Former Canberra Capitals skipper Abby Bishop will make a WNBL comeback after signing a deal to play for the Adelaide Lightning next season.
The Capitals were keen to explore any options in luring Bishop back to Canberra but the star forward will shift her base to Adelaide after a stint in Europe.
The Capitals are set to unveil recruit Lauren Scherf at an announcement on Thursday as coach Paul Goriss builds his roster for the 2017-18 season.
Bishop was the 2015-16 WNBL most valuable player and would have been the perfect recruit to fill the hole left by Europe-bound Marianna Tolo.
But the 28-year-old is returning to South Australia to team up with former Capitals assistant Chris Lucas.
"I am really grateful for the opportunity come back to my home state to play," said Bishop.
"I grew up in country [South Australia] and played a lot of basketball in Adelaide so this is close to my heart as I often look back and think about how it all started.
"I have had a lot to do with [coach] Chris [Lucas] in the past but have never had him as a head coach so this is something I am really excited about because I want to get better, be challenged and help Adelaide get back to their winning ways.
"I love the WNBL, and I have been a part of it for many years so to be coming back at such a great time with the new [television] deal and also so many great players coming back into the league, I am genuinely really excited for the upcoming season."
THREE CANBERRA NETBALLERS PICKED IN AUSSIE SIDE
Three Canberra netballers have been named in the Australian under-17 squad for a high-performance camp in Canberra in September.
Eliza Burton, Jasmine Fraser and Hayley Mason have all been rewarded for their outstanding performances at last month's nationals in Canberra.
"As a netball community we are incredibly proud of Eliza, Jasmine and Hayley's national selection," said ACT under-17 coach Kim Symons said.
"Their selection is not only testament to their hard work throughout the nationals but also the pathways we have within ACT netball that allows players to reach their full potential."
Burton represented the ACT under-19 side at the recent national championship even though she was still eligible to play in the under-17s division.
Netball Australia's general manager of high performance pathway, Stacey West described the upcoming camp as an opportunity for athletes to develop and progress into the elite pathway of netball in Australia.
"Whether it's their first experience in the national pathway or they've been in the system a while, these athletes will benefit from specialised coaching to further develop their position-specific skills," West said.
"The 17/U camp focuses on their development of their playing position, developing their skill set in the attack and defence units and then translating this new knowledge into match-play."
For the first time, a New Zealand representative side will join the under-17s camp, exposing the athletes to international competition.
"We're really looking forward to having the New Zealand representative side join us in Canberra," West said.
"The ability to analyse opposition and put strategies in play is a huge component of the camp, and exposing the athletes to this at an international level will be incredibly beneficial."
