???Canberra Capitals coach Paul Goriss is confident the club made the right choice to protect Olympian Rachel Jarry after she was concussed, despite her absence adding pain to a fifth consecutive defeat.
Jarry is expected to be fit to play two games against the Sydney Flames on Thursday and Saturday.
The 25-year-old copped an accidental elbow to the head at training last week and was ruled out by AIS medical staff, despite confusion about the WNBL's concussion policy.
The WNBL uses the Basketball Australia concussion policy and the competition's boss, Sally Phillips, is working with the players' association to develop strategy for the future.
Jarry will be a welcome sight for the Capitals this week as they attempt to resurrect their season.
"Rachel will be good to go. But you don't mess with concussion. We wanted to follow medical advice from the AIS doctors," Goriss said.
"I don't ever want to put a player's health in jeopardy because of a basketball game. As much as Rachel is super competitive and wants to play, we've got to do the right thing by our athletes."
The Capitals suffered a double blow last week, losing games against the Adelaide Lightning and the Townsville Fire by three and 15 points respectively.
There growing angst in the league about the referees and the Capitals were on the wrong side of a 33-12 free-throw count in their two games.
The referees came under fire last week when former Capitals skipper Abby Bishop voiced her frustration at the inconsistency of officials, prompting the WNBL to issue a warning to the rest of the league.
Players or coaches commenting on referee performances will be fined up to $5000.
But the referees have their own frustrations and are growing concerned about the lack of feedback they are getting from their bosses.
Sixteen of the 32 referees in the WNBL this year are in either their first or second season and it is believed there has been minimal feedback on their performances so far this season.
The big concern for the referees and teams is making sure the standard of officials matches the rejuvenated on-court standard of the players, which coincides with the WNBL's return to television.
There will need to be more money invested in referees to achieve that standard, but basketball is still finding its feet and a business model to ensure the game's long-term viability.
"We're very supportive of the work being done to develop the referee talent, they have my support and I won't allow players or coaches to be disrespectful to our up and coming talent," Phillips said.
