Molloy to join WNBL’s 350-game club
This Saturday, Sydney Flames’ Guy Molloy will coach his 350th game in the WNBL when his side takes on Southside at Quaycentre.
By doing so, he joins rarified air, as only the sixth coach to reach the milestone – joining the likes of Phil Brown, Carrie Graf, Tom Maher, Chris Lucas and Cheryl Chambers.
“During your career, you hope to make an impact and positive influence in people’s lives and when milestones come up like this, it allows you a chance to reflect on that,” Molloy said.
“Receiving all those lovely messages from people I’ve crossed paths with was extremely humbling, as they’ve all impacted me in some fashion too.
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“The biggest part of this role is the people and relationships you build over time.
“As they say, it’s a wonderful job and horrible profession, with plenty of highs and lows, but I love it and it allows me to impact people and teams to go beyond what they would if they were left to their own devices.
“I’ve never been driven solely by winning, rather that’s the by-product of good work.”
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Molloy started his WNBL journey with the Canberra Capitals in 1989, a position he held for one season.
After a stint with the NBL franchise, the Canberra Cannons (as an assistant coach), Molloy returned to the WNBL in 1993 with the Perth Breakers – coaching four finals campaigns with the West Australian franchise.
Stops at NBL clubs, the South East Melbourne Magic (1997-98), Victoria Titans (1999-00), Cairns Taipans (head coach from 2001-05) and South Dragons (assistant coach from 2006-09, including winning the NBL09 title) followed before he returned to the WNBL in 2013 ahead of the 2013 season with the Melbourne Boomers.
This is a role that Molloy had great success in from 2013-2022, guiding the Boomers to their second-ever championship in 2022, alongside current Sydney skipper Cayla George and Flame #221 Tess Madgen.
It was during this time, Molloy won one of his two WNBL Coach of the Year awards (2014 after also winning in 1995) and coached at three World Cups with the Australian junior men’s side, including a silver medal at the under 17 titles in 2012.
After departing Melbourne, Molloy spent time coaching the Tall Ferns as well as both Wellington and Southland in the New Zealand NBL.
The final stop on that journey to date is in Sydney after being announced as their coach in April 2023 – a role he’s thoroughly enjoyed.
“I can still remember when the Sydney role first presented itself and I was excited about where the club wanted to Flames to go,” said Molloy, who coached with Kings’ Brian Goorjian at both the Magic and Titans.
“We didn’t have a roadmap of how to get there and knew it wouldn’t be an instant fix, rather be patient and build a strong program.
“Despite all the adversity last year, we finished the season just outside the finals on percentage.
“Then this year, with even more adversity, we managed to make finals, which is an accomplishment I rank very highly.
“We’ve taken plenty of hits this year but the way the whole team and staff have stuck together is amazing and something I’m very proud of.”
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In terms of the fixture itself, Molloy feels it’s the perfect opportunity for his team to gain some momentum before the semi-finals against Bendigo.
“While it’s been a tough year for the Flyers after a championship last year, they still have a lot of talent on their roster,” he said.
“So it’ll act as a quality tune-up ahead of finals, in front of our amazing home fans.”
Molloy will be recognised for this achievement pre-game, with a special presentation on the court.
Tickets to the round 16 clash between the Flames and Flyers are still available here.