The Canberra Capitals insist off-court distractions and controversy has brought them closer together as a group, giving coach Paul Goriss confidence they are ready for an end-of-season surge.
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The Capitals will return to the court on Thursday night refreshed for a run of home games and then a month on the road to finish the regular season.
But the two-week break wasn't without its problems. Casey Samuels has been stood down following an incident on the Gold Coast and will face court next week.
The Samuels situation adds to a year of ups and downs, including Goriss' suspension earlier in the season for viewing confidential footage of a Sydney Flames scrimmage and constant COVID-19 disruptions.
Somehow after all that, the Capitals find themselves second on the ladder and are intent on adding another championship to the club's rich history.
"I do believe it's a strong group and that's might us tight and together," Goriss said.
"The situations we've been through with myself and being out for four weeks, you saw the way the team rallied around that. We didn't have a perfect record, but to have some of the wins we got shows that it galvanised the group.
"It goes to show you the character of the group. I think some situations make or break you, and I think it's definitely made us closer.
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"Having games cancelled on game day when everyone's ready to go and has done the preparation, it did start to take a toll on our group mentally. It was good for everyone to go away and come back refreshed."
The Capitals will play the Southside Flyers on Thursday night and then the Townsville Fire on Saturday as they attempt to extend a four-match winning streak.
Pending COVID cancellations, they will then play home games against the Melbourne Boomers and Perth Lynx, before spending the last month of the season on the road.
The Capitals have won seven of their 10 games, putting them second behind the Lynx and just ahead of the Boomers. But virus postponements across the competition are going to cause ladder chaos in the run to the playoffs.
"You can't read too much into the ladder at the moment. You even look where Southside is, they're only three wins off being second or third," Goriss said.
"With a shortened season and us being on the road in march could take a toll on wins and losses. We knew we had to beat the teams below us and I think we've proven that we've got that consistency."
The Flyers will be bolstered by the return of a trio of Australian Opals, including former Capitals Maddison Rocci and Kristy Wallace, and Sara Blicavs. The Capitals beat the Flyers without their star trio, and the injured Abby Bishop, when the teams met at the start of February.
"We fell asleep in the third quarter last time and they've got three very talented players coming back ... they're a real danger team," said Canberra guard Jade Melbourne.
"We have to make sure we focus on them, it's going to be a whole different ball game this time."
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