HOME TRUTHS
ABILITY T O LEARN TOUGH LESSONS CRUCIAL IN TITLE RUN
TOWNSVILLE Fire coach Claudia Brassard has revealed two video clips exposing a lack of urgency in game two of the WNBL grand final series helped spark them to the title.
With nine seconds left in game two in Melbourne, Townsville skipper Suzy Batkovic missed a shot but none of her team- mates showed the desperation required to grab the rebound.
It was a similar story in the first play of the game, when no one crashed the boards after a Mia Murray miss.
They responded by dominating game three 70- 57 in Townsville on Sunday night to seal a third championship in four years.
“There was some uncharacteristic things that we weren’t happy with,” Brassard said.
“All I needed to do was show those two clips.
“One was the first play of the game where we set up a shot for Mia off the elbow. We knew that shot was coming and no one rebounded.
“The last shot of the game, down one and trying to win a national championship, Suzy gets the shot we want and everyone stood and watched.
“I said ‘ You know what, you guys want to win a championship, I’d be running in if I was trying to win a championship with nine seconds left on the clock’.”
“That clip was all I needed to show and the players said what the hell are we doing, we’re better than this.”
Brassard ( above) said the team’s ability to heed tough lessons was crucial in claiming the trophy this season.
“They responded to that and the team has always done that. Sometimes our biggest losses have been our biggest wins, because the next game we come out and smack someone.”
Brassard is off contract after being at the helm for the past two seasons, and hopes to resign on a multi- year deal.
“We left that until after the season because we wanted to concentrate on finals, but it’s something we’ll work out shortly, I assume,” Brassard said.
“We’re not going anywhere, we love Townsville and I love coaching the Townsville Fire, so I hope so.”
Brassard said the team deserves to go down as one of the best in WNBL history.
“To be consistently at the top and to make five of the last six grand finals is pretty phenomenal,” she said.
“It ( winning a championship) is excitement, joy and a lot of pride. To visualise something in May and for it to unfold how you planned is amazing.”