The Canberra Capitals might not have won many games this season, but that matters little to 90-year-old super fan, Anthony Hall.
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He'll be front and centre once again on Saturday when the Capitals play Perth Lynx in their season finale, following a disappointing WNBL campaign.
"I love their superb athleticism," Hall told The Canberra Times while sitting in his regular seat before tip-off at a recent game at the National Convention Centre.
"They are very, very good players.
"Jade Melbourne - I watch her warm up and she doesn't miss half-court shots."
Hall's loyal following of the women's basketball team actually began with the Canberra Cannons in the men's game.
For nearly 40 years he served in the Australian army, following the family tradition set by his father, uncles and grandfathers, and was posted in Canberra.
Reaching the rank of colonel, he served overseas in Thailand, Papua New Guinea, England, the Antarctic and in the Vietnam War. In Bangkok he trialled British and American vehicles to test which would work better in Vietnam.
While he was posted in Canberra, Hall would take his young family to every Cannons game since its inaugural 1979 season and occasionally he'd go to the Capitals games too.
After his career in defence, Hall got into croquet following a brutal hockey accident, and rose up the ranks to become president of the World Croquet Federation, travelling the world for five years, trying to recruit countries to play croquet.
All the while he still had a love of basketball, and when the Cannons folded he fully jumped on the WNBL bandwagon with the Capitals and hasn't left them since.
"I'll keep coming to games, hopefully till I'm 100," Hall said. "I'm wanting to get that letter from the king."
Whether his family joins him for games or not these days, Hall is now a fixture in the stands, and has been their most devoted member through the highs and the lows.
"They haven't played as badly as their record showed," Hall said of their 2022/23 WNBL season.
"They've played half a dozen games where they've been highly competitive for three quarters and then lost - which is upsetting."
Hall has been to Capitals home games at the AIS Arena, at the National Convention Centre and up until a few years ago he even travelled for multiple away games with fellow supporters.
Former Capital turned coach Kristen Veal was one of his favourite players from the team, along with Australian basketball legend Lauren Jackson.
But when asked what the standout moment is from his many years watching the Capitals, without hesitation, it's the nine WNBL titles.
"Winning the championships is the best," Hall said. "I like to win. I'm highly competitive."
WNBL - Round 16
Canberra Capitals v Perth Lynx, Saturday 5.30pm at the National Convention Centre
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