made her WNBL debut in 2009, Bunton may be nearing the end of her career, but she finds herself in an unusual position this summer.

She is pain free.

The crippling knee injuries that initially forced her into retirement in 2019 are no more and the physical health has the veteran, who turned 29 on Thursday, feeling mentally refreshed.

Having learnt how to manage her body, Bunton is confident she can lead a rejuvenated Capitals side to another playoffs run.

"Coming off last season and not putting any pressure on myself, I've just been working hard during the off-season," Bunton said. "I didn't play, I was in the gym doing my own thing and I'm shaping up pretty well.

"There's a new vibe around the team. There's some young ones, we have Brit Smart, she's the veteran now. It's a different vibe, it's really positive and the energy we're getting is continuing to give us confidence."

Bunton will have plenty of supporters watching at Tuggeranong on Friday, with Opal leading the charge.

It won't be the first time the two year old has watched her mother play and it's hoped one day the roles could be reversed.

"She's got her own little singlet now. It's going to be really cute to debut that on the weekend.

"[Carrie Graf] has already signed her," Bunton joked. "That was a no-brainer for Graffy."

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