Newly appointed Perth Lynx co-captain Alex Ciabattoni has revealed she took it upon herself to become an influential leader around the team as soon as she realised last year’s captain Anneli Maley wouldn’t be back from the WNBA until after the season began.

Ciabattoni was announced as co-captain alongside Maley on Tuesday morning, just hours before the team played their fourth game of the season. The club waited until Maley had been around the group for three weeks before asking players to vote for their leaders.

Amy Atwell was also a Lynx co-captain last season but she moved to Canberra, while 2024 MVP Ally Wilson switched to Sydney.

Ciabattoni, who has played more than 160 games, said she quickly understood the importance of setting the example for others until Maley returned from America.

“She’s obviously like been a great leader for the last three years, and there was a big big hole without her. So someone had to step up and I think it was time,” Ciabattoni explained.

“I’ve been around long enough. I have grown as a player off the court, so I just took the off-season to try to really get everyone together and do team things and have meetings. So it’s great that they obviously thought it was going alright.

“We did a team vote so that’s pretty cool. To be seen that way is really cool. I was obviously a bit shocked and excited. It’s a different challenge.”

Maley has been an outstanding leader for the Lynx and has maintained her form since arriving back in Perth. She is already averaging 18 points and 13 rebounds per game despite still learning the game plan.

Ciabattoni has played under a series of strong captains at Perth, but said she’d never forget the example set by Olympian Katie Ebzery.

“In the hub season, she was our captain and it was elite,” she said.

“I have never played for someone where you were so clear in direction. Whatever needed to go to (coach) Ryan (Petrik) or needed to go to staff went there. She would deal with things internally. She was just the ultimate professional, and on and off the court. She’s been one of the biggest role models I’ve ever played with.”

The Lynx will play against Geelong Venom on Friday night at Microkeeper Arena, and face the massive task of stopping 211cm star Han Xu. The Chinese star played for Perth last season and Petrik understands the size of the challenge.

“Every time she pops and shoots a three, the commentators freak out,” he said.

“Part of what makes her so special is that she’s so hard to guard and she can do both. Clearly, if she’s two feet from the rim, she’s probably going to score. But if you’d ran that play a million times a game, it wouldn’t work and it would gunk it up for everyone else. So her ability to play both outside the three-point line and inside the three-point line makes her really hard to guard.”