Milestone Man: Guy Molloy’s coaching journey comes full circle as he hits 350 WNBL Games

Guy’s why has always been the same.

“To connect with my players and help them grow – it’s the reason I want to coach.”

Guy Molloy reaches a coaching milestone of sorts in the final round of the regular Cygnett WNBL season this weekend when he chalks up game 350.

Fittingly, in his fourth stint in the league, he will take Sydney Flames to finals, ending a seven-season club drought, in just over a week’s time.

Molloy made his coaching debut with the Canberra Capitals in 1989 as a fresh-faced 23-year-old.

After a spell in between, he went west to lead the Perth Breakers in 1993 guiding them to finals in all four seasons including a Grand Final appearance in his inaugural year.

Then,17 years later Molloy would return to the WNBL, rebuilding the Melbourne Boomers and reaching the pinnacle – a championship in his ninth and final campaign with the club.

Opportunity in New Zealand followed, alongside duties as Tall Ferns national coach, but then the Flames came calling and Molloy would take the reins in season 2023-24.

Born and bred in Young in regional NSW, Molloy moved to Canberra to study one of the first sports science degrees, with a major in coaching, at the University of Canberra in 1984.

He was also playing basketball and coaching his club’s junior boys teams.

“I really wanted to try and make the SEABL team and the big boss in Canberra at the time was Jerry Lee and he told me ‘You’re an average player, you might sneak on to the bench as the number 10 but we think that you’ve got a bit of a career as a coach, we’re searching for a WNBL coach and even though you’re very young we’ll take a punt on you’,” Molloy recalled his week.

“So, they appointed me coach for 1989 and I was an absolute disaster, I did it for a year and most of the players were older than me.”

When he landed in Perth a few years later, not only was Molloy more experienced but so too was the Breakers roster.

He was awarded the WNBL’s Coach of the Year award in 1995.

“We had a shot on the buzzer to win the Grand Final then the following three years we went to the finals so it was a good campaign and I really enjoyed that time in Perth,” Molloy says.

“The WNBL was firmly amateur at that time, there were a couple of leading players – the likes of Michele Timms, Shelley Gorman and Robyn Maher – who got paid a little bit of money but not much so I wanted to go back to the men’s side of coaching and see if I was able to forge out a bit of a career.”

Molloy then moved to Melbourne and assisted the legendary Brian Goorjian at the South East Melbourne Magic which turned into a lengthy tenure, as an assistant and head coach, through the NBL in addition to coaching Australian junior teams.

Years later, when Timms asked Molloy to help work out some of the emerging Bulleen Boomers young guns, he never imagined it would reignite his love of the craft and lead him to his third stint.

Molloy would lead the Boomers to the finals in his first season in 2013-14 and earn his second Coach of the Year gong.

But uncertain times followed with the club’s licence, new ownership and budget constraints.

He would rebuild the Boomers over the next three years, recruit Olympians and Melbourne locals Jenna O’Hea and Liz Cambage and return the club to finals.

Although the Boomers lost 2-1 to Townsville, the 2017-18 decider rates among the best Grand Finals since the championship game moved to a series.

A further three finals appearances followed culminating in a long-awaited and deserved first title for the veteran coach in 2021-22.

Now leading a rebuild at Sydney, there’s shades of déjà vu for Molloy.

“I’ve never been in situations where it’s cut-throat and win or else. It’s never been win at all costs because in most cases I’ve been in clubs where they’re not in a particular part of their cycle financially to even be capable of winning,” he says.

“I’ve wanted to build clubs that are good and become better and then occasionally you make finals, get to a Grand Final or win it but I’ve always tried to do it for the sake of helping the players grow and become better.”

Building relationships and player growth remain at the heart of what Molloy does and loves.

“Some players I’ve had very long relationships with – Cayla George, Tess Madgen, Ezi Magbegor, Bec Allen so those sorts of people it’s been long term and that’s great then you get the opportunity with really young players starting their journey like Bonnie Deas and Carla Pitman,” he says.

“They’re coming in fresh and full of life, they’re eager and want to get better, they want the help and they want the coaching.

“That reconnects you with why you’re doing it.”