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NEW competitor Tasmania has started its WNBL life with a fine home win and an opening score of 103 points, Perth stunned defending champion Townsville behind Georgia Amoore's leadership, Sydney went 2-0 courtesy of Lauren Nicholson's brilliance and Canberra stunned Bendigo.

As far as opening rounds went, the league could not have asked for much more, though the round officially ends on Tuesday night in Adelaide when Lightning host Townsville.

Southside's young group gave the Flames a huge fright as well in a season which promises far more unpredictable results than preseason form implied.

Preseason form. Eh. The real stuff looked like this:

At home in Sydney and with a huge crowd to cheer on not just the Flames but specifically Chinese guard Yang Shuyu, there was little doubt how Adelaide's road opener would play out, despite early resistance by the Lightning.

New import Adelaide guard Shay Ciezki led the fight from tip off and the Flames hurt their own cause by relying far too heavily on the 3-point shot, eventually going 13-of-40 from the "land of plenty of grief".

Shuyu hit a fine 4-of-6 but the worst offender was Isabelle Bourne who went 2-of-9 and overall was 3-of-13 from the floor.

Bourne compensated with eight boards and a couple of timely blocks but it wasn't a particularly memorable day for her.

Key Lightning signing, Opals centre Zitina Aokuso, with 12 points, 10 rebounds in 32 minutes, did most of her best work before halftime, after which she was in full jog mode.

Sydney's relentless defensive pressure broke Adelaide as the match wore on, Lauren Nicholson again seizing control with 19 points at 57 per cent, with 12 rebounds and four assists.

Jaz Shelley, despite a cut to her eyebrow on a drive, finished with 20 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block, Agnes Emma-Nnopu also again impressive with her energy and willingness to compete.

The new-look Lynx made their intentions clear from the tip, taking it right at defending champion Townsville in Perth where the Fire claimed the championship last season.

Not this time as Steph Gorman (15 points on 5-of-9 threes) thrived out of the shadow of departed Alex Wilson and Amy Atwell, and new addition Georgia Amoore played with all the aplomb of a WNBA starter at Washington Mystics.

Coach Ryan Petrik also drew terrific efforts from players such as Haley Peters (18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, a block), Teonni Key (15 points at 88 per cent, 3 blocks), Samantha Ashby and rookie Chloe Hodges of the bench.

And when the game was there to be won, old faithful Alex Ciabattoni (9 points, 8 assists) fed a super assist for Peters' layup to break the 83-83 deadlocked, then intercepted a pass from Courtney Woods intended for Marie Grulich that led to a foul of Amoore, putting her at the stripe for the final scoreline.

Typically of our stats takers, Ciabattoni's key intercept went undocumented but that didn't make it any less significant.

Grulich made a strong debut for the Fire, her game-high 23 points supported by 10 rebounds and Woods was her inimitable all-around self for a triple-double threatening 20 points, 9 assists and 9 boards.

But Abbey Ellis (9 points on 2-of-13 shooting) offered more offensively with seven assists than with scoring, and Alex Fowler was strangely inconsequential all evening. Alicia Froling (15 points, 10 boards) worked hard but Perth approached this with a better plan and greater intensity ... and it showed.

In Canberra, Jade Melbourne, representing Bendigo for the first time against her former club, went the hero route, jacking up a no-chance 3-point attempt after a terrible final offence, preserving an unexpected 94-92 win for the Capitals.

Nyadiew Puoch and her sister Manuela helped the Caps off to a great start, Megan McConnell (19 points at 70 per cent, 3-of-4 threes) also a factor, Canberra ahead by as many as 20 points during its second quarter rampage.

With Isobel Borlase still on WNBA Finals duty in the US, Bendigo struggled to find a reliable scoring avenue, until it recognised the size and potential dominance veteran centre Marianna Tolo (28 points at 83 per cent) could provide.

With Tolo identified as a constant threat, the Spirit started to claw their way back, Amy Atwell (26 points) then catching fire for Canberra to keep making Bendigo's task difficult.

Now it was Kelsey Griffin's turn to take control, the veteran of both clubs hitting 13 of her 22 points in the final period, including four massive 3-point makes.

She was the player Bendigo needed to take the final shot but the ball stuck to Melbourne's hands.

Southside under rookie women's coach Sam Mackinnon stunned the life from highly-fancied Sydney, his fledgling Flyers almost creating the upset of the round in Melbourne.

Back from a US college career, guard Tess Heal (24 points at 77 per cent) was devastating in her WNBL debut, Lara Edmanson (13 points at 67 per cent), Lucy Cochrane (8 points, 11 rebounds), Maddi Ryan (7 points, 6 rebounds) joining more seasoned vets such as Hannah Hank and Haylee Andrews in putting Sydney to the sword.

Playing with all the energy, aplomb and fearlessness of youth, and with US centre Sakima Walker and China's exciting Wang Siyu guiding them, Mackinnon's mosquitos attacked the Flames from the tip-off.

Their 21-11 second quarter saw the Flyers' lead bulge out to 13, Jaz Shelley, Yang Shuyu, Maya Dodson and Agnes Emma-Nnopu battling hard to keep Sydney within reach.

But as can often be the case, that early rush of youth started to hit the wall as Lauren Nicholson completely took charge of the ballgame.

On her way to 23 points, Nicholson had eight in the third period - including two 3-pointers - and a further 11 in the last and with Isabelle Bourne scoring eight of her 10 after halftime, the Southside kids could not hang on.

Opening the season to a packed fullhouse at Hobart's MyState Bank Arena, Tasmania Jewels began their WNBL life with a thrilling 103-90 victory over Geelong.

Jewels coach Claudia Brassard drew fine performances from her main rotation with Brooke Basham delivering a career-best 19 points at 67 per cent, plus eight rebounds, three assists, four steals and a block.

WNBA recruit Gianna Kneepkens lived up to her billing as did Tassie's ex-Townsville trio of Darcee Garbin, Steph Reid and Keely Froling.

Almost completely reliant on Maddi Rocci, Geelong drew a career-best 33 points from her, along with seven rebounds, four assists, a steal and a dozen flops, most of which were erroneously rewarded. Why it's necessary for a player of such tenacity, intensity and skill to also throw back her head or go flying at minimal contact and whining about every non call remains a mystery and an unfortunate blight on an otherwise stellar performance.

WNBL Round 1 Results

Sydney Flames 95 (Shelley, Shuyu 20, Nicholson 19, Bourne 12, Emma-Nnopu 11; Nicholson 12 rebs; Nicholson 4 assts) d Adelaide Lightning 68 (Ciezki 17, Brazel 14, Aokuso 12, Westbeld 10; Aokuso 10 rebs; McDowell-White, Westbeld 4 assts) at Quaycentre.

Perth Lynx 86 (Peters 18, Key, Gorman 15, Amoore 13; Morrell, Peters 5 rebs; Ciabattoni 8 assts) d Townsville Fire 83 (Grulich 23, Woods 20, Froling 15; Froling 10 rebs; Woods 9 assts) at Perth High Performance Centre.

University of Canberra Capitals 94 (Atwell 26, McConnell 19, M.Puoch 15, N.Puoch 13; Atwell 7 rebs; 5 with 3 assts) d Bendigo Spirit 92 (Tolo 28, Griffin 22, Wehrung 14; Griffin 9 rebs; Melbourne 10 assts) at AIS Arena.

Sydney Flames 77 (Nicholson 23, Shelley 14, Dodson 13, Shuyu 11, Bourne 10; Emma-Nnopu 13 rebs; Shelley 9 assts) d Southside Flyers 73 (Heal 24, Edmanson 13, Siyu 11; Cochrane 11 rebs; Cochrane 3 assts) at State Basketball Centre, Melbourne.

Tasmania Jewels 103 (Kneepkens, Garbin 20, Basham 19, Reid 17, Tofaeono, Froling 11; Kneepkens, Basham 8 rebs; Reid 8 assts) d Geelong Venom 90 (Rocci 33, Bowyer 13, Rotunno, Cole 11, Clinch Hoycard 10; Sharp 8 rebs; Cole, Rocci 4 assts) at MyState Bank Arena.

Still to come ... Tuesday: Townsville Fire at Adelaide Lightning