West Grand Final | Flames outlast Buccs for championship

Featured image: Michael Farnell @sportsimageryau

It was everything you would expect pitting the two best teams against one another who were never going to give an inch and it's the Rockingham Flames the NBL1 West champions once more just outlasting the Geraldton Buccaneers 66-62 at RAC Arena.

Ever since Rockingham beat Geraldton in another classic Grand Final back in 2022, the two teams had appeared destined to do it all again and this time it just happened to be on the bigger stage at RAC Arena.

The Flames have suffered three years of finals heartbreak since that last championship while Geraldton had won the 2023 and 2025 titles, and were attempting to go back-to-back for the first time.

The two teams might possess plenty of firepower including Isaac White and Devondrick Walker who have combined to win four of the last five MVP awards in the league, but what it turned into was an almighty tense and physical battle that became one hell of a chess match.

The biggest lead of the game was the 10 points Rockingham got out to in the third quarter. They were on top most of the night, but Geraldton had stayed within striking distance the whole way and it was always going to come down to the last seconds.

Walker did make two free throws in the final minute to get the Buccs back within four and the reigning champs had some good looks to get it back to a one possession game after forcing White into a turnover, but it wasn’t to be.

In the end a massive block from Blake Jones denied Josh Keyes and the clock round out soon after with Rockingham four points in front and celebrating a second men's championship.

Fittingly two-time MVP White was also named Grand Final MVP while it adds to the legacy of coach Ryan Petrik, and will be a sigh of relief for him after three WNBL near misses at the Perth Lynx to now be a four-time championship coach with the Flames – two with the men and women.

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The two teams had been neck and neck in the top two spots virtually the whole season and had beaten one another at home along the way, and then both had to get to the Grand Final the hard way by winning preliminary finals on the road having lost home qualifying finals.

Right from the start the tone was set of what a defensive grind the Grand Final was going to be with Geraldton clinging to the 5-4 lead after the first five minutes.

That was then just a 13-10 advantage the way of Rockingham by quarter-time with Isaac White having three points on 1/4 shooting for the Flames and Devondrick Walker two on 1/5 for the Buccaneers.

It remained a low-scoring battle in the second quarter with just the combined 30 points and by half-time it was the Flames with the 29-24 advantage even while missing all 15 of their three-point attempts.

Geraldton were going 3/17 themselves from the outside with Walker having four points on 1/8 shooting heading into the locker room while White was up to seven points after hitting his only two shot attempts of the quarter.

Things underwent a transformation in the third quarter and suddenly the scoring opened up with Rockingham having a 10-point lead forcing four-time Coach of the Year Dayle Joseph into a timeout.

His team responded and the Buccs did end up with 25 points for the quarter with 9/19 shooting and 3/7 from the outside with the Flames scoring 24 themselves on the back of hitting their first three three-pointers of the contest.

Rockingham were still leading 53-49 by three quarter-time setting up a finish that was always destined to go right down to the death.

A fourth foul for Keyes early in the fourth had the potential to be fatal for Geraldton especially with Rockingham back up eight at the exact time he checked out.

But Cooper Creek hit a huge three to keep the Buccs close and then Keyes came back in, and had two good looks after offensive rebounds but couldn’t quite finish in heavy traffic.

Eventually he did score to make it a three-point margin but Rockingham soon got back up four again with a couple of inside buckets to Jones.

Emmett Naar stretched the lead back to eight before it was their tough defence that stood tall with the Buccs unable to take their chances in the final minute and the Flames held firm to claim the championship.

Isaac White was named Grand Final having played all 40 minutes and being hounded by Verle Williams for all those but he produced 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. That was with 8/12 shooting and 7/8 over the last three quarters.

Laquinton Ross also finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, Blake Jones 14 points and 11 boards, and Emmett Naar eight points, eight assists and five rebounds.

Then there was 375-game former captain Ryan Godfrey who became a two-time champion and had three points, three rebounds, and two assists, and Tevin Jackson won the first championship of his 194-game career with four points, three boards and three steals.

While Geraldton will be left thinking what could have been heading home, they deserve to be proud of getting so close to back-to-back championships in what was their fifth Grand Final in eight years.

Liam Hunt (12 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, three assists, two steals) and Verle Williams (five points, five assists, four rebounds, three steals) played every second of the Grand Final for the Buccs.

Devondrick Walker top scored with 16 points, nine assists and six rebounds with Josh Keyes ending up with 12 points, 12 boards and two assists, Cooper Creek 10 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks, and Matt Norman seven points and three boards.

NBL1 WEST 2026 SEASON | GRAND FINAL

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 66 (White 19, Ross 14, Jones 14)

GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 62 (Walker 16, Hunt 12, Keyes 12)

Grand Final MVP: Isaac White (Rockingham Flames)