Rockingham Flames is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of the Rockingham Basketball and Recreation Association (RBRA), the major administrative basketball organisation in the region. The Flames play their home games at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

Rockingham Flames
Rockingham Flames logo
LeaguesNBL1 West
Founded1992
HistoryMen:
Rockingham Flames
1994–present
Women:
Rockingham Flames
1992–present
ArenaMike Barnett Sports Complex
LocationRockingham, Western Australia
Team colorsRed, black, white
PresidentJo Clossick
Vice-president(s)Karina Tudor
General managerShannon Conrad
Head coachM: Ryan Petrik
W: Lukas Carey
Championships5
WebsiteRockinghamFlames.com.au

Club history

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In the early 1970s, Rockingham and Districts Basketball Association was established.[1][2]

The Rockingham Flames made their debut in the State Basketball League (SBL) in 1992 in the form of a women's team, becoming the first club to introduce a women's program before a men's program.[1] In 1994, a Rockingham Flames men's team entered the Men's SBL.[3] The club saw little success over their first 20 seasons in the SBL, with neither the women or the men winning a minor premiership or earning a grand final berth.[4]

In 2012, the Flames women made history for the club by reaching their first ever grand final,[5][6][7] where they lost 85–48 to the South West Slammers.[8]

Between 2013 and 2016, the Flames had a successful four-year run with women's import Sami Whitcomb and men's import Cooper Land. The pair both won multiple SBL MVPs, while Whitcomb led the Flames to two championships.[9][10][11][12]

 
NBL1 Championship Trophies, National (top) and West (bottom), won by the Flames men in 2022

In 2014, the women collected the club's first-ever minor premiership with a first-place finish and a 20–2 record. They went undefeated over the first two rounds of the finals to reach their second grand final,[13][14] where they defeated Lakeside Lightning 80–75 to claim their maiden WSBL championship.[15]

In 2015, the women finished as minor premiers for the second straight year, once again with a 20–2 record. They made their way through to their third WSBL Grand Final in four years after going undefeated over the first two rounds of the finals.[16][17] In the grand final, they defeated the Willetton Tigers 68–63 to claim back-to-back titles.[18]

In 2019, the Flames women finished the regular season in seventh position with a 13–9 record before reaching the WSBL Grand Final after going undefeated over the first two rounds of the finals.[19][20] In the grand final, the Flames defeated the Warwick Senators 85–56 to win their third WSBL championship.[21][22]

In 2021, the SBL was rebranded as NBL1 West.[23][24] The Flames men went on to reach the NBL1 West Grand Final to mark their first grand final appearance in their history,[25][26] where they were defeated 92–82 by the Perry Lakes Hawks.[27]

In 2022, the Flames men reached their second straight grand final, where they defeated the Geraldton Buccaneers 91–79 to win their maiden championship.[28][29] At the NBL1 National Finals, the team was crowned national champions with an 85–74 win over the Frankston Blues in the championship game.[30][31]

In 2023, the Flames men finished the regular season in first place with a 19–3 record to win their first ever minor premiership.[32] They went on to lose to the Joondalup Wolves in the preliminary final.[33][34] At the NBL1 National Finals, the team reached the grand final where they lost 90–85 to the Knox Raiders.[35]

In 2024, the Flames women finished the regular season in first place with an 18–2 record and went on to reach the NBL1 West grand final.[36][37][38] In the grand final, the Flames defeated the Cockburn Cougars 97–81 to win their fourth title.[39][40][41] They went on a 21–2 run in the last five minutes to overrun the Cougars, including scoring 19 consecutive points.[42]

Accolades

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The Flames' three SBL championship banners hanging on the wall at Mike Barnett Sports Complex, July 2020

Women

Men

References

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  1. ^ a b Cross, Hannah; Ryder, Telissa (3 August 2022). "Flame still burns brightly after 30 years". SoundTelegraph.com.au. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  2. ^ "did you catch us in the Sound Telegraph this week?". facebook.com/rockingham.flames. 6 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  3. ^ "2015 SBL Media Guide". SportsTG.com. p. 49. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  4. ^ Coleman, Hannah (16 August 2012). "Flames out to make club history (Women's semi-final preview)". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  5. ^ Marsh, Melissa (29 August 2012). "Grand Final feast for local hoops fans". PerthNow.com.au. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  6. ^ Coleman, Hannah (26 August 2012). "Flames, Cougars join Slammers and Eagles (Saturday night wrap)". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  7. ^ Coleman, Hannah (27 August 2012). "Slammers, Flames complete miracle turnaround (Women's semi-final wrap)". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  8. ^ Coleman, Hannah (1 September 2012). "Slammers claim first championship". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Samuelson backing in young Flames for the long haul". SportsTG.com. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  10. ^ "Flames need to shoot better but Samuelson has long-term vision". SportsTG.com. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  11. ^ Salvaire, David (17 February 2017). "Star import a loss for Flames". TheWest.com.au. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  12. ^ "Petrik confident of Flames' staying around the mark". SportsTG.com. 6 April 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  13. ^ Pike, Chris (28 August 2014). "Petrik looking forward to battle of best teams, players". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  14. ^ Pike, Chris (29 August 2014). "Women's SBL Grand Final Preview". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  15. ^ Pike, Chris (29 August 2014). "Flames claim first women's SBL championship". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  16. ^ Pike, Chris (27 August 2015). "Petrik keeps tricks up sleeve from Flames for Tigers in grand final". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  17. ^ Pike, Chris (28 August 2015). "Women's SBL Grand Final Preview". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  18. ^ Pike, Chris (28 August 2015). "Inspired Whitcomb leads Flames to back-to-back women's SBL titles". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  19. ^ "CRAWFORD PROUD TO HAVE FLAMES FIRING INTO GRAND FINAL". SBL.asn.au. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  20. ^ "WOMEN'S SBL GRAND FINAL PREVIEW". SBL.asn.au. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  21. ^ "Senators vs Flames". FIBALiveStats.com. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  22. ^ "GRAND FINAL SPOTLIGHT | DEEP FLAMES TOO HOT FOR SENATORS". SBL.asn.au. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  23. ^ "NBL1 West to tip off in 2021". NBL1.com.au. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  24. ^ Garlepp, Josh (30 October 2020). "State Basketball League to become NBL 1 West as WA clubs agree to unite under national second-tier banner". TheWest.com.au. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  25. ^ "Flames men fire their way past Lightning and into first grand final". rockinghamflames.com.au. 29 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  26. ^ "Men's Grand Final Preview: Perry Lakes Hawks v Rockingham Flames". NBL1.com.au. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  27. ^ "Hawks hold out brave Flames for inaugural NBL1 West crown". NBL1.com.au. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  28. ^ "ROCKINGHAM FLAMES CROWNED NBL1 WEST CHAMPIONS". NBL1.com.au. 3 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  29. ^ "NBL1 West Recap | Men's Grand Final". NBL1.com.au. 3 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  30. ^ "NBL1 National Finals Recap | Men's Championship Game". nbl1.com.au. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  31. ^ Fris, Justin (12 September 2022). "NBL1 West 2022: Rockingham Flames cap off remarkable week despite key omissions". SoundTelegraph.com.au. Archived from the original on 1 August 2024.
  32. ^ "NBL1 West Recap | Friday Finals Week 1". nbl1.com.au. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  33. ^ Pike, Chris (6 August 2023). "NBL1 West Recap | Preliminary Finals". NBL1.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 August 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  34. ^ Welhan, Monique (6 August 2023). "NBL1 West: Finals heartbreak for Mandurah Magic, Rockingham Flames". coastlive.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 August 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  35. ^ "NBL1 National Finals Recap | Men's Championship Game 2023". NBL1.com.au. 20 August 2023. Archived from the original on 20 August 2023.
  36. ^ Pike, Chris (4 August 2024). "Recap NBL1 West | Preliminary Finals Saturday". NBL1.com.au. Archived from the original on 4 August 2024.
  37. ^ Welhan, Monique (4 August 2024). "Mandurah Magic men, Rockingham Flames women through to NBL1 West grand finals". CoastLive.com.au. Archived from the original on 4 August 2024.
  38. ^ O'Donoghue, Craig (9 August 2024). "Cockburn Cougars and Rockingham Flames to battle for NBL1 West championship at RAC Arena". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 9 August 2024.
  39. ^ Pike, Chris (10 August 2024). "Recap NBL1 West | Women's Grand Final". NBL1.com.au. Archived from the original on 10 August 2024.
  40. ^ "Rockingham Flames win the 2024 NBL1 West women's championship". NBL1.com.au. 10 August 2024. Archived from the original on 10 August 2024.
  41. ^ Welhan, Monique (12 August 2024). "Rockingham Flames women claim 2024 NBL1 West championship". CoastLive.com.au. Archived from the original on 13 August 2024.
  42. ^ Pike, Chris (14 August 2024). "Wong thrilled Flames players rewarded with championship". NBL1.com.au. Archived from the original on 14 August 2024.
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