HOBART & LAUNCESTON On August 19, 2025, the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) officially announced Tasmania’s return as its ninth franchise, marking a moment of rediscovery and hope for a community starved of homegrown women’s hoops. Days like this don’t come easily, especially for this rugged island of promise and passion.
A State Missing a League, Not a Dream
Between 1986 and 1996, the Hobart Islanders represented Tasmania in the WNBL, an era marked by one championship but also financial instability and geographic isolation. When they folded, the league lost more than a team; it lost a cultural pulse.
Since then, fans clung to local heroes and watched opportunity feel distant.
But then came 2021: the JackJumpers, Tasmania’s NBL men’s team, burst in, selling out every home game a seismic jolt that said, “Tasmania can carry pro basketball.”
WNBL leadership watched, and slowly, momentum turned into inevitability.
“An Easy Decision” That Means Everything
WNBL CEO Jennie Sager didn’t mince words when asked; she said bringing a women’s team back to Tasmania was “a pretty easy decision.” The Tasmanian basketball community proved itself ready, hungry, and capable of hosting elite competition.
It wasn’t just a business move. It was a cultural embrace and a recognition that southern Australia’s waves of purple-devoted fans deserved representation on the court.
More Than a Franchise: A Cultural Reclamation
This expansion will do more than add a jersey to the league; it will revive a legacy. Rooftops across Hobart and Launceston will now echo with new rival chants, home arenas will glow with female athleticism, and young Tasmanian girls will believe that pro basketball isn’t just possible, it’s a path.
Over ten new WNBL roster spots, new coaching roles, support staff, and off-court leadership roles offer more than jobs; they offer trajectories. It’s pathway-building, institutional representation, and female empowerment, all rolled into one.
WNBL management is intentional: their plan includes spreading games across both major cities, ensuring emotional and economic reach extends across the state. No corner feels left behind.
Why the Time Is Now
Women’s basketball in Australia is on a high crest. The Opals are climbing back into the world’s top two, grassroots participation is booming, and the WNBL is finally getting the structural lift it has long deserved. Tasmania’s entry is part of a broader resurgence and a guarantee that investment, visibility, and reach are now interconnected.
This isn’t expansion for its own sake. It’s an expansion because the league and the people behind it know that visibility matters. Representation matters. And timing, as they say, matters most when history and opportunity collide.
Tasmania’s Team Could Set a Blueprint If Done Right
There’s still work ahead: the team must settle on a name that reflects identity, align branding with cultural heritage, and ensure economic sustainability. But Tasmania’s sporting soul, fortified by decades of underdog triumphs, suggests that authenticity, community buy-in, and grassroots energy will make this team more than just viable; it will make it vital.
Semi-rural townhouses, sheep paddocks, the GOR, and Clarence Street could soon share space with banners that read “Our WNBL Team.” And that shift, subtle as it is, matters to hearts and history.
