Talbot was taken at pick 33 in April's WNBA draft by defending champions Phoenix Mercury, who already have a rich Australian flavour with Opals Penny Taylor, Erin Phillips and head coach Sandy Brondello.

While the highly-rated youngster showed glimpses of her talent in opening round of the WNBL, she also conceded 13 turnovers across the two games.

Talbot faces a tough test on Saturday against two-time defending champion Bendigo, which boasts one of the league's best front courts. In a late blow for the Capitals, Hanna Zavecz has also been ruled out for the next 6-8 weeks with knee cartilage damage.

A former WNBA head and assistant coach at Phoenix, Graf says Talbot can eventually conquer the WNBA. But Graf warned the 20-year-old to be patient.

"The WNBA's not going anywhere, you want to go there when you know you can stick it at a club," Graf said. "Fortunately for her, she's at a club which just won the championship, and has a history of Aussie players that stick.

"Phoenix has a great tradition with Aussies and they were smart drafting Steph because they knew exactly what they were getting ... she's someone who's going to be a professional basketballer, she's got all the goods."

Talbot, a WNBL rookie of the year, joined Canberra from Adelaide this season and is studying sport and exercise science at University of Canberra.

Graf said Talbot had the mental ability to brush off last week's mistakes.

"When you're that age, things can overtake you sometimes and you try too hard, that's mastering the mental part of the game and slowing down a bit," Graf said.

"We use the word poise, you want to use the maximum your body can give you, but also having a calmness about her offensive game. She's finding ways to battle through errors, and that's the sign of a great young talent."

"Against Sydney [73-70 loss] she came through with big baskets in the clutch, even though she turned the ball over a little bit. That's the sign of a great player. When we got her it was a huge signing, we're excited about seeing her grow with us."

Talbot admitted the prospect of playing with Opals stars Taylor and Phillips in the WNBA was exciting, but said she's willing to wait.

"I don't want to go over there and get cut or traded, I want to make the team and stick around at the club for a while," she said.

"It's pretty open-ended, I'll go when I'm ready and when they [Phoenix] think I'm ready. It's very exciting and it helps knowing you're going to a club where there's other Aussies to help you settle in and get ready to play.

Talbot admitted her offensive game was still a work in progress, and will work on her composure against Spirit.

"I have to make better decisions at the end of my plays and be a bit more poised," she said.

SATURDAY

WNBL round two: Bendigo Spirit v Canberra Capitals at Bendigo Stadium, 3pm

TV: Live on ABC1