AFTER a breakout WNBL season, young gun Lilly Rotunno will return to Geelong United carrying plenty of confidence and higher expectations as their NBL1 South campaign approaches.<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old was recognised for her career-best season at the Geelong Venom with a nomination for the league’s Breakout Player of the Year Award and also took out the club’s Coaches Award.<\/p>\n
Now, as she returns for her second season with United, Rotunno will look to become a key piece on the rotation in the pursuit of the club’s maiden championship.<\/p>\n
With injuries and a slate of bad luck causing the Geelong Venom to endure a tricky 2025-26 season, Rotunno was able to move into a regular starting role.<\/p>\n
“I wasn’t expecting to get as much opportunity as I did,” she said. “I didn’t know how much I was going to play and I wasn’t sure what role I was playing either.<\/p>\n
“I was just really grateful that I even got an opportunity to play a decent amount of minutes because I definitely wasn’t expecting it going into the season.”<\/p>\n
After her first two WNBL seasons saw her play a combined 14 matches. Rotunno featured in 23 for the Venom and averaged more than 21 minutes per game.<\/p>\n
She said she took plenty of learnings from the experience, which she will utilise for her NBL1 campaign.<\/p>\n
“I feel like I’ve always struggled with confidence and the WNBL season really set me up to go in very confident and knowing what I’m capable of,” Rotunno said.<\/p>\n
“I learned a lot about how I can lead, even though I’m only 22.<\/p>\n
“Learning how to lead at my age and having that mature style of play will help me in the long run. [It is] something I had to take on very quickly.<\/p>\n
“The NBL1 is a great place to take the time, work on your own skillset, and then put it into play on court.<\/p>\n
“That will be my biggest focus going into the season because I feel like if I can do that, I’m going to get better, which as a point guard, I’m going to make my team better. So, that’s where my mindset’s at.”<\/p>\n
Being recognised for her strong WNBL season, she said, has further boosted her confidence heading into her year with United.<\/p>\n
“Awards aren’t the biggest thing in my head,” Rotunno said. “Team success is my main goal.<\/p>\n
“I’m not the biggest statistical player and I feel like a lot of stuff that I do on court doesn’t show on the stats, so getting recognition even though my average wasn’t very high and just knowing that what I do on court is being recognised by others, it’s kind of just a nice feeling to have.”<\/p>\n
With star guard Jaz Shelley parting ways with United for the coming season and Gemma Potter out with an ACL injury, Rotunno said their absences will lead to a slight tweak in her role.<\/p>\n
“I absolutely love Gemma and Jaz. I think they’re absolutely unreal players, and obviously [their absence is] going to cause really big shifts,” she said.<\/p>\n
“Especially as a facilitating point guard, having people like that around you make your life easier. So it definitely has to change my mindset going to the season and what my role is going to look like.<\/p>\n
“I think I’m just going to have to be more of a scoring threat for the team to have a bit more scoring power.”<\/p>\n
After plenty of movement early in her career, Rotunno appreciates being able to settle in Geelong as she represents the town in both leagues.<\/p>\n
“I feel like my whole life, ever since I graduated, I’ve been moving from city to city,” she said. “It’s always a positive to have those experiences, but it is nice to be able to have a home somewhere and settle. The community at Geelong is awesome, the fan base is great, so I’m excited to play in front of fans again.”<\/p>\n
United will open their season on 28 March at home against Kilsyth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AFTER a breakout WNBL season, young gun Lilly Rotunno will return to Geelong United carrying plenty of confidence and higher expectations as their NBL1 South campaign approaches. The 22-year-old was recognised for her career-best season at the Geelong Venom with a nomination for the league’s Breakout Player of the Year Award and also took out […]<\/p>\n