Flames not content to “roll” into Grand Final

Feature image via Aden Theobald

First-placed Rockingham Flames, the clear front runners of the NBL1 West women’s competition all season long, have urged they aren’t rolling into the Grand Final just yet.

With a near-perfect 17-2 record, their regular season suggests the top-of-the-ladder team will continue that form as they head into the conference finals. 

Flames forward Jess Jakens is now a 270-game veteran of the league but in her first season with Rockingham. She was a Perth Redbacks stalwart and captain before joining the Willetton Tigers to be part of the team that reached the Grand Final in 2023.

She has now joined the Flames in 2024 alongside former Redbacks teammate Nes'eya Parker-Williams and along with her Willetton teammate from last year, Alex Sharp, and long-time rivals Shani Amos and Emma Gandini.

She iterated the importance of remaining headstrong, with the final teams putting their best feet forward in order to secure a ticket to the NBL1 West Grand Final at RAC Arena.

“There’s definitely a sense of knowing that we are going to have to prepare adequately to get to that RAC Arena Grand Final if the cards fall our way,” Jakens said on the Fast Break Radio Podcast.

“I don’t think any of us have large enough egos to think that we’re just going to roll into that, even though we’ve had a pretty strong win/loss record this year. Any team really in the top eight on any given night, if they show up to play, they’re going to be able to get a dub against anybody.”

Jakens and the Flames have had a standout season, proving to be the team to beat in the West with a 92 points-per-game average. 

The 30-year-old has averaged 11 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists across the regular season, with the last regular season round taking place this weekend.  

She explained that as long as the Flames play their “brand” of basketball, that ticket to RAC Arena will be Rockingham’s. 

“We’ll just be locking in well, working out what our scout will be, staying within our bubble and controlling the things that we can control, and making sure that we’re winning games in our style of basketball,” she said.

“If things aren’t falling our way, knowing what our brand is and what we can rely on to get through those patches of adversity and lapses, is something that will be integral to us.”

The Flames will take on the South West Slammers on Friday night from 6:30pm AWST, streaming live via NBL1.com or the NBL1 App.