Maitland Mustangs star Shakera Reilly accepts Canberra Nationals offer for 2020

Reilly will be a huge loss for the Mustangs and her hometown fans and family will now have wait until the Nationals travel to Maitland to see her play again - against her former team.

She said although she is a little nervous about the prospect, she is really looking forward to it.

The move was always on the cards when with the support of her family and the Maitland basketball community, the 178cm shooting guard made the big move south to Canberra back in September after being selected to play in the WNBL for the UC Capitals.

She hit the ground running securing a job she loves and slotting into the tight-knit team who have fast become a second family to her.

"It's gone beyond what I could have ever expected in regards to the team itself, the culture, how we are together. I've been very lucky," Reilly said.

As a development player, she had no expectation of playing any game minutes or traveling with the team to away games.

Reilly said her plan was to train as hard as she could and advance her skills while showcasing her abilities.

Through hard work and dedication, she has seen minutes in four separate games and travelled with the team interstate to three away games.

"I feel comfortable enough to ask my teammates for feedback, if I'm doing something wrong, and they do. They want to see me succeed.

"When I was on the court at the last game they were all so excited for me, they see I want to be there."

Reilly uses teammate Kelsey Griffin as an inspiration to help push her through her gruelling daily training schedule.

"She's such a great role model for everyone. When she's not there we lose a bit of our drive.

"Kelsey lifts the team so much. She's a great person in general.

"There's such a positive culture within the team built from both the coaching staff and my teammates."

Reilly has gathered a following in Canberra, but her teammates keep her grounded reminding her often that she has more fans than minutes.

UC Capitals and Australian Opals Coach Paul Goriss sings Reilly's praise after seeing her progress over the past five months under his guidance.

"You see people transform both on and off the court and Shakera's transformation has been from a young basketball player to a fully-fledged professional," Goriss said.

"The total respect I have for her is that she's being a professional athlete but also juggling that with work, training commitments, game commitments, and she is doing an exceptional job at it."

Goriss takes pride in his team's genuine chemistry, attributing a lot of their on-court success to their off-court trust and care in one another, even down to the players attending weekly trivia nights together off the clock.

"When you've got great leaders such as Kelsey Griffin and Marianna Tolo and great players like Kia Nurse, it makes my job easier," Goriss said.

"They're great basketballers, but also great people and that continues down regardless if you're a starter, or bench player, or development player. Everyone is included."

Goriss said the extent of Reilly's development will be revealed when plays substantially more minutes in the upcoming Waratah season.

"To be able to see her growth when she goes back and plays Waratah league, I think that will be the true test about what she's learnt.

"She's working part-time; she's training with Caps, and then training pre-season with Nationals. It's a credit to her that she can be able to be an elite sportsperson but also juggle work.

"It's a heavy workload for her but she still comes in with a smile she still practices hard and at the end of the day we want her to finish up the WNBL season a better player from it."

Reilly said the decision to sign with Canberra Nationals was an easy one.

After receiving an offer from Mount Gambier in South Australia to join their NBL1 team and interest from cross-town rivals Newcastle Hunters, Reilly concluded that remaining in Canberra was for the best.

"I appreciate coach Goriss and all he has done for me this season, especially giving me the chance to take this opportunity as it has honestly been life changing."