Steelcats trio bring plenty to the table
JULIAN Wilson will carry a busted right shoulder into Bells Beach but the yellow rashie that will be covering it is giving him confidence of a breakthrough World Surf League season.
The pain of Wilson’s AC joint injury was dulled on Thursday, for a while at least, as he celebrated victory at the Quiksilver Pro at a thunderous Kirra Point on the Gold Coast.
Wilson, 29, defeated fellow Australian Adrian Buchan in the final to get his campaign off to the ideal start.
He finished third on the WSL tour last year but is seen as the next Australian in line for world domination as the legendary Mick Fanning, his close mate, prepares to retire after the Ripcurl Pro, which begins on March 29.
“To already have a win ... that’s just a great gain on last year and a great positive to be able to take in the Australian leg,” Wilson said. “Hopefully I can just continue, build on my shoulder, put on performances and win heats.”
Wilson said he felt only “80 per cent fit” and doubted he would be much better at Bells.
The Coolum Beach product hurt his shoulder in a mountain bike accident in January and was close to pulling out of the Quiksilver Pro.
He admitted he felt like crying after his quarter- final, such was his extreme discomfort just from paddling. “It’s not amazing,” Wilson said of his shoulder. “I know it’s going to take a lot more work.”
Wilson, who was the first to come to Fanning’s aid during his famous encounter with a great white shark at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa in 2015, said he was struggling to get his head around Fanning’s decision to hang up his board at 36. “I’ll miss him a lot,” he said. THE Magnetic North Steelcats are ready to pounce into this year’s Queensland State Netball League season after unveiling their new leadership group.
Georgia Bulley was revealed as the team’s captain at last night’s season launch, with veteran shooter Jennifer Hamilton and new recruit Brooke Williams named as vice- captains.
Bulley returned from a serious knee injury last season to play a massive role in helping the Steelcats win the country division and was honoured as the club’s most outstanding player. Hamilton has played for the Steelcats for a decade now and was last season’s player of the year, while Williams is new to the club in 2018, but has a wealth of experience as a member of the Samoan national team.
Head coach Sue Warmington believed the three players would bring a strong mix of skills to their leadership roles as the Steelcats look to defend their crown as the QSNL’s top regional team.
“That’s what we were looking for to ensure that we had a great balance within the leadership group between skills on court and also experience,” Warmington said.
“Georgia has great direction on and off the court and the ability to bring the team together.
“She’s very calm under pressure as well and I think that’s a huge factor on court when things start to get a bit tough.
“She’s quite level- headed and certainly quite calm which is another great quality of a good leader.”
The captains were selected through a combination of feedback from their teammates and the coaching staff, which Warmington believed made the decision much easier.
“It’s been a collaborative effort between the coaches and manager and then who the girls thought would be their best leader out on court as well,” she said.
“At the end of the day, they’re the ones that have to play with them. We can put in whoever we like, but if they don’t work well together on court then it’s not really a good working relationship.”
The Steelcats will get their first opportunity to take to the court this weekend with a pre- season carnival at Townsville Stadium including games against the club’s Future Stars team and an NQ ADF side.
Warmington believed the pre- season carnival would be the perfect opportunity to fine- tune their skills before the season proper starts next month.
“Hopefully it will give us a little bit more of an indication what we can work on before we go into the competition phase at the end of April.”
The Steelcats will be in action from 3pm today at Townsville Stadium with the main game against the NQ ADF team at 7pm.
Play continues tomorrow with the Steelcats against the Future Stars at 10am.