Kelsey Griffin hopes she is witnessing the birth of a Canberra Capitals dynasty - but to make sure of it she needs her teammates to take the same leap of faith she took.
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The Capitals will enter the WNBL grand final series with just three players signed beyond this season in Griffin and rising stars Keely Froling and Kristy Wallace.
Canberra coach Paul Goriss is trying to secure a new deal ahead of game one of the championship-deciding series against the Adelaide Lightning at the AIS Arena on Saturday night.
He is not alone - Marianna Tolo, Leilani Mitchell, Kelly Wilson, Maddison Rocci, Lauren Scherf, Hannah Young and imports Kia Nurse and Kaili McLaren will enter free agency at the end of the season.
Griffin took a gamble when she signed a two-year deal with the Capitals and she hopes the prospect of a long-awaited championship will see more follow suit.
"You look at clubs that have been successful for a long period of time, it’s who can keep that core together. In Bendigo, that’s what we had. Townsville has had a really great core for a long time," Griffin said.
"Australia is such a strong league, so when you can have a team that knows each other and the chemistry is there, and then you inject a little bit of talent through some imports, that’s when you really get something special. If we can keep people, that would definitely be the start.
"That would be great but one thing I learned in Bendigo is to not have that expectation, and to not take it personally either when people don’t re-sign.
"If they feel it’s best for them or their families to move on to a different club, or for financial situations or whatever reason they might leave, it’s been really special to have what we’ve had this year.
"If everyone stays that’s amazing, but if they don’t, I’m still very grateful for the group we’ve had this year."
Some changes across the board are inevitable in any team, but the Capitals will wait until the season has drawn to a close before negotiations ramp up.
Goriss' three-year deal comes to a close this season but his status as the league's coach of the year favourite should work in his favour after he steered the Capitals to their first grand final appearance in eight years.
Mitchell put contract talks on the backburner to focus on a championship tilt while Wilson will assess her future at season's end.
Canadian import Nurse faces an uncertain future but rather than trying to secure a deal in Canberra, she has set her sights on winning a title in her first WNBL stint.
"Every time you get an opportunity to sign a contract and come to a new team, that’s the goal at the end of the day and that’s what you want to get to," Nurse said.
"When you look at the roster, just at a glance, you could tell there was really an opportunity for us to do something special with this group this year.
"When you have a team that’s full of great talented players, sometimes you get a little bit of mixed emotions and mixed egos, but that’s not an issue we have here.
"That’s something really special about this team, everybody is so unselfish and willing to give up pieces of their game or themselves to make sure the team is successful.
"To be in a grand final is incredible, it’s definitely a testament to the great team we have here."
WNBL GRAND FINAL SERIES
Saturday: Game one - Canberra Capitals v Adelaide Lightning at AIS Arena, 5.30pm (AEDT). Tickets from Ticketek. Live on Fox Sports.
Wednesday: Game two - Adelaide Lightning v Canberra Capitals at Adelaide Arena, 7pm (AEDT). Live on Fox Sports.
Saturday: Game three (if necessary) - Canberra Capitals v Adelaide Lightning at AIS Arena, 5.30pm (AEDT). Live on Fox Sports.
