By Adrian Warren
Bulleen coach Tom Maher is so short of options at point guard after an injury-hit start to the WNBL season, he is even considering asking Australian Opals legend Michelle Timms to suit up.
Reigning premiers Canberra, as well as Sydney and Dandenong all started the season with two road wins in an opening round notable for some big name injuries and the fact that all seven fixtures were won by the visiting team.
The Boomers of Bulleen lost 79-71 at home to Canberra in a re-match of last year's grand final.
The Capitals then made it two from two on the road with a 64-43 victory at Bendigo on Sunday.
However, Canberra were without star centre Suzy Batkovic, who suffered a knee injury against Bulleen, while new skipper Jess Bibby hurt her back against Bendigo.
Last season's minor premiers and beaten grand finalists, Bulleen have lost starting point guard Sharin Milner for six to eight weeks with a broken collarbone, while Jenna O'Hea is struggling with a hip complaint.
Bulleen coach Tom Maher said the Boomers are in trouble as they have no experienced back-up in the one spot.
"I think this sounds out there, but we might bring Michelle Timms back, I'm serious," Maher told AAP.
Timms, 45, is one of Maher's assistants at Bulleen and hasn't played in serious competition for around nine years.
Canberra coach Carrie Graf was ecstatic about her team's results considering the injuries and limited preparation, given she only arrived back from the World Championship in the Czech Republic a day or two before the Caps' first game.
"The language we were using was to try and steal (two) victories, so for us to get two wins under the circumstances is hugely positive for us," Graf told AAP.
She said the initial diagnosis of Batkovic's injury was "just a strain", but said the Opals veteran and Bibby would be checked out by the Canberra medical staff on Monday.
In Batkovic's absence, Opals squad member Marianna Tolo stepped up against Bendigo, hitting match high tallies of 19 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks.
Not one Bendigo player managed double figures and the Spirit scored only 23 points in the last three quarters, shooting just 27 per cent from the field.
Sydney, who travel to Canberra next Friday, won 75-69 at Townsville on Friday and 76-72 at Logan on Sunday.
"It's a great start to get two wins on the road ... not having the star studded line-ups that some of the other teams have got, we've got to play well together as a team to come away with some of these wins," said Sydney coach Karen Dalton.
In the very first match of the season, Logan scored an 87-64 win over the AIS, with Sarah Graham and recruit Emma Randall each scoring 21 for the Fire.
A Dandenong side bolstered by several big name recruits, started with a 94-80 result at Adelaide and backed up with a 77-48 victory over West Coast in Perth.
"It's a very very talented team and my job is to make sure we get the best out of this group and have them play at the right end of the season, so I'm not overly concerned at the moment that we're not playing our best," Dandenong coach Mark Wright told AAP.