The Southside Melbourne 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 Melbourne Flyers.

The team was founded as the Dandenong Rangers in 1992. In 2019, the team was rebranded as the Southside Flyers. In 2025, the team rebranded to the Southside Melbourne 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.

In July 2025, the team was rebranded as the Southside Melbourne Flyers.

Season-by-season records Season Standings Regular season Finals Head coachWLPCT 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 Chambers20201st11284.6Won Semi Final (Townsville, 106–93) Won Grand Final (Townsville, 99–82)Cheryl Chambers2021–227th51241.1Did not qualifyCheryl Chambers2022–232nd15671.4Won Semi Final (Melbourne, 2–1) Lost Grand Final (Townsville, 0–2)Cheryl Chambers2023–242nd13861.9Won Semi Final (Melbourne, 2–1) Won Grand Final (Perth, 2–1)Cheryl ChambersRegular season 389 287 57.5 5 Minor PremiershipsFinals 18 20 47.3 5 WNBL Championships

Source: WNBL

Players Current roster

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

References

External links

Official WNBL club website