"Revenge Time" for Rockhampton

Feature image via: Amy Trinca

In her fourth season with the Cyclones, Lara McSpadden has revealed Rockhampton has developed a truly special place in her heart. 

Leading her team to the Grand Final Series in 2023, McSpadden has been instrumental in Rockhampton’s undefeated start to the new campaign.

After the pandemic had settled to a point where basketball could continue, McSpadden explained how she ended up in Rockhampton.

“When I think about the first year that I signed… I was talking to a bunch of teams at the time. Rocky (Rockhampton) just opened up and gave me a good deal to be fair, that was pretty much as simple as it was,” she said on the Ball Don’t Lie podcast. 

“It’s just a really special place and I’ve grown to love it even more every season.” 

The pain of last season’s Grand Final loss is still fresh in her mind ahead of this week’s re-match against the Northside Wizards. 

“I don’t think we realised at the start, what our season was going to look like,” McSpadden said. 

“You can say you want to win a championship, but we didn't really even know how far we were going to get. We believed in ourselves, don’t get me wrong. But to get to the Grand Final, and have everyone else in the league rank us in the bottom half of the teams.

“When we got there, it was already successful in itself how far we got. Now it’s just about revenge time really. We've not been holding grudges, but we’ve got business to attend to in that regard.”

Related: Who’s still undefeated?

McSpadden warned Northside will be facing a hostile crowd on Sunday afternoon, stating it’s an adjustment for any opposition team coming into Rockhampton. 

“It’s unlike anything I would say I’ve ever experienced until I played there,” the WNBL veteran said. 

“Thank god I haven’t been on an opposing team, because that would be confronting.” 

Lara McSpadden wants ???? ????? ?

The Rockhampton star has racked up 1??6?? first half points ?

Watch Game Two of the #NBL1NorthFinals Grand Final Series Live & Free via @kayosports Freebies ? pic.twitter.com/FKYXyDS2lP

— NBL1 (@NBL1) August 5, 2023

McSpadden explained the Wizards are a really tough opponent, having experience at every position on the floor. Her biggest praise for Northside was their collective intelligence as a group, being able to adapt without their coach's instructions. 

However, she also believes the Cyclones have grown into a championship-level team.

“We are relentless. We train header then we play, which I think goes a long way,” McSpadden said.

“I think the main thing is we are young and we are fit, we don’t let that shake us in the face of other teams that have older players. We can outlast people.

“And we have a great culture, that’s definitely a major contributor to the success we’ve seen and the growth of the program the last four years that I’ve been here.” 

Watch the NBL1 North Grand Finals Series re-match live on Sunday, streaming live from 1:00pm AEST live via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.