Rays go extra miles to hit court running

THE Northern Rays are leaving no stone unturned ahead of the inaugural Netball Queensland Sapphire Series, with the playing group committed to training together in Tully every weekend.

Distance has been the biggest obstacle facing the newly formed club which includes five Townsville-based players and five from Cairns.

The Rays have already had a couple of pre-season camps in Townsville, while they also plan to use technology to help combine their separate training sessions during the season.

But head coach Jillian Joyce ( pictured right) said the players were keen to go a step further and they would now travel to Tully every Sunday so they could spend more time on the court as a full squad.

“That was the girls who pushed that idea and put that to myself and then the board. Thankfully we have a supportive board who have made it possible,” Joyce said.

“It’s going to be a very busy time. We quite literally do not have any more than two days consecutively off between now and the end of the season.

“That’s a big ask on everybody involved and it’s largely because of the travel and the independent training that the players need to do to make sure that we are fully ready to put the best show on court.

“No matter what happens, one of our markers of success is that professionalism and unity that we really want to put out there. They are fully committed and that’s been the most pleasing part.”

The Rays were given the Easter weekend off, but Joyce said they would now ramp up their preparations ahead of pre-season trials next month before their s e a s o n opener on June 29.

Townsv i l l e , Cairns, and M a c k a y were rivals in the former state netball competition and Joyce said it was exciting to see them coming together as a new team after the months of planning.

“Instead of worrying about forming a team and always looking to the future, we’re now worried about the quality of our passing and driving and all those technical elements of the game,” she said.

“I actually remarked after the first training that it’s so lovely to have the real cream of the region together and how fast combinations are forming between players who were previously competitors.

“There’s still a long way to go and we’ll continue to build that, but certainly the effort levels and just that absolute 100 per cent commitment to the on-court time has been amazing.”