Marianna Tolo and Keely Froling have been slapped with fines after WNBL officials refused to backtrack on a demand all clubs "support the league in decisions made for the betterment of the competition".
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The Canberra Capitals duo were hit with $250 fines after breaching rule 1.5 of the league's media policy after publicly criticising the league's failure to suspend a player for foul play.
Their arguments to overturn the infringement were deemed insufficient by the league's head office.
Their "inflammatory comments" came after Melbourne Boomers import Sophie Cunningham avoided a suspension for making contact with Froling's face during the semi-final series.
The Canberra duo have now been forced to cough up the same amount of money Cunningham did - the latter being for an on-court swipe at an opposing player, the former for speaking out about it.
MORE CAPITALS NEWS
Now the Capitals will look to bury the drama with the lure of winning a championship on home court fuelling them as they set their sights on the WNBL grand final series opener.
A road win would give the Capitals a chance to claim back-to-back titles when they host the return bout in game two at the AIS Arena on Wednesday.
The Capitals won both meetings between the two sides in Dandenong in emphatic fashion - but that doesn't make the series opener a foregone conclusion.
Kia Nurse says both teams enter the championship decider with a clean slate, but admits the chance to add a ninth banner to the rafters at home is one she would relish.
"You can't look at game two, past game one... but that would obviously be the ideal situation and something we would love to look forward to," Nurse said.
"We've got to get it done on Sunday first and figure that one out. It's just a matter of really focusing on what we've done really well, and what we did well against them, and going back to those games.
"Finals basketball is on a different level to regular season, but we're super excited to go back to a gym we've had some success at."
WNBL GRAND FINAL FIXTURE
Sunday March 1: Game one - Southside Flyers v Canberra Capitals at Dandenong Stadium, 5pm.
Wednesday, March 4: Game two - Canberra Capitals v Southside Flyers at AIS Arena, 7.30pm.
Sunday, March 8: Game three - Southside Flyers v Canberra Capitals at Dandenong Stadium, 1pm.
Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports journalist for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports journalist for The Canberra Times.
