Steel players to be targeted
Southern Steel coach Janine Southby hopes team culture and loyalty will win through as other trans-Tasman netball franchises try to swoop on the team’s rising stars.
The Steel were knocked out of the 2015 trans-Tasman netball competition on Saturday when they lost the New Zealand Conference elimination final in dramatic fashion. The were beaten 71-69 in overtime by the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in Hamilton.
The Magic will now play the Mystics in Auckland tonight for the Kiwi conference title in the next round of playoff games, while the Steel are left to ponder what might have been before looking to the 2016 season.
Southby put together a plan last year to build a young team into one capable of pushing for a title.
That approach appears to have merit as many of the young players have started to make a real impact on the competition.
However, with that progression comes interest from other franchises and the risk is the Steel could lose some of their young players just when they’re ready about to make their biggest statement in the competition.
All of the Steel’s 2015 squad were on a one-year deals meaning the organisation will need to work hard to retain their good young talent in 2016.
There is expected to be plenty of interest elsewhere for Jamaican shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Reid’s signature as well. The Jamaican is the Steel’s star player which was highlighted by the fact she was this year named the Most Valuable Player in the New Zealand Conference.
‘‘Supposedly we now have a couple of weeks before everything opens up. But the reality is there are already rumours flying around left, right, and centre,’’ Southby said about the player contracting.
‘‘We hope we’ve done the work on the environment, and developing the culture and the vision of the group – and I think the girls are buying into that. But I guess if someone comes swooping in with a big chequebook it is really hard to fight that sort of thing,’’ she said.
‘‘I do think the girls see how far we’ve come and what we are aiming for, is a bit loyalty and that knowledge that we are so close. Next year promises so much.
‘‘We are so close. Some of these girls have grown significantly this year, and the fact we’ve got six going into the Ferns and New Zealand A trial, I think is testament to the quality of players we have in our group.’’
Southby said there was a lot of dis- appointment within the team following the overtime loss to the Magic.
‘‘The girls were very disappointed I can tell you.
‘‘I thought we had done the work but unfortunately it wasn’t to be,’’ she said.
‘‘The ironic thing is that I had actually up-skilled them on extra-time the day before in training, just making sure they knew we could go into extra time.
‘‘Unfortunately it was just that experience the Magic have, they have been in that finals situation and for 90 per cent of our group that was their first time.’’