# Southside Flyers

The Southside Flyers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Flyers compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at the State Basketball Centre. For sponsorship purposes, they are known as the Jayco Southside Flyers.
The team was founded as the Dandenong Rangers in 1992. In 2019, the team was rebranded as the Southside Flyers.

## History

The Dandenong Rangers made their debut in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) in the 1992 season after Dandenong Basketball Association (DBA) obtained a WNBL license from the Nunawading Spectres. The Rangers went on to finish as runners-up in their first season, losing 58–54 in the grand final to the Perth Breakers. In the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons, the Rangers won back-to-back WNBL championships. They finished as runners-up in 2005–06. The team won their third championship in 2011–12 and finished runners-up again in 2016–17.
In July 2019, the Dandenong Rangers franchise was purchased from DBA by long-time sponsor Gerry Ryan and rebranded to the Southside Flyers. The team continued to play at Dandenong Stadium until moving to the State Basketball Centre in 2022.
In the 2019–20 WNBL season, the Flyers finished as runners-up. In the 2020 WNBL Hub season in Queensland, the Flyers won their first championship and fourth in franchise history. They finished runners-up again in 2022–23. The Flyers won their second WNBL championship and the franchise's fifth in the 2023–24 season. In the third and deciding game of the 2024 grand final series, the Flyers won 115–81 over the Perth Lynx, breaking the record for both the biggest winning margin in a grand final and the highest score.
Following the 2023–24 season, the Flyers sought to rebrand as the Melbourne Flyers following the transfer of the Melbourne Boomers' WNBL license to Geelong. The name change was initially accepted but later declined by the new league owners.

## Season-by-season records

| Season | Standings | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Finals | Head coach |
| Season | Standings | W | L | PCT | Finals | Head coach |
| Dandenong Rangers |||||||
| 1992 | 3rd | 14 | 6 | 70.0 | Won Semi Final (Canberra, 67–65) Won Preliminary Final (Melbourne, 67–57) Lost Grand Final (Perth, 54–58) | Alex Palazzolo |
| 1993 | 4th | 10 | 8 | 55.5 | Lost Semi Final (Perth, 68–83) | Alex Palazzolo |
| 1994 | 5th | 10 | 8 | 55.5 | Did not qualify | Alex Palazzolo |
| 1995 | 8th | 4 | 14 | 22.2 | Did not qualify | Alex Palazzolo |
| 1996 | 6th | 9 | 9 | 50.0 | Did not qualify | Steve Barr |
| 1997 | 4th | 9 | 9 | 50.0 | Lost Qualifying Final (AIS, 66–76) | Steve Barr |
| 1998 | 6th | 7 | 5 | 58.3 | Did not qualify | Steve Barr |
| 1998–99 | 7th | 6 | 15 | 28.5 | Did not qualify | Mark Wright |
| 1999–00 | 5th | 11 | 10 | 52.3 | Did not qualify | Mark Wright |
| 2000–01 | 4th | 15 | 6 | 71.4 | Won Semi Final (Adelaide, 83–71) Lost Preliminary Final (Sydney, 72–78) | Mark Wright |
| 2001–02 | 3rd | 15 | 6 | 71.4 | Lost Semi Final (Sydney, 85–98) | Mark Wright |
| 2002–03 | 5th | 11 | 10 | 52.3 | Did not qualify | Gary Fox |
| 2003–04 | 1st | 17 | 4 | 80.9 | Won Semi Final (Sydney, 85–68) Won Grand Final (Sydney, 63–53) | Gary Fox |
| 2004–05 | 1st | 19 | 2 | 90.4 | Won Semi Final (Bulleen, 63–59) Won Grand Final (Sydney, 52–47) | Gary Fox |
| 2005–06 | 1st | 14 | 7 | 66.6 | Won Semi Final (Adelaide, 75–70) Lost Grand Final (Canberra, 55–68) | Gary Fox |
| 2006–07 | 4th | 12 | 9 | 57.1 | Lost Semi Final (Adelaide, 61–66) | Gary Fox |
| 2007–08 | 4th | 12 | 12 | 50.0 | Won Semi Final (Canberra, 60–54) Lost Preliminary Final (Adelaide, 64–74) | Dale Waters |
| 2008–09 | 7th | 7 | 15 | 31.8 | Did not qualify | Dale Waters |
| 2009–10 | 7th | 7 | 15 | 31.8 | Did not qualify | Dale Waters / Dean Kinsman |
| 2010–11 | 4th | 12 | 10 | 54.5 | Lost Elimination Final (Logan, 73–83) | Mark Wright |
| 2011–12 | 3rd | 14 | 8 | 63.4 | Won Semi Final (Townsville, 77–66) Won Preliminary Final (Adelaide, 91–78) Won Grand Final (Bulleen, 94–70) | Mark Wright |
| 2012–13 | 2nd | 19 | 5 | 79.2 | Lost Semi Final (Bendigo, 71–78) Lost Preliminary Final (Townsville, 64–78) | Mark Wright |
| 2013–14 | 2nd | 16 | 8 | 66.6 | Lost Semi Final (Bendigo, 62–71) Lost Preliminary Final (Townsville, 71–74) | Mark Wright |
| 2014–15 | 3rd | 12 | 10 | 54.5 | Lost Semi Final (Sydney, 80–89) | Mark Wright |
| 2015–16 | 3rd | 15 | 9 | 62.5 | Lost Semi Final (South East Queensland, 82–86) | Larissa Anderson |
| 2016–17 | 2nd | 15 | 9 | 62.5 | Won Semi Final (Perth, 2–1) Lost Grand Final (Sydney, 0–2) | Larissa Anderson |
| 2017–18 | 7th | 7 | 14 | 33.3 | Did not qualify | Larissa Anderson |
| 2018–19 | 5th | 9 | 12 | 42.8 | Did not qualify | Larissa Anderson |
| Southside Flyers |||||||
| 2019–20 | 1st | 17 | 4 | 80.9 | Won Semi Final (Adelaide, 2–0) Lost Grand Final (Canberra, 0–2) | Cheryl Chambers |
| 2020 | 1st | 11 | 2 | 84.6 | Won Semi Final (Townsville, 106–93) Won Grand Final (Townsville, 99–82) | Cheryl Chambers |
| 2021–22 | 7th | 5 | 12 | 41.1 | Did not qualify | Cheryl Chambers |
| 2022–23 | 2nd | 15 | 6 | 71.4 | Won Semi Final (Melbourne, 2–1) Lost Grand Final (Townsville, 0–2) | Cheryl Chambers |
| 2023–24 | 2nd | 13 | 8 | 61.9 | Won Semi Final (Melbourne, 2–1) Won Grand Final (Perth, 2–1) | Cheryl Chambers |
| Regular season | Regular season | 389 | 287 | 57.5 | 5 Minor Premierships | 5 Minor Premierships |
| Finals | Finals | 18 | 20 | 47.3 | 5 WNBL Championships | 5 WNBL Championships |
Source: WNBL

## Players
### Former players

* Jessica Bibby
* Stephanie Blicavs
* Liz Cambage
* Aimie Clydesdale
* Alison Downie
* Jacinta Kennedy
* Kathleen MacLeod
* Anneli Maley
* Emily McInerny
* Leilani Mitchell
* Jenna O'Hea
* Laia Palau
* Kayla Pedersen
* Cappie Pondexter
* Stephanie Reid
* Mercedes Russell
* Penny Taylor
* Samantha Thornton
* Louella Tomlinson
* Carly Wilson