She can't hold it against them - they're only human. But when she looks at Canberra Capitals young gun Gemma Potter, she sees the makings of a future star.

Potter will come from the bench in Canberra's hunt for a clean sweep on the road against the Melbourne Boomers at the State Basketball Centre on Saturday night.

The 17-year-old has been a revelation for the Capitals in her rookie WNBL season and she took another huge step forward in Canberra's win over the Southside Flyers this week.

Now Capitals co-captain Griffin hopes Potter can continue her impressive rise before she ships off for college commitments with UCLA next year.

"It's good because she goes in and just gives it a crack. She's not intimidated, which doesn't always happen with young players," Griffin said.

"It's exciting that you know she is going to come out, and whether she makes a great play or makes a mistake, she is going to be aggressive in what she is doing.

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"That's really important, especially for a young player. Gemma has been a good addition off the bench.

"She came up with some really clutch steals [against Southside], she had a stretch where she had two or three steals in a row which was huge for us.

"As young player, understanding you can have impacts on the game more than just scoring, is pretty special.

"If she continues to build on that she is going to have a great collegiate career."

Potter forms a key part of a Capitals outfit desperate to right the wrongs of their last clash with Melbourne - a 35-point thrashing on the road in Geelong.

Griffin is confident the win over the previously-unbeaten Flyers has provided the framework the Capitals can build upon in a bid to make amends.

"We were woeful defensively when we played [Melbourne two weeks ago] and had the worst start we have had all season," Griffin said.

"Being prepared from the get go and being far more aggressive defensively is going to be huge.

"I'm a big believer in the possession game, they out-rebounded us and we had more turnovers than them, when you give a team that many more possessions, they're going to convert.

"That showed in our last game so we need to win the possession game and play defence like we did [against Southside], and we will be in a really good position down the stretch.

"I think it will be a close game but we will be in a far better position than we were last time.

"When everyone contributes it makes it harder to defend. We didn't dig ourselves into a hole [against the Flyers] and it makes us far more competitive."

WNBL ROUND FIVE

Saturday: Melbourne Boomers v Canberra Capitals at State Basketball Centre, 7.30pm. Live stream via the WNBL website.